18th SOMTC working group meeting on trafficking in persons held

The 18th SOMTC Working Group Meeting on Trafficking in Persons was held yesterday afternoon through videoconferencing at the Office of the Anti-Human Trafficking Police Force.
The meeting was attended by Myanmar representatives led by Commander of the Anti-Human Trafficking Police Force Police Brig-Gen Myint Htoo and representatives from the ASEAN member countries and the ASEAN Secretariat.
In a discussion about the exchange of ideas on opportunities to solve human trafficking, Police Brig-Gen Myint Htoo said the situation of human trafficking in Myanmar is on average 19.68 per cent within the country, and 80.32 per cent of the cases are abroad.
Myanmar participated in Phase I of Operation Storm Markers, a process of combatting human trafficking and human smuggling in March under the plan of Interpol, and the investigation was carried out, with a developed national plan, to prevent the torture, exploitation and trafficking of labour on fishing boats.
Action plans are developed to reduce human trafficking according to regions/states where human trafficking is common and prevent trafficking and forced labour from occurring. He discussed the new trends and forms of human trafficking, human traffickers’ finding targets with the use of social media, the benefits of amended procedures in investigating and taking action against human trafficking.
After that, the ASEAN member countries discussed the country-wise anti-human trafficking efforts, the development of the Boho Human Trafficking Action Plan (2.0), duties and powers of national representatives for the implementation of the ASEAN Convention against Trafficking in Persons, particularly women and children, and issues related to let Indonesia as the host country. — MNA