RI placed in Tier 2 in U.S. report on human trafficking

RI placed in Tier 2 in U.S. report on human trafficking

Agencies, Washington/Jakarta

Indonesia was placed in Tier 2 along with seven other Asian
nations in an annual U.S. report on human trafficking.

"It is an indication that the country is making serious and
sustained efforts to meet minimum standards for the elimination
of human trafficking, but does not yet comply with all such
standards," the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta said in a press release
sent to The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.

The press release was made available to publicize the results
of the fourth annual Trafficking in Persons Report, which was
released U.S Secretary of State Colin Powell in Washington on
Monday.

Besides Indonesia, Tier 2 Asian nations comprised Afghanistan,
Cambodia, China, Malaysia, Nepal, Singapore and Sri Lanka.

Japan is also among seven Asian nations placed on a U.S.
"watch list" of countries involved in human trafficking,
officials said.

A key destination for women and children trafficked for forced
labor and sexual exploitation, Japan was relegated to a so-called
Tier 2 watch list by the U.S. report for the year 2003.

In the previous report, Japan was on Tier 2 but was relegated
to a special watch list with a warning that it could be
downgraded further to Tier 3, of countries not making significant
efforts to combat human trafficking.

Nations deemed to be complying with international efforts to
fight trafficking are placed in "Tier 1," while those making
"significant efforts" are placed in "Tier 2."

For the first time in its four-year history, the report
created a Tier 2 watch list for countries that are not yet in
compliance with U.S. legal standards and may be downgraded, but
have promised to make or are in the process of making significant
efforts to meet the requirements, officials said.

Aside from Japan, Asian nations on the watch list were India,
Laos, Pakistan, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.

Hong Kong, South Korea and Taiwan are on Tier 1 while Tier 3
consists of Myanmar, Bangladesh and North Korea.

"Japan does not comply with the minimum standards," John
Miller, director of the State Department's office to monitor and
combat trafficking in persons, told a media briefing.

"We believe that there has been a tremendous gap in Japan that
has a huge problem with slavery -- particularly sex slavery -- a
tremendous gap between the size of the problem and the resources
and efforts devoted to addressing the problem," he said.

Japan's trafficking problem is "large," the report said,
adding that organized crime groups that operate internationally,
like the Yakuza, are involved.

"The Japanese government must begin to fully employ its
resources to address this serious human rights crime within its
borders," the report said.

Last year, Japan's National Police Agency arrested 41 people
for trafficking-related offenses, eight of whom were traffickers.
Human trafficking victims around the globe are women and girls,
as young as six years old, forced into commercial sexual
exploitation, men trafficked into forced labor and children
forced to become soldiers.

The report estimated that there were up to 800,000 cases each
year of people being illegally transported across international
borders.

It cited one documented example: Khan, an 11-year-old girl
living in the hills of Laos, taken by traffickers in Southeast
Asia to an embroidery factory in a large city.

She and dozens of other children were made to work 14 hours a
day for food and clothing, but for no wages.

When Khan protested this, she was beaten. When she protested
again, she was stuffed into a closet where the factory owner's
son poured industrial chemicals over her and disfigured her, the
report said.

"The trade in people is a major source of revenue, in the
billions, for organized crime, along with the drug trade and the
arms trade," Miller said.