The ASEAN Leaders’ Declaration on Combating Trafficking in Persons Caused by The Abuse of Technology was adopted during the 42nd ASEAN Summit on May 2023 in Labuan Bajo, Indonesia.
It addresses growing concerns on the use of technology for trafficking in persons (TIP) in Southeast Asia, including online child trafficking and forced labour in online scamming.
The declaration emphasises the complex nature of TIP and how the ASEAN region should respond, in accordance with the legal framework of UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and the ASEAN Convention Against Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children (ACTIP).
In this episode of Conversation with Chem, our ASEAN Program Director Archemides Siguan spoke with Mr Rolliansyah Soemirat (Bapak Roy), Director of ASEAN Political Security Cooperation, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA), Republic of Indonesia about the significance of the Declaration and Indonesia's plans to work together with other ASEAN Member States towards its implementation.
The Declaration commits ASEAN to strengthening regional cooperation mechanisms and improving victim protection and support efforts in related to trafficking facilitated by technology.
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