'ASEAN must act on people-trafficking'

'ASEAN must act on people-trafficking'

MALAYSIA: A UN women's organization on Monday urged Southeast Asia to establish a new treaty to fight human traffickers that drive women into the sex trade and other illegal work.

Noeleen Heyzer, executive director of the UN Development Fund for Women, said rampant demand for prostitutes and cheap labor has made people trafficking a growing problem for most countries in the region.

"It's time for ASEAN to come up with a regional declaration and a new treaty to improve the campaign against this transnational problem," Heyzer said, referring to the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

An estimated 250,000 women and children are being trafficked through and out of Southeast Asia annually, officials have said.

Speaking in an interview with The Associated Press, Heyzer said human trafficking was particularly acute in the Mekong subregion, which includes areas of Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, Myanmar, as well as China's Yunnan province.

The area is home to 250 million people, many of whom live in poverty. -- AP