Kuala Lumpur, 'promoted' in the fight against trafficking but the phenomenon continues to grow

Sunday 30 July is World Anti-Trafficking Day. In South-East Asia, the US State Department recently reported some improvements in Malaysia, where the phenomenon is also sadly widespread among rubber and palm oil workers. But according to local NGOs, the government's efforts still do not meet the minimum standards for eliminating the scourge.

Kuala Lumpur (AsiaNews) - There are many countries in the world affected by the sad phenomenon of human trafficking, as places of origin, transit or destination for the victims. Women and girls continue to be the main victims of traffickers globally given that according to the UN the majority of victims of trafficking are for the purpose of sexual exploitation and 35% of those trafficked for forced labor are women.

Exactly 10 years after the establishment of the World Day against Trafficking in Human Beings, which falls on Sunday 30 July, one of the countries most affected by the phenomenon in South-East Asia - Malaysia - is discussing the real situation.

The US State Department's 2023 Trafficking in Persons Report gave it a slightly better grade than the past 2 years; however, much work still remains to be done.

While Malaysia was previously assigned level 3 out of 4 on the Watch List, as the government "does not meet minimum standards to eliminate trafficking and is not making significant efforts to do so", this year it falls into level 2 alert, an intermediate category that includes governments that say they want to suppress trafficking.

But the number of victims continues to rise, and there is little evidence that the phenomenon is being tackled effectively. Malaysia is here on the list along with countries such as Vietnam, Bulgaria and Serbia.

Malaysia has an anti-trafficking law called the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants Act which dates back to 2007, but according to the International Labor Organization, this act only came into force in 2010. the report signals a worsening in terms of the numbers of people involved, especially workers victims of labor exploitation in the rubber and palm oil sectors, in 2021 the government introduced an ambitious plan to reduce human trafficking called NAPTIP 3.0. Its entry into full force in 2022 was enough to lower the rating from level 3 to Watch List level 2.

The civil society that fights trafficking with associations and NGOs, however, sees its forces dwindling: the "TIP Heroes" site of the US State Department, for example, lists only two Malaysians, including Irene Fernandez - who died recently - who had founded in 1993 Tenanganita, an NGO that continues to fight for the rights of migrants and refugees victims of trafficking. But the opera will now have to go on without his strength and her charisma.

Another Malaysian NGO, SUHAKAM, said it was perplexed by the country's improvement in the fight against trafficking ranking, given that the administration's efforts to eradicate the problem have not increased much over the years.

• Trafficking