ASEAN, Australia unite to address human-trafficking issues

ASEAN, Australia launch initiative to reinforce regional cooperation in combating human trafficking                     ASEAN Secretariat General

Bangkok: Australia and Asean today launched an 80 million Australian dollars counter-trafficking initiative to reinforce regional cooperation in combating human trafficking.

Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne said the new 10-year programme was another initiative to ensure stringent punishment and protection on the rights of victims of human trafficking in the region.

“We (Australia) have been working in partnership with Asean and its member states and have been working closely with the Asean member countries in the last 15 years to fight human trafficking. We trained more than 13,000 judicial officials who bolstered their legal system to fight human trafficking and given better protection for victims,” she said at the launching ceremony of Asean-Australia Counter-Trafficking (ACT) initiatives today, Malaysia’s news agency Bernama reported.

Payne said the launching of the ACT was another programme that demonstrated shared commitment of Australia and Asean to stop human trafficking especially in women and children.

“Deeper cooperation is required as the challenge to combat human trafficking remained immense. We need comprehensive solutions,” she said.

Marise Payne – ASEAN Secretariat General

Malaysian Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah said no country was free from the threat of human trafficking following the advancement in modern technologies that had also been abused by human traffickers that further globalised this trans-border crime.

He said the launch of the initiative came at a crucial time, when the international community had recognized the gravity of the human trafficking problem as it would help improve capabilities and information sharing and further strengthen national and regional cooperation.

“It would also fuse together the efforts of governments, private companies, non-governmental organizations, civil society and other stakeholders in addressing this global menace. I strongly believe that the Asean fight against human trafficking can achieve greater impact with Australia’s support,” he said.

Australia had been Asean’s oldest Dialogue Partner since 1975. This year, Asean and Australia celebrate the 45th anniversary of dialogue relations.

Malaysia assumed the Country Coordinatorship for Asean – Australia Dialogue Relations.

In the Asean-Australia Ministerial Meeting, the foreign ministers shared views that the Asean-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Area (AANZFTA) should be revised to facilitate higher volume of trade, Bernama added.

They supported further cooperation in digital technology and were pleased to acknowledge the ongoing cooperation to promote people-to-people contact through the Australia Now project and the New Colombo Plan.

Asean also recognized Australia’s active role in various fields, particularly human resource development and in combating human trafficking and terrorism.

The meeting exchanged views on the situation in the Korean Peninsula and the South China Sea. The meeting adopted the new Plan of Action to Implement the ASEAN-Australia Strategic Partnership 2020-2024.

BERNAMA