By NNN-MNA
Nay Pyi Taw : Myanmar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has issued a statement rejecting the sixth annual “Trafficking in Persons Reportâ€? of the United States Department of State.
It said the report issued this month is a compendium of situations in selected countries. Although the stated aim of the US is to eradicate trafficking in persons, internationally, the report lacks objectivity and does not fully reflect Myanmar’s concerted efforts against human trafficking.
With regard to prosecution, the report recognizes the progress made by the government throughout the past year. The report notes that police identified over 400 traffickers in 191 cases in 2006 and that information sharing with the international organizations had improved.
It also states that the police units that have received anti-trafficking training have provided separate
smuggling and trafficking statistics.
With regard to protection, it states that the Department of Social Welfare provides temporary shelters to repatriated trafficking victims at eight vocational training centres and the victims have a right to file civil suits and seek legal action against the traffickers.
The report mentions that the government refers victims to the few NGOs and international organizations providing re-integration assistance.
With regard to prevention, though the Government is relentlessly fighting this complex problem, the report only states that the government has marginally increased its efforts to prevent trafficking in persons, thereby failing to faithfully reflect the true situation.
The report recognizes that the Myanmar Women’s Affairs Federation conducted almost 8,000 educational sessions for women around the country that included information about the risks of trafficking.
The report also recognizes the government’s distribution of pamphlets, publications of press articles and airing of television and radio plays on trafficking.
The ministry said that the Myanmar Government had been tackling the menace of trafficking in persons as a national duty and in co-operation with UN agencies, INGOs, NGOs and all concerned stakeholders.
It added that despite these persistent efforts, which the report itself duly noted, the State Department had failed to promote Myanmar’s status from Tier-3 again this year and the government therefore totally rejected the placement of Myanmar in Tier-3 of the report.