Meutia: Disasters Increase Risk of Human Trafficking
Wednesday, 08 November, 2006 | 18:10 WIB

TEMPO Interactive, Denpasar: Women’s Empowerment Minister Meutia Farida Hatta has said that a policy for preventing human trafficking is now part of disaster handling.

“We prevent disaster areas from being made use of by criminals,” said Meutia when opening a workshop on human trafficking at Jimbaran, Bali, yesterday (11/7), in which 36 countries participates.

Natural disasters in several regions in Indonesia have increased risks of human trafficking.

People at disaster areas, especially women and children, were potential victims because of their suffering.

Indonesia, said Meutia, has set human trafficking as the top prioritized issue that must be handled.

It is related to large issues such as poverty, joblessness, and the low level of education.

“We view human trafficking as a part of development problems,” she said.

One solution will be by implementing the Law on Anti Human Trafficking.

This state decree, which that is expected to be passed into law by the end of 2006, will ratify the United Nations convention on transnational crimes.

The government has also formed a working unit for protecting victims that the Department of Women’s Empowerment coordinates.

Today, there are 226 special-treatment rooms for women trafficking victims handled by women police at regional police departments.

Meutia said she was convinced that the threat of women trafficking was tending to increase.

It is only that “The uncovered data is small. The real incidents are much more numerous.”

The crimes are many forms: distribution of 880 babies from North Sumatra to Singapore by a foundation, for instance.

The babies, she explained, were re-sold when they arrived in Singapore.

If they were caught in action at sea, the babies were often thrown out of board so as to wipe the evidence.

Rofiqi Hasan