Laos is improving weak anti-human trafficking laws
The Lao government is to develop tougher anti-human trafficking laws with the support of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)
Interview: Laos is improving weak anti-human trafficking laws
VIENTIANE, Apr 05, 2012 (Xinhua via COMTEX) --
by Tom Hodgson
The Lao government is to develop tougher anti-human trafficking laws with the support of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
"Laos is a country with low economic indicators, and poverty levels are pretty high compared to neighboring countries .. and because of that Laos is particularly vulnerable to human trafficking," UNODC Country Representative for Laos Liek Boonwaat said in an exclusive interview with Xinhua on Wednesday.
At a workshop held here by the Lao government last week to assess its present legislation, President of the Lao National Assembly's Law Committee Davone Vangvichit identified three pieces of legislation that in some way protect against trafficking, as well as laws that prohibit violence against women and children.
The problem with anti-human trafficking is little data on the subject, warned Boonwaat. Many victims are unwilling to approach the authorities. Thailand estimates that there are at least 180, 000 undocumented Lao workers in Thailand, a significant proportion of which could potentially be victims of human trafficking.
U.S. think-tank Global Financial Integrity has estimated that worldwide the illicit market in humans is worth 31.6 billion U.S. dollars. That makes human trafficking the third biggest illicit market after drugs and counterfeiting.
Lao and Thai media personnel also attended a workshop earlier this week in order to discuss how the media in both countries could help educate people on the dangers of human trafficking.
The UNODC are involved in similar projects, broadcasting radio and television public service announcements in Laos. Boonwaat said the UNODC were expanding the program to develop messages in the languages of Laos' ethnic minorities.
The UNODC has also been working with the Lao government to strengthen its legislation as part of its project "Strengthening Criminal Justice Responses to Human Trafficking in Lao PDR". Better legislation would aid the Lao government in preventing, investigating and prosecuting human traffickers. It would also help protect and empower victims of traffickers.
Trafficking in Laos generally occurs as young Lao people often seek better opportunities in Thailand and end up the victims of traffickers. The number of people trafficked in the region each year has been estimated at around 450,000 to 600,000.
About 60 percent of the victims of human trafficking in Laos are girls aged 12-18, United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) study found in 2004. Of these girls, 35 percent end up in forced prostitution in Thailand. Trafficking mainly occurs from Laos to Thailand, though Laos also shares land borders with Vietnam, China, Myanmar and Cambodia.
Victims of human trafficking from Laos may also end up as household servants, factory workers, agricultural laborers, or as crew for fishing boats. A significant proportion of trafficking victims are of the ethnic minorities of Laos.
Boonwaat explained that traffickers are often trusted people within the villages they operate. They will approach the parents explaining that their child can make a lot of money working in Thailand, which they can send to the family. The parents will willingly part with the child, only to lose all track once the child crosses the border as they have been sold on to other traffickers or to a brothel.
The Lao government has long recognized the importance of this problem. "Combating the exploitation and abuse of Lao children is a priority which we will work towards as a matter of urgency," said an official from the Lao Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare in 2004.
In the last few years the Lao government investigated 49 cases of human trafficking related offences and prosecuted 37 offenders, according to the UNODC.
"What is really sad is that I have interviewed some young girls," Boonwaat said, "I asked them, 'Were your parents happy you'd been rescued from Thailand?' The girls said no, 'When we went back home our parents wanted to know why we weren't working over there and sending back money.' The parents had no idea that they had been raped, beaten and made to work in brothels."
