Indonesia’s Christian-majority province of East Nusa Tenggara, a known human trafficking hub, is hosting this year’s summit
Indonesian President Joko Widodo speaks at the ASEAN summit in Labuan Bajo on the Catholic majority island of Flores on May 10. (Photo -- Cabinet Secretariat)
Church leaders and advocacy groups have asked the ongoing ASEAN summit in Indonesia to put in place concrete steps to combat human trafficking.
“What is more important is real action and the steps that will really make an impact, and bring in significant changes,” said Father Chrisanctus Paschalis Saturnus, an activist who works among migrant workers.
President Joko Widodo told reporters on May 8 in Labuan Bajo, the venue for the ASEAN summit on Flores island in the Christian-majority province of East Nusa Tenggara that "eradicating human trafficking was one of the aims of Indonesia” during its current ASEAN chairmanship.
Father Saturnus told UCA News on May 10 that the regional body of nations should discuss the steps to make sure the role of each country "because so far crimes have been repeating."
Father Saturnus said that it is not difficult to overcome the problem if all the countries involved act together "because we already know who the players are. But many parties have only half-hearted commitment,” he said.
“It is necessary to evaluate the obstacles," said the priest, who heads the Commission for Justice and Peace and the Pastoral Care of Migrant-Itinerant People of Pangkalpinang diocese in Riau Islands province. The island is close to the borders of Malaysia and Singapore.
With the theme ‘ASEAN Matters: Epicentrum of Growth,’ the 42nd ASEAN summit is being attended by leaders from 11 countries, including the Catholic majority Timor-Leste, which has observer status.
“The summit also needs to discuss efforts to protect crusaders against human trafficking,” the priest said, referring to his tiff in March with the deputy head of the State Intelligence Agency in the Riau Island province.
Father Marthen Jenarut, head of Ruteng Diocese's Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation Commission, said it is good that the ASEAN summit is held in East Nusa Tenggara province, which is a known hub for human trafficking.
“Since several years ago, this province has been declared a human trafficking emergency area,” Father Jenarut told UCA News.
East Nusa Tenggara province is the largest victim of human trafficking in Indonesia. Data from the province’s Migrant Worker Protection Agency showed that 480 migrant workers from the province died abroad from 2018 to May 2022 and only 17 of them had legal status.
"I hope that this summit can produce a firm commitment as well as collaborative work between countries to minimize human trafficking cases," Father Jenarut said.
Carmelite Father Eko Aldianto, said the fight against human trafficking needs to be "balanced with the attitude and professionalism of institutions.” He is the executive secretary of the Indonesian bishops’ Commission for Justice and Peace and the Pastoral Care of Migrant-Itinerant People.
Wahyu Susilo, who heads the non-governmental agency Migrant Care, added that ASEAN countries need to have the same perception in eradicating human trafficking.
"We also encourage ASEAN to take concrete steps to develop cross-border institutional infrastructure," he said.
According to the US administration’s Trafficking In Person report in 2022, the majority of Southeast Asian countries were either listed in Tier 2 Watch List or Tier 3.
Malaysia, Cambodia, Vietnam and Myanmar were on Tier 3 as they “do not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and are not making significant efforts to do so.”
The report has downgraded Indonesia to Tier 2 Watch List, saying that the country’s anti-trafficking legislation is inconsistent with international law.
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