Image via Wikipedia BANGKOK, Thailand – Thirty youth leaders from Mekong have gathered here to discuss the problem of child trafficking and migration in the Asian sub-region and tell their governments what needs to be done, organizers said.
The youth delegates from Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, and Yunnan province of China tackle the vulnerabilities faced by children and youth in the Greater Mekong Sub-region.
“As we are all aware, human trafficking is a modern form of slavery and a severe problem worldwide. It is one of the worst violations of human rights,” according to the Ministry of Social, Development and Human Security in Thailand.
With a robust economy, Thailand is a favorite destination country for trafficked persons in Mekong, said Brian Jungwiwattanaporn, Regional Cross-border Program information coordinator of Save the Children-UK. Thailand hosts about two million documented and undocumented migrants, he added.
“Trafficked persons are deceived, sold or subjected to slavery-like conditions, under different forms and various sectors such as construction, agriculture, domestic service, prostitution, pornography, sexual tourism, and organ removal, among others,” the Thai ministry said.
The 2010 Mekong Youth Forum is the third such forum in the region. The Philippine Educational Theater Association helps facilitate the workshops.
On the last day of the forum Friday, senior government officials from the six Mekong countries will listen to the issues the youth delegates will raise in a bid to influence state policies to better protect children in the region, said Jungwiwattanaporn.
“The Mekong Youth Forum 3 is a time for them to speak and be listened to. It is also a time for them to listen more closely to each of us adults, especially those in government,” said Edelweiss F. Silan of Save the Children Regional Cross-Border Programme.
“There are expectations that after this forum, there will be joint actions between children and adults to bring about true changes that will curb the human trafficking and risky migration situations in our region,” Silan said.
The 2010 forum, which began on October 24 and will run until October 29, is also meant to institutionalize child and youth participation in local, national and regional anti-trafficking processes.
Hosted by the government of Thailand, this year’s forum is jointly organized by the International Labour Organization (ILO), Save the Children UK, World Vision, and the UN Inter-Agency Project on Human Trafficking (UNIAP). Dennis Maliwanag
Source: Inquirer.Net
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