RP SUCCESSES AND PERSPECTIVES IN COMBATING

TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS TAKE CENTER STAGE AT

VIENNA FORUM TO FIGHT HUMAN TRAFFICKING

20 February 2008 - The Philippines’ efforts to combat trafficking in persons was highlighted at the recently-concluded three-day international event convened by the United Nations to counter the growing problem of trafficking in persons, also touted as “modern-day slavery”.

The Vienna Forum to Fight Human Trafficking was convened by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) under the UN Global Initiative to Fight Human Trafficking (UN.GIFT) from 13 to 15 February in Vienna, Austria, to raise awareness and forge multi-sectoral partnerships to combat the worsening problem of trafficking in persons confronted by countries and the international community as a whole. Participants in the event, which reached over 1,500, included representatives of governments, civil society, the academe, religious groups, as well as artists  and anti-human trafficking advocates led by such noted celebrities as Grammy Award-winner Ricky Martin and Academy Award-winner Emma Thompson.

The Philippines’ anti-human trafficking measures, together with the serious challenges that the country continues to face in this arena, were discussed during the various component events of the Vienna Forum, which included a high-level segment, workshops, panel discussions, film screenings, art exhibitions and other special events.

Speaking at the high-level segment that opened the Forum, Ambassador Linglingay F. Lacanlale, RP Permanent Representative to the UN in Vienna, highlighted RP’s comprehensive anti-trafficking regime, founded on the “Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act” (R.A. 9208) enacted in 2003, as well as the valuable work undertaken by the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking in Persons (IACAT) in the areas of prevention, law enforcement, prosecution, penalties, and rehabilitation-and-reintegration services to victims.  The Philippine delegation also underscored the need to infuse present and future discussions and strategies with a gender- and human-rights perspective, and a balanced approach addressing both supply and demand factors. The Philippine delegation also called for intensified international cooperation to combat the problem, while warning against perspectives that unduly blame migration for the trafficking problem.

In recognition of the Philippines’ many best practices in this field, the UNODC invited a number of Philippine resource persons to share their experiences and insights in the various panel discussions.  DOJ State Prosecutor Deana P. Perez presented a paper on the topic “Protection to Prosecution”, while representatives of RP NGOs such as the Visayan Forum Foundation, the End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography and Trafficking of Children for Sexual Purposes' (ECPAT) International, and the Employers’ Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP) served as resource persons for discussions on proactive prevention; trafficking in persons for the removal of organs; and the role of employers, respectively.

The Vienna Forum closed in the afternoon of 15 February with a summation of the key insights and non-binding recommendations raised during the Forum’s component events.

The Philippines has been a long-standing advocate of international cooperation to combat human trafficking, given the huge segment of the Philippine population migrating abroad, or from rural to urban areas, in search of economic opportunities, and given the “feminization” of migration trends, with women comprising the majority of Filipino migrants.  

The Philippines is a party to relevant UN conventions such as the Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and its Supplementary Protocol against Trafficking in Persons; as well as the Convention on the Protection of Migrant Workers and their Families.   In the UN, the Philippines has been the main proponent of a Resolution on “Trafficking in Women and Girls” since 1992. END

wingret