Tackling Cross-border Human Trafficking

Mr Christopher de Souza asked the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs whether the establishment of the INTERPOL Global Complex in Singapore will enhance the regional and inter-government effort to

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reduce and abolish the incidence of cross-border human trafficking.

Thank you. Madam, Singapore has been working closely with the international community to fight human trafficking, also known as "Trafficking In Persons" or TIP.

In 2010, Singapore formed the Inter-Agency Taskforce on TIP, co-chaired by MHA and MOM, to develop and implement whole-of-Government strategies to combat TIP more effectively. In March 2012, Singapore launched a National Plan of Action that maps our strategies and plans to combat TIP.

The TIP Taskforce works closely with overseas law enforcement agencies and embassies of countries that victims may originate from. This close cooperation ensures that reports of trafficking are quickly and thoroughly investigated. Information sharing and upstream enforcement against human traffickers also prevent other innocent victims from being exploited.

Singapore participates in various regional and international efforts to combat TIP, including the ASEAN Senior Officials Meeting on Transnational Crime (SOMTC) and its Working Group on Trafficking in Persons. At the operational level, Police attend meetings of the ASEAN Heads of Specialist Units (HSUs) on Trafficking. These are useful platforms for enhancing cooperation and sharing of information among the ASEAN countries. Beyond ASEAN, we also work with partners, such as the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Group of Friends (GoF) United Against Human Trafficking in New York and Geneva, to find better ways to combat TIP.

The Member has also asked about INTERPOL. Police have been working with INTERPOL to share information on trafficking, as well as offer assistance to investigate into potential TIP cases. Comprising 190 member countries, INTERPOL facilitates international police cooperation even where diplomatic relations do not exist between particular countries. It offers law enforcement agencies opportunities to network and to enhance their capabilities through sharing of information, conducting training workshops, and collaborating on tactical operations. With the establishment of the INTERPOL Global Complex

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for Innovation (IGCI) in Singapore, we will have a cutting-edge research and development facility for the identification of crimes and criminals, innovative training, operational support and partnerships, to combat transnational and syndicated crimes, such as human trafficking.

Beyond operational and enforcement issues, MSF works with regional counterparts and non-governmental organisations (NGOs), in providing care and protection to TIP victims. For instance, the voluntary welfare organisation running our TIP shelter collaborates with a network of NGOs in various countries to provide assistance and temporary accommodation to TIP victims upon their return to their home country.

Singapore remains committed to fight TIP in a comprehensive way and also strategically and effectively. Given the complexity and transnational nature of TIP crimes, continued international and regional partnerships are critical to fighting such crimes.

I would like to thank the Minister for his comprehensive reply. I have seen some of the views of NGOs. In fact, I spoke with one NGO, made up of Catholic nuns, and they gave me a paper which they did research on, and they came up with some proposals on how to help the accused trafficker. Therefore, would the Ministry be open to more cooperation with impartial NGOs to reach out to the vulnerable ones – vulnerable women and children – because I think it would be easier for them, especially if they are trafficked on vulnerable positions, to speak with a disarming NGO rather than a Government officer who perhaps wants to interview them rather than just receive sharing from these vulnerable people?

The second supplementary question is on legal tools for extra-jurisdictional reach. Many of these are cross-border crimes. Would we be open to creating an Act or a Bill with extra-jurisdictional reach, where the aiding and the abetting of the crime happen overseas?

The third supplementary question is this. The Misuse of Drugs Act is feared in Singapore. And I think we need, in my humble view, something similar in the form of legislature to deter and attack the scourge of human trafficking within ASEAN, especially if it comes through our corridors. Therefore, would there be open consideration for a similar Act, say, an Organised Crime Act, which would go upstream and tackle the people who are actually behind this horrible trade?

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Madam, I thank the Member for his detailed suggestions. First, on cooperation with NGOs – I think the Member used the term "impartial NGOs". First, in general, there were four prongs in the way we are dealing with this issue, and I want to reiterate them because I think it is noteworthy. It is prevention of the crime; prosecution of the offenders; protection of the victims and partnerships with other countries, embassies and NGOs, the private sector. The Member's suggestion on cooperation with NGOs is, therefore, welcomed. We are open to the idea. We work closely with MSF. Depending on the nature of the proposal and the ideas that are put on the table, I think we can take that discussion forward.

Second, I think the two points are inter-related. The Member's question was whether we would contemplate, given the nature of this crime and given it is transnational, transboundary and organised in nature, and consider an Act, like an Organised Crime Act, and whether we would contemplate extra-jurisdictional reach in that regard. We are studying the merits of the possibility of such an Act for organised crime and we will take into account some of the points the Member has made.