PRESS RELEASE

 

MEKONG GOVERNMENTS DEMONSTRATE CONCRETE ACTION AGAINST HUMAN TRAFFICKING

 

 

12 May 2006

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

 

The six Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS) Governments (Cambodia, China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam) concluded a three day meeting today in Phnom Penh, Cambodia to review and update the three year plan of action of joint activities to realize their vision of a trafficking-free Mekong region.

 

Over thirty senior government officials attended the COMMIT Senior Officials Meeting in order to review and assess the course of cooperation on trafficking in the Mekong region for the next decade and more. In his keynote address to the meeting, H.E. Mr. Sar Kheng, Deputy Prime Minister, Royal Government of Cambodia highlighted the "need to work together towards the creation of a society where there is zero tolerance for this type of unacceptable abuse."

 

The crime of human trafficking continues to prevail in the region. Since the signing of the historic COMMIT Memorandum of Understanding in Yangon, Myanmar in October 2004 by Ministers of the six countries, the Governments have been active in laying the foundation for a network of cooperation to stop traffickers and prosecute them, protect victims of trafficking and assist them return safely home, and launch efforts to prevent others from sharing the same fate. This meeting gave the governments and partners in the COMMIT Process a chance to demonstrate the concrete action that had been taken over the past year, and fine-tune plans for activities in the coming year, based on agreed priorities.

 

H.E. Dr. Ing Kantha Pavi, Cambodian Minister of Women's Affairs pointed out that "the responsibility for all of us to address the human rights abuses resulting from the crime of human trafficking is an enormous one" but emphasized that "we cannot rest as long as our citizens continue to be subjected to such inhumane conditions - in effect, as modern day slaves. The measure of a nation's development and progress [will] be ascertained from the protection it affords to its citizens and in particular the most vulnerable."

 

The COMMIT Sub-regional Plan of Action in focusing on both the areas of law enforcement and criminal justice, and prevention, protection, recovery and reintegration of victims sets the standard for anti-trafficking work in the Asian region. The Plan itself is a practical roadmap for priority action, buttressed by the technical expertise and support of UN agencies, international and national NGOs, and bilateral and multilateral donors.

 

While significant achievements from the past year were highlighted, the governments in the region also acknowledged the challenges that they encountered.  China reported that the regional workshop among the COMMIT countries triggered off their recognition to develop their first National Plan of Action on Human Trafficking.  Myanmar recently passed a new national law on trafficking in persons, which incorporates victim protection at its core. Laos and Thailand reported on an innovative new bilateral arrangement between the two countries to use information from the community to trace actual missing persons in Thailand and use existing repatriation mechanisms to return them home safely. Cambodia has been leading the way in promoting child safe tourism and reported on their strengthened law enforcement response. While Vietnam has been moving forward on implementing their national plan of action on human trafficking, they also recognize the need to strengthen their capacity in the area of repatriation and reintegration.

 

The UN Resident Coordinator in Cambodia, Mr. Douglas Gardner confirmed UN support for the COMMIT Process and commended the government-led process. "With the Sub-regional Plan as your roadmap," he stated, "and by keeping a firm focus on the direction and goal, the aspirations outlined in the COMMIT MOU can be achieved. The work that we do will later be measured against the impact it will have on the ground. History will remember the GMS governments of today as leaders in the regional cooperation and commitment to end trafficking."   

 

Major donors have already committed to support the implementation of these activities. The Government of Norway has pledged approximately US $1 million and the SEARCH Project (a CIDA-supported regional project) has committed approximately US $ 800,000.

 

The Secretariat for the COMMIT Process is the UN Inter-Agency Project on Human Trafficking in the GMS (UNIAP). Since its inception, the COMMIT initiative has received funds from the Government of Norway, SEARCH (a CIDA-supported project), ADB, AUSAID, NZAID, the Government of the Netherlands, SIDA, UNFPA, UNICEF, UNODC, Save the Children UK, World Vision International and International Organization for Migration (IOM).

 

 

  

 

For further information please contact:

 

Ms. Melissa Stewart

COMMIT Secretariat

UNIAP Regional Information & Communications Officer

Tel:      c/o Cambodiana Hotel:  +855 23 218 189/426 288 (May 12, 2006)

Fax:     c/o Cambodiana Hotel: +855 23 426 392 (May 12, 2006)

Email: melissa.stewart@un.or.th

Mobile: +85592296450

 

Ms. Kristy Fleming

COMMIT Secretariat

UNIAP Cambodia Information Assistant

Email: kristy.fleming@undp.org

Mobile: +85592269205

 

Dr. Susu Thatun

COMMIT Secretariat

UNIAP Programme Manager

Tel:  (662) 288-2310

Email: susu.thatun@un.or.th