RP proposes ways to enforce law on human trafficking

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines has highlighted before the United Nations the importance of protecting the rights of victims of human trafficking.

Reporting to the Department of Foreign Affairs, the Philippine mission to the UN in Geneva said the proposal was presented during a seminar of the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva.

Commission of Human Rights Commissioner Cecilia Quisumbing, a panelist in the seminar, presented the initiatives and good practices in implementing the Anti-Human Trafficking Act, like the setting up of specialized units in law enforcement and government agencies, and cooperation among human rights agencies and governments in Southeast Asia.

The seminar was an initiative of the Philippines and Germany, and organized by the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), following a resolution adopted by the UN Human Rights Council with over 200 participants from governments, international experts from international organizations and civil society.

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Navanethem Pillay opened the proceedings, while UN Human Rights Council president Alex Van Meeuwen and UN Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children, Joy Ezeilo delivered welcome remarks.

The recommended Principles and Guidelines on Human Rights and Human Trafficking developed by the OHCHR were highlighted as a practical tool to safeguard the human rights of victims of trafficking.

Denis Lepatan, Philippine deputy permanent representative to the UN in Geneva, delivered a statement underscoring the value of a human rights-based approach in fighting trafficking of people.

“It focuses on the needs of individuals at each step in the trafficking chain, and therefore, it can help save and repair more human lives which are being daily destroyed by trafficking,” he said.

Many other countries and experts also shared their best practices in the seminar.

Key recommendations from the seminar include the need to build capacities to effectively identify victims of trafficking; provide victims with the needed services and assistance; promote ratification and adherence to the UN Protocol on Combating Trafficking in Persons and other relevant international human rights treaties on protecting the rights of women, children, and migrants; enhance training for government officials and service providers on the various dimensions on human trafficking and primacy of human rights, and; strengthen partnerships with civil society, the media and private sector.

It is estimated that hundreds of thousands of persons from many nations are trafficked for purposes of exploitation each year, with 70 percent of victims being women and children.