Although actions must be
taken at all levels, it is crucial to any anti-human trafficking movement to
have strong governmental support and action. However, according to the U.S. State Department's report on
trafficking around the world, there
are many governments whose officials who comply with, or even aid, traffickers.
For example, NGOs in Malaysia have reported that the police often will not
investigate complaints that employers are confiscating passports, travel
documents, or withholding wages as possible trafficking offenses. Furthermore,
in 2010 the government did not report any prosecutions of employers who
subjected workers to conditions of forced labor, nor were any government
officials convicted of trafficking related complicity, despite numerous reports
of collusion between police and trafficking offenders. Police collaboration is
a common thread throughout many countries; local law enforcement officials are
willing to take bribes to look the other way when presented with cases of human
trafficking, or, at the most extreme, are the ones perpetrating human
trafficking themselves.
India
One such example is
India. The report stated "Official complicity in trafficking was a serious problem that remained
largely addressed by the government. Corrupt politicians, police, and border
security forces on both sides of the India-Bangladesh border reportedly
recognized a token used by human traffickers to evade arrest if caught at the
border." Some corrupt law enforcement officers facilitated the movement of
sex trafficking victims, protected suspected traffickers and brothel keepers
from enforcement of the law, took bribes from sex trafficking establishments
and sexual services from victims, and tipped off sex and labor traffickers to
impede rescue efforts. Many owners of brothels, rice mills, brick kilns, and
stone quarries who engaged in human trafficking were politically connected and
therefore immune from prosecution.Further, of the Anti-Human Trafficking Units established by the government, many were
criticized as being ineffective or only existing on paper and not in practice. Furthermore,
there was significant complicity of some governmental officials in human
trafficking. Many sources noted that the Indian central government approached
anti-trafficking measures in an uncoordinated and piecemeal manner, therefore
allowing for greater instances of corruption.
Burma
Burma is one of the
highest offenders in regards to official complicity in human trafficking. The Military is the main
perpetrators. Internally, there are several different ways in which the
military implements human trafficking. The military engages in the unlawful
conscription of child soldiers. Boys as young as 10 years are forcibly
recruited to serve in the Burmese army and ethnic armed groups through intimidation,
coercion, threats, and violence. Children of the urban poor are at particular
risk of involuntary conscription; UN reports indicates that the army has targeted
orphans and children on the streets and in railway stations, as well as young
novice monks from monasteries for recruitment. It also continues to be the main
perpetrator of forced or compulsory labor inside Burma. Military and civilian officials
target minors of ethnic minority groups, and use men, women, and children for
forced labor for the development of infrastructure and state-run agricultural
and commercial ventures, as well as forced portering for the military.
An NGO study published in 2010 found an acute problem in Chin State, where a
survey of over 600 households indicated that over 600 households indicated that
over 92% experienced at least one instance of a household member subject to
forced labor; the Burmese military reportedly imposed two-thirds of these
forced labor demands. Children are often subjected to forced labor in tea
shops, home industries, and agricultural plantations. Exploiters traffic girls
for the purpose of prostitution, particularly in urban areas. There are also
reports that Burmese officials kidnapped Rohingya women from Sittwe and
subjected them to sexual slavery on military installations. There were also
reports that victims deported from Thailand into Democratic Karen Buddhist Army
controlled areas of Burma continue to be extorted and retrafficked by DKBA
elements, in collusion with Thai officials.
How can the military do
this? There are many causes of human trafficking in Burma. The military
regime's climate of impunity, gross economic mismanagement, and the acceptance
of child soldiers as a method of recruitment remain top causal factors.
Further, the authorities refuse to recognize members of certain ethnic minority
groups, such as the Rohingyas, as citizens and provide them with identification
documentation, which make them a prime target.
Vietnam
The Vietnamese government is
complicit in human trafficking as it has certain programs in place that human
traffickers can easily utilize to gain access to their victims. For example, Vietnam
is a source country for men and women who migrate abroad for work
opportunities. Many of the migrants are process through state-affiliated export
companies which coerce migrants to sign contracts in languages they cannot
read, and charged exorbitant fees, sometimes as much as $10,000. This has
forced Vietnamese migrants to incur some of the highest debts among Asian
expatriate workers, making them highly vulnerable to debt bondage and forced
labor. Also, there has been a significant lack of prosecution of perpetrators
of human trafficking; many NGOs claim that government officials are often
willing to turn a blind eye towards trafficking in return for bribes.
Thailand
Thailand's greatest
issue is corrupt law enforcement. The majorities of networks that traffic
foreigners into Thailand tend to be small and not high organized, those who
traffic Thai victims abroad tend to be more organized and work in more formal
networks and will collaborate with law enforcement officials. Also, as the Thai
government has no official laws that address sex tourism, there remains greater
leeway for sex trafficking. Broader issues in regards to the Thai government
and trafficking are local police corruption, including direct involvement in
and facilitation of human trafficking, biases against migrant laborers, lack of
understanding among local officials and courts in regards to human trafficking,
particularly labor abuse cases, and finally systematic disincentives for
trafficking victims to be identified. Corruption is one of the largest issues
as it is widespread among Thai law enforcement personnel, creating an enabling environment
for human trafficking to prosper. There are reports that officials protect brothels, other
commercial sex venues, and seafood and sweatshop facilities form raids and
inspections. Furthermore, there are also reports that Thai police and
immigration officials extort money or sex from Burmese citizens detained in
Thailand for immigration violations, and sell Burmese people who are unable to
pay labor brokers and sex traffickers.
Further, due to the
refusal of the Thai government to grant legal status to Ethnic minorities from
the northern Hill Tribes, these populations are at an extremely high risk for trafficking.
Cambodia
Cambodia has a significant history of human trafficking,
due to the longtime civil unrest that created an unstable environment rendering
many homeless; refugees are particular targets for human traffickers.
Furthermore, there are reports that some law enforcement and government officials
are believed to have accepted bribes to facilitate the trafficking and sex
trade. There are other reports of government officials who are complicit in the
trafficking by accepting bribes. Corrupt officials facilitate the transportation of victims across
the border, or route migrants deported from Thailand to human traffickers.
However, there have been several large-scale prosecutions of police officials
for trafficking corruption charges. The former Deputy Director of the
Police Anti-Human Trafficking and Juvenile Protection Department was convicted for complicity in trafficking and
sentenced to five years' imprisonment; two officials under his supervision were
also convicted and sentenced to seven years' imprisonment. Another example was
when police arrested two military officers and one member of the military
police for running brothels and trafficking.
Jasmine Prokscha
Intern
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