WUNRN
UNIAP
Contact: Sunlina Ly - lina.ly@undp.org
Final
Statement
Conference on “Civil Society and
Government Collaboration
to Combat Trafficking in
Persons
in the Greater
May 22-24,
2006
We, the participants of the conference on “Civil Society
and Government Collaboration to Combat Trafficking in Persons in the Greater
Mekong Sub-region (GMS)” gathered in
Specifically, the conference:
Recognizes that civil society encompasses NGOs and many
other actors;
Recognizes the critical importance of a comprehensive
approach to combat human trafficking, focusing on protection, prevention and
prosecution, and importantly complemented by coordination of both policies and
programs;
Takes note of the commitments for close collaboration
between Governments and NGOs made by the GMS Governments through the Coordinated
Mekong Ministerial Initiative against Trafficking (COMMIT) process, such as the
provision in the COMMIT Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) which explicitly
acknowledges “the important role played by victim support agencies in the areas
of prevention, protection, rescue, repatriation, recovery and reintegration, as
well as in supporting a strengthened criminal justice
response;”
Takes note of the important efforts by the Governments
to conclude and implement a broad range of bilateral MOUs to increase and
formalize cooperation between States in their efforts against human
trafficking;
Recognizes that transnational crime plays an important
role in human trafficking, and that the frameworks of the UN Transnational
Organized Crime Convention, and UN Protocol to Prevent, Suppress, and Punish
Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children provide for the
involvement of NGOs and civil society in determination and implementation of
policies;
Notes that the COMMIT MOU calls for, among other things,
for Governments to “accede…at the earliest possible time” to the UN
Transnational Organized Crime Convention, and UN Protocol to Prevent, Suppress,
and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children;
Urges that Governments give special consideration to
actively include civil society and NGOs in the implementation of the UN
Transnational Organized Crime Convention, and UN Protocol to Prevent, Suppress,
and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, and that NGOs
play a critical monitoring role regarding implementation of these
commitments;
Recognizing the relevant UN conventions and
international legal instruments related to human trafficking which also provide
for the involvement of NGOs in implementation and monitoring processes;
Recalls that under the COMMIT, the Governments
reaffirmed the importance of the UN Recommended Principles and Guidelines on
Human Rights and Human Trafficking, which recommend extensive participation of
civil society and NGOs in determining and implementing policies and programs to
combat human trafficking;
Acknowledges the key roles that NGOs and civil society
organizations are already playing in all aspects of work to eradicate human
trafficking in the GMS, and commend the cases of close cooperation between
Governments and NGOs which are taking place;
In light of the above-mentioned findings, the
participants of the conference make the following recommendations, which
recognize the critical importance of continuous and intensive collaboration
between NGOs and other representative organizations of civil society and
Governments. These recommendations shall be communicated to the
Governments of the Greater Mekong Sub-region, NGO networks engaged in
anti-trafficking working in the sub-region, international NGOs, UN agencies,
other inter-governmental organizations, and bilateral and multilateral donor
organizations:
(1)
Governments and NGOs should more systematically partner
with each other in order to ensure that civil society is actively involved in
all aspects of the determination and implementation of anti-trafficking
policies, including national action plans, regulations, and laws. As part
of this partnership, the volume and quality of information shared between the
Government agencies, ranging from central to grass-roots/local levels,
international organizations and NGOs should
increase.
(2)
Governments and NGOs recognize that consistent,
high-quality data collection, mapping of gap areas, and quality research are the
essential basis for effective policies and responsive programs.
Donors, international organizations, research organizations, governments, and
NGOs should undertake and support on-going research activities – both
quantitative and qualitative.
(3)
Both the Governments and NGOs should broaden their
anti-trafficking partnership to include other civil society organizations, such
as those from organized labor, faith-based organizations, migrant communities,
and the international and national business community. Work on
anti-trafficking initiatives with these new allies should occur in a systematic
manner to bring forward new knowledge and resources from these partners, and
seek support from them for policies and programs to combat human
trafficking.
(4)
Governments and NGOs recognize that significant gaps in
anti-trafficking response still exist in the sub-region, both in terms of
geographical coverage and sectors of anti-human trafficking
response. It is recommended that these gaps be systematically
addressed by joint initiatives of Government and NGOs.
(5)
Information on the positive role of NGOs in cooperating
with Governments on anti-trafficking efforts, and the need to have NGOs involved
in order to ensure comprehensive anti-trafficking response, should be reflected
in all training curriculums at all levels.
(6)
Both bilateral and multilateral donor agencies should
take decisions on funding of technical assistance and capacity building with
particular attention to the need to further strengthen government and civil
society cooperation, and to do so in a more coordinated manner.
(7)
Greater donor coordination, including prioritizing both
at the national and regional levels, would enhance and facilitate the process of
preventing and combating human trafficking.
(8)
Government and NGOs recognize the importance of
monitoring anti-trafficking projects to ensure accountability, and continuously
evaluating impact of those activities, but also recognize that donor agencies
should provide longer term commitments to anti-trafficking work being done.
Possible approaches could include the development of innovative monitoring
modalities, such as regional peer review mechanisms, between and among
Governments, NGOs, civil society, international NGOs, and inter-governmental
organizations with an emphasis on long-term commitment, and should stress the
positive role that NGOs can play in monitoring process and progress.
(9)
Governments and NGOs recommend that the success of
criminal justice actions against human trafficking offenders should be measured
according to both the quality of investigations and prosecutions and their
quantity.
(10)
Donors should encourage and support public-private
partnerships as a new approach to generate new ideas and additional resources
for anti-human trafficking work.
(11)
Civil society organizations, including NGOs, and law
enforcement authorities should exchange experience and information, as
appropriate, build deeper mutual understanding, and reach shared objectives to
prosecute traffickers and support the recovery of victims of trafficking; and
bilateral and multilateral donors should support such
opportunities.
(12)
Stronger cross-border collaboration in all aspects of
anti-trafficking response, and technical, financial and personnel support for
those initiatives, should be built among governments and
NGOs.
(13)
Where cross-border collaboration and coordination does
occur, it is critical that this be broadened to embrace the concept of
multi-disciplinary teams that include NGOs, and encourage governments to
initiate pilot projects in identified trafficking hot spots on
borders.
(14)
Governments and civil society actors should consider to
either extend existing cross-border mechanisms, or to create similar mechanisms,
to address human trafficking.
(15)
Regional agreements on procedures for cooperation in
human trafficking should be developed, taking into account agreements already
available at the bilateral level.
(16)
Governments and NGOs understand the urgent need to
deepen anti-trafficking response, and ensure that policies and implementation
reach to the provincial and local level.
(17)
Governments and NGOs should collaborate to build
capacity of concerned governments officials and NGO staff working to provide
protection and recovery services to victims, and improve the standards of the
shelters and the services they provide.
(18)
Workshops should be convened to clarify the roles and
responsibilities of the different stakeholders in anti-trafficking
actions. Possible results could include the establishment of a
multi-disciplinary operations team at the national level to oversee actions on
cases of trafficked persons. This team can direct the process of
assistance and protection to the victim, and the victim’s participation in the
criminal justice investigation and prosecution process. As part of this
process, the roles and scope of NGOs could be more clearly defined, which would
in turn help facilitate their operations, and monitoring and evaluation systems
be established.
(19)
Governments and NGOs in places of migrant’s origin,
transit and destination should promote safe migration as a strategy to reduce
vulnerability to human trafficking.
The participants will seek opportunities to incorporate these recommendations into the anti-human trafficking work that they do upon return to their home countries. Finally, the participants wish to thank the organizers and co-sponsors who made this conference possible, specifically the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security of the Royal Thai Government, the Vital Voices Global Partnership, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, the United States Agency for International Development, the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons in the United States Department of State, and the Embassy of the United States in Bangkok, Thailand. The participants believe that the results of this conference directly reflect the leadership and commitment of themselves, as well as these organizations, in addressing the global phenomenon of human trafficking.
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