AICHR holds workshop on community policing approach to prevent trafficking in persons

JAKARTA, 23-25 August 2021 – The ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) organised the AICHR Capacity Building on Trafficking in Persons and Human Rights: Community Policing Approach to Victim Identification and Prevention of Trafficking in Persons from 23-25 August via video-conference.

Over 150 participants from relevant ministries, national agencies and task forces focused on combating trafficking in persons, national agencies of witness and victim’s protection, national human rights institutions, ASEAN sectoral bodies and civil society organisations from all ASEAN Member States and Timor-Leste attended the workshop.

At the three-day workshop, participants exchanged views, experiences and good practices on victim identification, human rights and gender perspectives to trafficking in persons, trafficking in persons cas e handling, community policing approaches, police-public partnership, national and regional referral mechanisms for trafficked persons and their challenges due to COVID-19.

In her opening remarks, the Representative of Indonesia to the AICHR, H.E. Wahyuningrum underscored the importance of integrating human rights and gender perspectives in combating trafficking in persons. She noted that the measures to address the issue should involve a victim-centred approach and civil society participation.

On his part, Lead Shepherd on Trafficking in Persons of the ASEAN Senior Official Meeting on Transnational Crime, Undersecretary Bernardo C. Florece Jr., emphasised the effective use of ASEAN’s mechanisms in implementing the ASEAN Convention Against Trafficking in Persons, particularly in establishing cooperation between the police and community.

Echoing his sentiments, Counsellor Jillian Ray of the Australian Mission to ASEAN highlighted the importance of good relationships between the community and the police to enhance the perception of public security and early detection of crimes, particularly in relation to the trafficking in persons.

Participants also shared some reflections and recommendations on the need to:

• build and maintain public trust to institutionalise community policing approach in addressing trafficking in persons. Hence, it is important for police institutions to show compliance with public services ethics, transparent, accountable and the respect to human rights,
• strengthen cooperation and coordination among all relevant sectors, including civil society organisations in addressing trafficking in persons, particularly to effectively operationalise referral system to help trafficked persons,
• establish an ASEAN directory on services providers for victims of trafficking in persons,
• develop a clear guideline and procedures for community policing based on human rights principles and standards in ASEAN,
• a regional initiative that will allow all ASEAN member states to share good practices on community policing approach in handling trafficking in persons cases.

The workshop is part of the implementation of the Bohol Work Plan on Trafficking in Person 2017-2020 and the AICHR Five-Year Work Plan 2021-2025. AICHR appreciates the support from the Australian Government through the ASEAN-Australia Counter Trafficking (ASEAN-ACT) programme towards the realisation of the workshop.