PETALING
JAYA: Malaysia identified 650 human
trafficking victims last year but only nine traffickers were caught and
convicted.
This is
among the main reasons why the country has dropped to Tier 3 in the Trafficking
in Persons (TiP) 2014 report – the lowest ranking, leaving it in the same
category as Thailand, Venezuela, North Korea, Saudi Arabia and Zimbabwe.
Malaysia
must now work on closing the gap between the number of victims and the number
of people brought to justice, according to US State Department
ambassador-at-large Luis CdeBaca (pic).
The
2014 TiP report states that Malaysia decreased its anti-trafficking law
enforcement efforts and reported fewer investigations and convictions in 2013
as compared with 2012.
CdeBaca,
who heads the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, said the
treatment of victims was also critical.
“It is
well known that if you treat your victims correctly, they will be good
witnesses for you in court,” CdeBaca told The Star in a phone interview from
Washington.
He said
this included providing psychological care and feeling of safety for victims.
CdeBaca
also urged Malaysia to provide better support for non-government organisations
(NGOs) involved in helping human trafficking victims.
“Countries
which engage strongly with civil society in the fight against human trafficking
end up being most successful,” he said.
He
pointed out that NGOs were unlikely to refer cases to authorities if victims
are kept in detention centres and deported.
Citing
cases of victims who were were held in shelters for almost a year, he said:
“There is no freedom of movement.
“They
have not been convicted of anything but are still behind gates and barbed
wire.”
However,
CdeBaca acknowledged that there have been improvements since 2009.
He said
Malaysia had dedicated officials fighting human trafficking and the drop from
Tier 2 was not a denigration of those on the front lines.
He said
the TiP report, published since 2001, is based on the US Trafficking Victims
Protection Act of 2002, which is calibrated to the Palermo Protocol.
“This
is the United Nations anti-human trafficking treaty which most countries have
signed,” he said.
He also
denied criticism that close allies of the United States would never fall to the
Tier 3 category.
“One
only needs to look at the downgrades this year of Colombia, Qatar, Malaysia and
Thailand to recognise that the US is not afraid to tell the truth about the
trafficking situation.
“I
think there is a responsibility to tell your friends when there is a problem
and work with them in partnership to try to address that,” he said.
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