離開
進入《TAIPEI TIMES》 US lauds Taipei’s fight against trafficking
From left, Minister of the Interior Yeh Jiunn-rong, Vice President Chen Chien-jen, Duke University professor Judith Kelley and American Institute in Taiwan Deputy Director Robert Forden bang gavels at the International Workshop on Strategies for Combating Human Trafficking in Taipei yesterday. Photo: Peter Lo, Taipei Times
By Cheng-hung-ta and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with staff writer
Taiwan’s efforts at combating human trafficking have been listed as “Tier 1” on the US Department of State’s Trafficking in Persons Report, American Institute in Taiwan （AIT） Deputy Director Robert Forden said yesterday at the International Workshop on Strategies for Combating Human Trafficking.
The workshop, which concludes in Taipei today, yesterday hosted a talk on the effectiveness of efforts to counter human trafficking over the past decade.
It is to hold discussions today on employee holidays, the fishing industry and domestic labor.
Domestic and foreign officials, experts and representatives from non-governmental organizations （NGO） attended the workshop.
Forden said the nation’s exemplary efforts have ensured that the US would continue to work with Taiwan on human trafficking issues and share its methods with other nations.
The international community should establish preventive measures, with victims of human trafficking at their core, that would serve to limit smuggling, Forden said.
Only about 1,000 people were prosecuted for human trafficking out of an estimated 100,000 incidents in Asia last year, Forden said.
Forden highlighted the report’s recommendation that Taiwan should “increase efforts to prosecute and convict traffickers under the anti-trafficking law and sentence convicted traffickers to sufficiently stringent punishments.”
While the international political environment prevented Taiwan from signing the UN Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, the nation would nonetheless contribute to such efforts, Vice President Chen Chien-jen （陳建仁） said.
Chen said that Taiwan is a good model for Asia-Pacific nations, as it has consistently been awarded Tier 1 status in US state department trafficking reports.
The annual workshop contributes to prevention, prosecution, protection and partnership policies against human trafficking, Minister of the Interior Yeh Jiunn-rong （葉俊榮） said, adding that Taiwan hopes to ameliorate the work environment of migrant workers and fishermen.
However, judges sentenced traffickers to lenient penalties disproportionate to their crimes, weakening deterrence and undercutting the efforts of police and prosecutors, the report said.
新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES
