LABUAN BAJO (UCAN): Church leaders and advocacy groups asked participants at the May 9 to 11 ASEAN Summit in Indonesia to put concrete steps to combat human trafficking in place.
“What is more important is real action and the steps that will really make an impact, and bring in significant changes,” said Father Chrisanctus Paschalis Saturnus, an activist who works among migrant workers.
In Labuan Bajo on Flores island, East Nusa Tenggara province on May 8, the venue for the ASEAN summit, Indonesian president, Joko Widodo, told reporters that “eradicating human trafficking was one of the aims of Indonesia” during its current turn in the ASEAN chairmanship.
Father Saturnus said on May 10 that the regional group of nations should discuss the steps to make sure of the role of each country “because so far crimes have been repeating.”
He said that it is not difficult to overcome the problem if all the countries involved act together “because we already know who the players are. But many parties have only half-hearted commitment.” he said.
I hope that this summit can produce a firm commitment as well as collaborative work between countries to minimise human trafficking cases
Father Marthen Jenarut
“It is necessary to evaluate the obstacles,” said the priest, who heads the Commission for Justice and Peace and the Pastoral Care of Migrant-Itinerant People of Pangkalpinang diocese in Riau Islands province. The island is close to the borders of Malaysia and Singapore.
With the theme, ASEAN Matters: Epicentrum of Growth, the 42nd ASEAN summit was attended by leaders from 11 countries, including Timor-Leste, which has observer status.
“The summit also needs to discuss efforts to protect crusaders against human trafficking,” Father Saturnus said, referring to his spat in March with the deputy head of the State Intelligence Agency in the Riau Island province.
Father Marthen Jenarut, head of the Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation Commission of the Diocese of Ruteng, said it is good that the ASEAN Summit was held in East Nusa Tenggara, which is a known hub for human trafficking.
“Since several years ago, this province has been declared a human trafficking emergency area,” Father Jenarut said.
We also encourage ASEAN to take concrete steps to develop cross-border institutional infrastructure
Father Eko Aldianto
East Nusa Tenggara province is the largest sufferer of human trafficking in Indonesia. Data from the province’s Migrant Worker Protection Agency showed that 480 migrant workers from the province died abroad from 2018 to May 2022 and only 17 of them had legal status.
“I hope that this summit can produce a firm commitment as well as collaborative work between countries to minimise human trafficking cases,” Father Jenarut said.
Carmelite Father Eko Aldianto, executive secretary of the Indonesian bishops’ Commission for Justice and Peace and the Pastoral Care of Migrant-Itinerant People, said the fight against human trafficking needs to be “balanced with the attitude and professionalism of institutions.”
Wahyu Susilo, who heads the non-governmental agency Migrant Care, added that ASEAN countries need to have the same perception in eradicating human trafficking.
“We also encourage ASEAN to take concrete steps to develop cross-border institutional infrastructure,” he said.
According to the US State Department’s 2022 Trafficking In Persons report, the majority of Southeast Asian countries were either listed on the Tier 2 or Tier 3 Watch List.
Malaysia, Cambodia, Vietnam and Myanmar were on Tier 3 as they “do not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and are not making significant efforts to do so.”
The report downgraded Indonesia to the Tier 2 Watch List, saying that the country’s anti-trafficking legislation is inconsistent with international law.
