１.Trafficking in Persons as the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation.

 

２.It is a transnational organised crime of global reach, generating an estimated US$32 billion in annual revenues. It ranks as the world’s second largest criminal industry after the trade in illicit drugs, and is the fastest growing at the same time. The Asia-Pacific region records by far the highest rates of human trafficking in the world. The ILO 2012 Global Estimate of Forced Labour estimates that 11.7 million victims of forced labor are found in the Asia-Pacific region. This figure is three times greater than in the second most affected region, the African continent.

 

３.The Greater-Mekong Sub-region (GMS: Cambodia, China, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand and Viet Nam) features some of the most extensive and specific flows of migration and human trafficking in the Asia-Pacific region. These flows are characterized by strong cross-border patterns due to factors such as cultural linkages, traditional migration trends, long and porous borders, as well as significant imbalances in the socio-economic development levels of the countries therein. Trafficking in persons across this region takes place for a wide range of purposes including for forced labour, sexual exploitation, begging, forced marriage and illegal adoption.

 

 

The United Nations Action for Cooperation against Trafficking in Persons (UN-ACT) is a 5-year regional project aimed at supporting the governments and the anti-trafficking community in Southeast Asia in their efforts to fight trafficking in persons. UN-ACT is managed by the United Nations Development Programme’s Asia-Pacific Regional Centre (UNDP APRC). The project will build upon the work undertaken from 2000 to 2013 by the United Nations Inter-Agency Project on Human Trafficking (UNIAP).

 

 

UN-ACT aims to support policy and operational responses to human trafficking within the GMS, in collaboration with the GMS governments and civil society partners.  With the changing trends in human trafficking in the GMS, this structure will allow UN-ACT to be responsive to current and emerging problems. UN-ACT’s capacity to liaise with both government and non-governmental organisations, both centrally and at the local level, enables it to translate what takes place at the policy level into effective action on the ground and vice versa, thereby ensuring that policies are informed by realities.

 

 

The COMMIT Process is a unique sub-regional mechanism through which the six governments in the Mekong region come together to effectively fight trafficking in their region. UN-ACT will provide support to COMMIT to ensure that the Process becomes sustainable and self-reliant through a strengthening of institutional arrangements, leadership, knowledge and accountability. This will ensure that the governments deliver the services that victims are entitled to and effectively punish the perpetrators of the crime of trafficking in persons.

 

In recognition of the human trafficking flows and linkages that exist between COMMIT countries and many other countries in the broader region, UN-ACT will engage with a broader geographical area that is affected by the same trafficking flows as COMMIT countries.  This work will include engagement with regional mechanisms such as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the Bali Process on People Smuggling, Trafficking in Persons and Related Transnational Crime (Bali Process).  The aim is to bolster cooperation with other countries and promote cross-learning and stronger linkages.

 

The lack of reliable data on trafficking in persons has long been recognised as a weakness and significant obstacle in effective anti-trafficking work. UN-ACT will support evidence-based research in order to fill this gap. The project will work with research institutions from both within and outside the region, to enable key actors including governments to take the lead in effectively monitoring the trafficking situation in their countries.  This work will also support the development and use of harmonized research tools with common indicators to monitor the effectiveness of anti-trafficking work and ensure high quality.

 

Civil society plays a key role in the fight against trafficking in persons by providing services directly to victims on the one hand, and holding governments responsible for fulfilling their duties to protect and support victims and punish perpetrators on the other. Through its small grants fund to civil society, UN-ACT will boost the capacity of this key stakeholder by facilitating communication between policymakers and frontlines responders and supporting their work to assist the victims of human trafficking. The project will also provide technical support, mentoring and coaching to civil society in a wide range of areas including fund raising, management, and monitoring and evaluation.

 

Furthermore, as private companies increasingly recognise their responsibility to ensure that their production processes are devoid of abusive labour practices including human trafficking or exploitation, UN-ACT will work with private sector partners to raise awareness about human trafficking and the role that the private sector can play in combating trafficking in collaboration with governments, multilateral organisations, and civil society.

 

 

 

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