New national approach to tackle human trafficking in Singapore, Singapore News & Top Stories - The Straits Times:
Showing posts with label Singapore. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Singapore. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 16, 2016
Tuesday, April 29, 2014
Modern-day slavery commonplace on fishing vessels | The Jakarta Post
Source: The Jakarta Post
http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/04/27/modern-day-slavery-commonplace-fishing-vessels.html
Singapore has one of the world’s busiest airports, at which thousands of sailors arrive and leave the island city-state every day.
Many of these are young Indonesians who work on the sea, some of whom have enough skills to meet international seamen qualifications. But others fail to meet even the minimum skill requirements.
Continue:http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/04/27/modern-day-slavery-commonplace-fishing-vessels.html
Monday, June 24, 2013
US human trafficking report 'continues to present inaccuracies': Singapore
http://news.asiaone.com/News/Latest%2BNews/Singapore/Story/A1Story20130624-431888.html
Source: Asia One
Source: Asia One
SINGAPORE - The statement by the Singapore Inter-agency Taskforce on Trafficking in Persons (TIP) added that this is because the report by the US Department of State did not take into account Singapore's laws.
Here is the press release from Singapore Inter-Agency Taskforce on Trafficking-in-Persons:
The Singapore Inter-agency Taskforce on Trafficking in Persons (TIP) has reviewed the US Department of State (DOS)'s TIP Report 2013.
While the DOS TIP Report has generally captured Singapore's key TIP efforts, we note that it continues to present inaccuracies and misrepresentations that have arisen from the lack of an objective methodology to take into account laws and domestic context in other countries that are different from the United States.
Singapore remains fully committed in our fight against TIP as we believe that this is the right thing to do to safeguard bona fide victims who fall prey to the scourge. This was our impetus to set up a dedicated Taskforce to coordinate a national effort against TIP, and the subsequent launch of a National Plan of Action (NPA) in 2012.
Key achievements in the past year
Singapore's NPA, which was developed in consultation with our partners, adopted a "4P" strategy to proactively combat TIP: Prevention, Prosecution, Protection and Partnership.
Our efforts for 2012 had been guided by the initiatives laid out in the NPA and we were able to achieve all that we set out according to the schedule.
Specifically, this includes securing a dedicated budget to fund various TIP initiatives, strengthening inter-agency coordination and heightening awareness of TIP amongst Government officials, workers and members of the public.
The Taskforce has increased the number of frontline officers and has sharpened their enforcement capabilities through training. We have also further enhanced our internal referral processes between enforcement agencies to expedite investigations.
The emphases on training and referral processes are important as they create a strong foundation that empowers our frontline officers to accurately detect and swiftly deal with TIP cases in the pursuit of justice.
Focus for the years ahead
Singapore remains committed to combat human trafficking as we progressively implement our NPA initiatives in the coming years.
We believe that our small geographical size and tough laws have generally, and will continue to, deter crime syndicates from operating in Singapore.
In early January, the Taskforce announced the launch of a TIP Public Awareness Grant, to encourage more public education initiatives that would help raise public awareness of TIP crimes.
Greater public awareness of TIP can facilitate early reporting of such incidents to the authorities. The Taskforce is in the midst of finalising the recipients of this grant, and will be announcing the recipients soon.
While we welcome the United States' efforts to produce an annual report to highlight this global issue, we continue to call on the DOS to adopt a more objective methodology to report countries' TIP efforts in future editions of its TIP Report.
This will ensure that a consistent, transparent, and measurable standard is applied to all countries taking into account the different legal structures and domestic contexts of countries highlighted in the report.
With or without the TIP Report, Singapore takes a serious view of TIP and its related issues. The Taskforce has built up the momentum and will continue to work closely with civil society organisations (CSOs) and other institutions to tackle this issue and deliver the NPA initiatives.
Friday, July 20, 2012
TODAYonline | Singapore | HOME comments on Govt response to US human trafficking report
http://www.todayonline.com/Singapore/EDC120717-0000001/HOME-comments-on-Govt-response-to-US-human-trafficking-report
Source: TODAYonline
Saturday, July 21, 2012
SINGAPORE - The Humanitarian Organization for Migration Economics (HOME) has issued a statement on the United States' latest Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report, as well as the Singapore Government's response to the report.
It said it considered Singapore's Tier 2 ranking - given to countries that do not comply with minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking, but is making significant efforts to do so - to be an "appropriate assessment".
The ranking recognised the efforts of the Government and the Inter-agency Taskforce on Trafficking in Persons (the Taskforce) in the past year - such as the launch of the National Plan of Action against Trafficking in Persons - but also reflected the lack of adequate legislation in Singapore to address trafficking, HOME said.
HOME also addressed the rebuttals by the Singapore Government to the TIP report. Responding to the TIP report stating that employers' ability to repatriate workers any time during during their contracts has fuelled workers' fears of being deported, the Taskforce had said that employers are required to give notice of termination in line with the provisions in the employment contract, or in line with the notice requirements under the Employment Act.
HOME pointed out that the notice periods in the Employment Act are "grossly insufficient" - one day's notice or one day's salary in lieu of notice for workers employed for less than 26 weeks - and employers can also cancel work permits without informing the worker in advance.
On the Government saying that only the Manpower Ministry can impose employment bars - the TIP report had stated that employers can submit complaints to have such bars imposed - HOME noted that employers may have considerable influence on MOM.
"Employers may lodge police reports and submit negative feedback about workers and MOM may blacklist them based on such feedback," HOME said. "Many employers also use the threat of 'blacklisting' to discourage workers from lodging complaints."
While the Taskforce has said that there are stringent penalties imposed on convicted traffickers, HOME noted that there are key aspects of the international definition trafficking set out in the United Nations' Palermo Protocol not found in Singapore's laws, and this means that many cases - especially labour trafficking cases - remain undetected and unprosecuted.
"Worse still, there are cases in which trafficked persons themselves have been criminalised, especially when they are undocumented and are treated as immigration offenders whilst their traffickers remain at large," HOME said.
The Taskforce should identify gaps in current laws and put in place a comprehensive legislative response to combat trafficking in Singapore, it added.
HOME noted that repatriation companies have still not been outlawed in Singapore, even though their activities, which involve the confinement of migrant workers, are illegal.
"Conducting just one operation to inspect what is an undesirable and illegal operation is insufficient as a response. Further, almost all of the 2,000 workers that HOME sees every year have had their work permit cards and passports held by their employers," HOME said. "This common practice of employers confiscating passports and work permit cards must be urgently addressed by MOM."
Elsewhere, the organisation suggested that a comprehensive victim assistance programme be made available to suspected trafficking victims to pursue cases against their traffickers, and the availability of such programmes should not be conditional upon the participation of a trafficked individual in a prosecution case.
As for assistance for victims, HOME said it is concerned that the Government has insufficient space to house female migrant workers who have been subjected to exploitation and trafficking.
"HOME strongly believes that a far more comprehensive response is required of the Taskforce. Specialised victim assistance services are required, including shelters specifically intended for victims of trafficking," the organisation said.
Source: TODAYonline
Saturday, July 21, 2012
SINGAPORE - The Humanitarian Organization for Migration Economics (HOME) has issued a statement on the United States' latest Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report, as well as the Singapore Government's response to the report.
It said it considered Singapore's Tier 2 ranking - given to countries that do not comply with minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking, but is making significant efforts to do so - to be an "appropriate assessment".
The ranking recognised the efforts of the Government and the Inter-agency Taskforce on Trafficking in Persons (the Taskforce) in the past year - such as the launch of the National Plan of Action against Trafficking in Persons - but also reflected the lack of adequate legislation in Singapore to address trafficking, HOME said.
HOME also addressed the rebuttals by the Singapore Government to the TIP report. Responding to the TIP report stating that employers' ability to repatriate workers any time during during their contracts has fuelled workers' fears of being deported, the Taskforce had said that employers are required to give notice of termination in line with the provisions in the employment contract, or in line with the notice requirements under the Employment Act.
HOME pointed out that the notice periods in the Employment Act are "grossly insufficient" - one day's notice or one day's salary in lieu of notice for workers employed for less than 26 weeks - and employers can also cancel work permits without informing the worker in advance.
On the Government saying that only the Manpower Ministry can impose employment bars - the TIP report had stated that employers can submit complaints to have such bars imposed - HOME noted that employers may have considerable influence on MOM.
"Employers may lodge police reports and submit negative feedback about workers and MOM may blacklist them based on such feedback," HOME said. "Many employers also use the threat of 'blacklisting' to discourage workers from lodging complaints."
While the Taskforce has said that there are stringent penalties imposed on convicted traffickers, HOME noted that there are key aspects of the international definition trafficking set out in the United Nations' Palermo Protocol not found in Singapore's laws, and this means that many cases - especially labour trafficking cases - remain undetected and unprosecuted.
"Worse still, there are cases in which trafficked persons themselves have been criminalised, especially when they are undocumented and are treated as immigration offenders whilst their traffickers remain at large," HOME said.
The Taskforce should identify gaps in current laws and put in place a comprehensive legislative response to combat trafficking in Singapore, it added.
HOME noted that repatriation companies have still not been outlawed in Singapore, even though their activities, which involve the confinement of migrant workers, are illegal.
"Conducting just one operation to inspect what is an undesirable and illegal operation is insufficient as a response. Further, almost all of the 2,000 workers that HOME sees every year have had their work permit cards and passports held by their employers," HOME said. "This common practice of employers confiscating passports and work permit cards must be urgently addressed by MOM."
Elsewhere, the organisation suggested that a comprehensive victim assistance programme be made available to suspected trafficking victims to pursue cases against their traffickers, and the availability of such programmes should not be conditional upon the participation of a trafficked individual in a prosecution case.
As for assistance for victims, HOME said it is concerned that the Government has insufficient space to house female migrant workers who have been subjected to exploitation and trafficking.
"HOME strongly believes that a far more comprehensive response is required of the Taskforce. Specialised victim assistance services are required, including shelters specifically intended for victims of trafficking," the organisation said.
Sunday, April 8, 2012
TODAYonline | Singapore | Taskforce looking to bring cheer to human trafficking victims
http://www.todayonline.com/Singapore/EDC120409-0000017/Taskforce-looking-to-bring-cheer-to-human-trafficking-victims
Source: TODAYonline
Source: TODAYonline
Apr 09, 2012
SINGAPORE - Victims of human trafficking may soon have adequate shelter to remain in Singapore while their cases are being investigated.
Amid concerns that there is a lack of such facilities, an inter-agency taskforce - set up to tackle the problem of trafficking in persons - is reviewing the adequacy of shelters and will make the necessary recommendations next year.
The review is part of a National Plan of Action against Trafficking in Persons which was launched recently.
Currently, the Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics (HOME) runs two shelters - one for women, the other for men. The women's shelter has eight rooms and can accommodate 60 residents.
According to HOME president Bridget Tan, the shelter has been seeing many victims of abuse and trafficking - more than the number it can accommodate.
Ms Tan said: "It's hard for us to turn them away just because we are full house. We are not running a cinema or theatre where we can put a sign 'Full House' or a car park. We are talking about human beings that we have to try to respond to their needs. If we say no to them, we are full house, then where do they go to?"
In the shelter, the women find solace in creativity and self-development. One of its residents, Ms Nory Guillien, 31, said: "We have so many activities here. We do sewing, making beads for selling. Every Monday until Thursday we learn computer, English and cooking at the UWC school, and Friday, we do yoga."
According to Ms Tan, most of the people seeking help with the shelter are genuine cases.
"For the last eight years, the number of such persons who come to our shelter with no good reasons are very few."
She added: "Most of these cases, we actually sent them to the Ministry of Manpower and the police to really assess the case. So, we don't do it alone by ourselves and judge whether the employer is wrong or the worker is wrong."
Apart from providing the victims a roof over their heads, HOME has also started a financial assistance scheme under which the victims are given some money to tide them over while waiting for the court trials where they are needed as prosecution witnesses.
Said Ms Tan: "We try to give them financial help so that they can send home to their families, to their aged parents, to their siblings who are studying or even to their own children."
Amid concerns that there is a lack of such facilities, an inter-agency taskforce - set up to tackle the problem of trafficking in persons - is reviewing the adequacy of shelters and will make the necessary recommendations next year.
The review is part of a National Plan of Action against Trafficking in Persons which was launched recently.
Currently, the Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics (HOME) runs two shelters - one for women, the other for men. The women's shelter has eight rooms and can accommodate 60 residents.
According to HOME president Bridget Tan, the shelter has been seeing many victims of abuse and trafficking - more than the number it can accommodate.
Ms Tan said: "It's hard for us to turn them away just because we are full house. We are not running a cinema or theatre where we can put a sign 'Full House' or a car park. We are talking about human beings that we have to try to respond to their needs. If we say no to them, we are full house, then where do they go to?"
In the shelter, the women find solace in creativity and self-development. One of its residents, Ms Nory Guillien, 31, said: "We have so many activities here. We do sewing, making beads for selling. Every Monday until Thursday we learn computer, English and cooking at the UWC school, and Friday, we do yoga."
According to Ms Tan, most of the people seeking help with the shelter are genuine cases.
"For the last eight years, the number of such persons who come to our shelter with no good reasons are very few."
She added: "Most of these cases, we actually sent them to the Ministry of Manpower and the police to really assess the case. So, we don't do it alone by ourselves and judge whether the employer is wrong or the worker is wrong."
Apart from providing the victims a roof over their heads, HOME has also started a financial assistance scheme under which the victims are given some money to tide them over while waiting for the court trials where they are needed as prosecution witnesses.
Said Ms Tan: "We try to give them financial help so that they can send home to their families, to their aged parents, to their siblings who are studying or even to their own children."
Thursday, October 27, 2011
TODAYonline | Commentary | A modern-day slavery problem on our hands
sOURCE: http://www.todayonline.com/Commentary/EDC111025-0000378/A-modern-day-slavery-problem-on-our-hands
There is sadness in them and he looks as though he is carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders. Both characteristics almost certainly emanate from the horrors he has witnessed during his research.
These scenes are etched into his mind forever and sometimes, he says, trying to make a difference is like pushing water upstream.
But for the moment this Fellow of Harvard University, who advises governments and lawmakers around the world on trafficking policy, is determined to fight on. Explaining that all of us have a part to play in fighting the underground slave trade, the 36-year-old American academic says: "The process of acquiring and transporting individuals into some kind of coerced labour touches our lives more than we think because these people are put to work on all kinds of products which enter the global economy.
"So we may consume, on the other side of the world, unknowingly and unwittingly, but at some point in that supply chain it could be tainted by child servitude or human trafficking or some other kind of forced labour."
Mr Kara was recently invited by the United States Embassy in Singapore to enlighten academics, politicians and schoolchildren to the evils being committed by modern-day slave-drivers and how unsuspecting consumers are fuelling the process. His daring research in the field has seen him recognised as the world's leading authority on illegal slave trade and he is in constant demand from both the US government and the United Nations.
He says that much of the media spotlight focuses on the illegal sex trade, especially prevalent here in South-east Asia. It is a massive problem which, although involves a tiny proportion of trafficking victims, maybe only 4 or 5 per cent, generates as much as 40 per cent of total profits from forced labour.
"Sex trafficking gets the preponderance of the attention for obvious reasons," he concedes. "But while it's true that more people are trafficked into other forms of labour, sex trafficking is by far the most profitable form of human trafficking. A distant second might be organ trafficking."
"When you coerce a young woman, or even a boy, into 10, 15 or more commercial sex acts a day, day after day, month after month, year after year, the profits can be staggering. If you are exploiting someone through agriculture, mining or manufacturing, you can certainly make a lot of money but that rapid turnover of revenue generation only exists in forced prostitution.
"But I have investigated numerous industries. For example, fish and frozen shrimp are tainted throughout South-east Asia. Countries like Bangladesh, Vietnam, Thailand and China are involved. Rice, sugar, pig iron, mining for minerals throughout the Congo, these minerals which end up in our electronic devices, these mines are often tainted by forced labour; your granite work-tops could come from a mine in South-east Asia. The list of items and products is often endless," he says.
Mr Kara's biggest fear is the authorities are failing to nail the big bosses behind these scams and do not have the investigative or legislative firepower to cope with these fast-evolving systems.
He explains: "The criminal penalties for human trafficking are disproportionately anaemic to the benefits you can enjoy. It may be very short prison terms but, more importantly, small economic penalties. And human trafficking, like slavery, throughout history is an economic crime - people seek to maximise their profits by eliminating the cost of labour.
"In terms of organised crime networks, at most we are sometimes catching the finger of the hand, and the organisms still exist and can still function quite well."
Last year, Mr Kara wrote his first book, Sex Trafficking: Inside the Business of Modern Slavery, and next year, he hopes to launch the first fully-equipped research and policy centre for people trafficking at Harvard's John F Kennedy School of Government.
But he warns: "The traffickers are continuing to evolve and they are co-operating with each other very effectively. What's alarming to me is that Albanian mafia are cooperating with Italian mafia, who are working with Nigerian mafia, who are working with Chinese mafia to acquire people, move them into areas of exploitation, very seamlessly and effectively.
"It's far more sophisticated and complex now than when I started my research. We are numerous steps behind them in terms of international cooperation. They keep moving forward in their ability to do this internationally and we are stuck arguing on borders and jurisdictions, and in the meantime people are suffering."
Paul Gilfeather is the principal correspondent at Today.
Products from forced labour enter the global economy, and countries need to cooperate to nail traffickers
Updated 01:56 PM Oct 25, 2011
I am looking into the eyes of Mr Siddharth Kara (picture), the former investment banker who walked away from a lucrative career in finance 10 years ago to dedicate his life to fighting people trafficking and sex slavery. Photo by SION TOUHIG
Copyright © MediaCorp Press Ltd
There is sadness in them and he looks as though he is carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders. Both characteristics almost certainly emanate from the horrors he has witnessed during his research.
These scenes are etched into his mind forever and sometimes, he says, trying to make a difference is like pushing water upstream.
But for the moment this Fellow of Harvard University, who advises governments and lawmakers around the world on trafficking policy, is determined to fight on. Explaining that all of us have a part to play in fighting the underground slave trade, the 36-year-old American academic says: "The process of acquiring and transporting individuals into some kind of coerced labour touches our lives more than we think because these people are put to work on all kinds of products which enter the global economy.
"So we may consume, on the other side of the world, unknowingly and unwittingly, but at some point in that supply chain it could be tainted by child servitude or human trafficking or some other kind of forced labour."
Mr Kara was recently invited by the United States Embassy in Singapore to enlighten academics, politicians and schoolchildren to the evils being committed by modern-day slave-drivers and how unsuspecting consumers are fuelling the process. His daring research in the field has seen him recognised as the world's leading authority on illegal slave trade and he is in constant demand from both the US government and the United Nations.
He says that much of the media spotlight focuses on the illegal sex trade, especially prevalent here in South-east Asia. It is a massive problem which, although involves a tiny proportion of trafficking victims, maybe only 4 or 5 per cent, generates as much as 40 per cent of total profits from forced labour.
"Sex trafficking gets the preponderance of the attention for obvious reasons," he concedes. "But while it's true that more people are trafficked into other forms of labour, sex trafficking is by far the most profitable form of human trafficking. A distant second might be organ trafficking."
"When you coerce a young woman, or even a boy, into 10, 15 or more commercial sex acts a day, day after day, month after month, year after year, the profits can be staggering. If you are exploiting someone through agriculture, mining or manufacturing, you can certainly make a lot of money but that rapid turnover of revenue generation only exists in forced prostitution.
"But I have investigated numerous industries. For example, fish and frozen shrimp are tainted throughout South-east Asia. Countries like Bangladesh, Vietnam, Thailand and China are involved. Rice, sugar, pig iron, mining for minerals throughout the Congo, these minerals which end up in our electronic devices, these mines are often tainted by forced labour; your granite work-tops could come from a mine in South-east Asia. The list of items and products is often endless," he says.
Mr Kara's biggest fear is the authorities are failing to nail the big bosses behind these scams and do not have the investigative or legislative firepower to cope with these fast-evolving systems.
He explains: "The criminal penalties for human trafficking are disproportionately anaemic to the benefits you can enjoy. It may be very short prison terms but, more importantly, small economic penalties. And human trafficking, like slavery, throughout history is an economic crime - people seek to maximise their profits by eliminating the cost of labour.
"In terms of organised crime networks, at most we are sometimes catching the finger of the hand, and the organisms still exist and can still function quite well."
Last year, Mr Kara wrote his first book, Sex Trafficking: Inside the Business of Modern Slavery, and next year, he hopes to launch the first fully-equipped research and policy centre for people trafficking at Harvard's John F Kennedy School of Government.
But he warns: "The traffickers are continuing to evolve and they are co-operating with each other very effectively. What's alarming to me is that Albanian mafia are cooperating with Italian mafia, who are working with Nigerian mafia, who are working with Chinese mafia to acquire people, move them into areas of exploitation, very seamlessly and effectively.
"It's far more sophisticated and complex now than when I started my research. We are numerous steps behind them in terms of international cooperation. They keep moving forward in their ability to do this internationally and we are stuck arguing on borders and jurisdictions, and in the meantime people are suffering."
Paul Gilfeather is the principal correspondent at Today.
Thursday, August 18, 2011
S'pore, US complete inaugural human trafficking workshop - Channel NewsAsia
By S Ramesh | Posted: 18 August 2011 2345 hrs
 |
SINGAPORE: The Singapore Police Force (SPF) and US Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations (US ICE HSI) have completed their inaugural three-day Trafficking in Persons and Child Exploitation Workshop in Singapore from August 15 to 17.
A joint statement said the workshop brought together more than 50 participants from various overseas and local agencies.
It was aimed at enhancing the capabilities of the local law enforcement agencies to monitor and combat Trafficking in Persons (TIP).
A senior US official at the workshop emphasised that training was a key element in learning how to investigate TIP and child exploitation crimes.
The interaction during the course also served as a bridge between the law enforcement counterparts, providing a better understanding of each other's laws and capabilities.
Deputy Director of Singapore's Criminal Investigation Department, Deputy Assistant Commissioner of Police Teo Chun Ching, said the workshop underscores Singapore's commitment in tackling TIP by equipping officers with the latest in expert knowledge.
- CNA/fa
Source: channelnewsasia.com/
Monday, August 1, 2011
S'pore taskforce on human trafficking responds to report
Aug 1, 2011
AFTER poring over a recent United States report on human trafficking, the Singapore Inter-agency Taskforce on trafficking in persons released a detailed response to it yesterday (Aug 1).
The five-page response - which reiterates and points out new 'inaccuracies and misrepresentations' in the annual US State Department report on human trafficking - was sent to the US yesterday (Aug 1).
The taskforce, which includes representatives from the Singapore Police Force and the Immigrations & Checkpoints Authority - is co-chaired by the Ministry of Home Affairs and Ministry of Manpower.
In its reponse, a ministry spokesman cited as untrue the report's claim that the Government did not make proactive efforts to reduce the demand for commercial sex acts here.
Pointing out that Singapore has criminalised various commercial sex activities, it said that the taskforce conducted 3,608 anti-commercial sex operations in 2010 that led to the arrest of 94 commercial sex agents or 'pimps'.
Also inaccurate were claims that there were 'no criminal prosecutions or convictions of employers or employment agencies who withheld passports of foreign workers' in 2010.
Source: straitstimes.com
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
US human trafficking report "riddled with inaccuracies" - Channel NewsAsia
By Mustafa Shafawi | Posted: 28 June 2011 1853 hrs
SINGAPORE: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) says it is dismayed to find the US "Trafficking in Persons Report 2011" riddled with inaccuracies in the section on Singapore.
In response to media queries, a MFA spokesman said such a casual approach to the facts is troubling.
The MFA highlighted two inaccuracies among the "numerous others".
It said the report has a major issue with forced labour on fishing vessels that "originated in Singapore".
"This is the first such claim that such vessels originated in Singapore. This is untrue and unverified," said the MFA.
"The Singapore government would not tolerate forced labour on Singapore flagged ships. The United States should thoroughly investigate the 'reports' before faulting us for not pursuing our 'phantom' ships," added the MFA.
There's also the astonishing observation that "no known victims" of trafficking were afforded medical and other services at shelters in the past year.
The Singapore government said it is deeply puzzled with this statement.
Just last month it had provided the US with detailed information about a variety of services that trafficking victims had used in the past year, including medical, counselling and translation.
While Singapore acknowledged that much remains to be done in its fight against trafficking, it said it is disappointed that the US chose to blatantly dismiss the facts and suggest that the country is not doing its share.
The MFA spokesman said the US report also seems to assume that the domestic processes of all countries reviewed are the same as that of the United States.
Singapore noted that the US has again unabashedly awarded itself a Tier-1 ranking, meaning full compliance.
Yet, the New York Times had observed in a 23 April report that teenage girls coerced into prostitution in the US are treated not as trafficking victims but as miscreants who are arrested and prosecuted, instead of protected.
This, the MFA spokesman said, is directly opposite from Singapore's approach to commercial sex workers of any age in Singapore. They are all prima facie considered as TIP victims.
The spokesman added that as is well known, the US also suffers from serious problems with illegal immigrants.
Many are trafficked by well-organised criminal gangs which seem to be able to operate with impunity, noted the spokesman.
On any objective criteria, the US has a more serious TIP problem compared with Singapore, said the MFA.
It said this incongruity could perhaps be explained by the fact that the report does not apply a consistent, transparent and measurable standard for all countries.
As Senator James Webb said before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on 24 May 2011 "there are some inconsistencies in the way that [the US is] carrying out an otherwise well-intentioned policy. The classic example of that was that we've given Nigeria a '1' in our TIP Reports and we've given Japan a '2', and Singapore a 2W [in 2010].
"We need to fix the law so that we are measuring the right sorts of things as we put these policies forward because it is causing a great deal of resentment among people who are otherwise our close friends."
US human trafficking report "riddled with inaccuracies" - Channel NewsAsia
Monday, June 20, 2011
Human Trafficking – Changing Mindsets For A Better Future « 4L's Reading Programme Blog
Human history dates back many hundreds of years, and in that time, many cultural and moral developments have taken place in society.
In spite of our claim of being civilized, a few glaring blemishes still remain painfully visible in our society. One of these, perhaps one of the most brutal and cruel as well, is that of human trafficking.
An estimated 2.5 million people are in forced labour due to human trafficking(including sexual exploitation) at any point of time. To get an idea of the scale of these numbers, it means that a number of people equivalent to half of Singapore’s entire population as of now (4.98 million) are suffering from the consequences of human trafficking. Of these 2.5 million people, 1.4 million, or 56 percent, are from Asia alone.
A column by Nicholas Kristof (link at the end of the post) in the New York Times tells a heart-rending story of a 10 year old girl in India who wishes to become a doctor, but is instead most likely going to be sold to human traffickers by her family.
In many cases such as this, pressure from the family is an important factor that can actually act as a catalyst for human trafficking. Most of these families are from classes of society that live in poverty, and they take this decision to get some money to support themselves.
The larger issue present here, is that of morality. These families who are selling their daughters off fail to realise that their views and practices, while in accordance with their own tradition, are harming their both own chances of breaking out of the poverty cycle and also the well-being of their children. They need to realise that their children are their best chance of survival in the future, and by selling them off, they only feed the lust of the depraved people who keep this illegal business running.
I believe that in the fight against human trafficking, an important and effective step would be to change the mindset of the families which sell their children to human traffickers. In crude terms, this would cut off a major “source” of the human traffickers, especially in countries like India, where such traditions are practised, and the victims are the only ones who understand the cruelty imposed onto them.
It is heartening to see that some work is being done to tackle this specific problem, as mentioned by Kristof, but it will not be effective unless the people’s mindsets are changed.
On the subject of humans, Wikipedia says “humans have a highly developed brain, capable of abstract reasoning, language, introspection, and problem solving.” Surely this highly developed brain is able to distinguish clearly between right and wrong? Human trafficking is highly immoral, has no regard for an individual’s rights and desires, and really, it does not take much thinking to realise that it is wrong and has no place in human society, even for the families who sell off their children.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/02/opinion/02kristof.html?ref=columnists
Source: 4L's Reading Programme Blog
Monday, June 13, 2011
Singapore Toughens Its Stance on Human Trafficking
Image via WikipediaRadha Basu – Straits Times Indonesia | June 12, 2011
Prostitutes working in Geylang Road, pictured, and Desker Road in Little India, Singapore. A woman who claims to have been trafficked could now be housed in a shelter while investigations are being done, instead of being deported. (ST Photo)Singapore. In a marked departure from the past, Singapore is working towards signing a United Nations treaty to prevent human trafficking.
This could have an impact on the way in which foreigners — especially young girls and women who ply the sex trade — are dealt with by the authorities when they are caught.
Instead of being regarded as immigration offenders and deported, they could be treated as victims and allowed to remain in shelters here while their cases are investigated.
Human trafficking refers to obtaining or holding someone forcibly for sex or labour purposes.
Singapore is among a few countries yet to sign the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, which has been signed or ratified by nearly 150 parties.
A Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) spokesman told The Straits Times that Singapore would sign the UN treaty when it was satisfied with 'domestic measures put in place to ensure adherence' to it. These could include changes in local laws.
The spokesman said that Singapore took a serious view of trafficking, and the problem could worsen.
“We are aware that as Singapore grows as a hub for travel, economic activity and tourism, the likelihood that we become an attractive destination for trafficking syndicates will increase,” she said.
To tackle the problem, the Government set up an inter-agency task force last November, co-chaired by the MHA and the Ministry of Manpower.
That came after the United States State Department, in its annual Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report last June, downgraded Singapore to a watch list of countries which it said did not fully comply with minimum international standards to eliminate trafficking. This year's report is due soon.
As far back as 2004, the TIP report said that Singapore had a “significant trafficking problem.”
The Singapore Government's oft-stated position has been that trafficking cases are rare here.
There have also been differences in defining what, exactly, constitutes trafficking.
Under UN and American law, any man, woman or child who is deceived or coerced into sex or labour is a victim of trafficking, regardless of whether he or she initially consented to the job.
Singapore's position earlier was that a foreigner who entered the country willingly to work illegally — as a sex worker, for example — was a party to 'human smuggling', and therefore an immigration offender.
But the UN's concern is that even those who are willingly smuggled in could end up victims of trafficking if they are exploited or forced to work against their will.
Asked if Singapore's position was different now, the MHA spokesman said that “as long as a person claims to have been trafficked, she will be treated as a victim.”
The Straits Times understands that this means that rather than being deported — as foreign sex workers caught in raids usually are — a woman who claims she was trafficked could be housed in a shelter here, while the authorities investigate her case against her alleged traffickers.
The MHA spokesman said that even a foreigner who arrives willingly to be a sex worker could be treated as a trafficking victim rather than an offender, if she claims she was 'deceived, defrauded or held against her will' while here.
Such an approach falls within the definition of trafficking under the UN treaty and in fact has already been '”operationally adopted” by the police while classifying trafficking cases.
However, this has yet to make an impact in terms of bringing traffickers to book.
So far, only two of the 32 alleged sex trafficking cases investigated by the police in 2009 — the most recent year for which figures are available — were prosecuted. And the total number of sex trafficking investigations actually fell from 54 in 2008 to 32 in 2009.
One reason could be that trafficking continues to be under-reported, said Bridget Tan, president of migrant workers group, the Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics (Home).
Trafficking victims are often afraid they might be treated as offenders for violating vice or immigration laws, she said.
Trafficking cases are also hard to prove, as many victims do not even know the real names of their traffickers — the men and women who act as their pimps and minders, who hold their passports and watch their every movement.
The MHA spokesman said that as trafficking is “fundamentally clandestine and transnational in nature,” the culprits might not be taken to task if victims did not come forward.
Washington-based Luis CdeBaca, tasked by President Barack Obama to lead America's global fight against trafficking, told The Straits Times in a phone interview that the authorities here could be more proactive.
“Trafficking investigations should involve intelligence gathering, just like counterterrorism,” said the ambassador-at-large at the US State Department's office to monitor and combat trafficking. “Waiting for a complaint to be lodged and then reacting to it is just not enough.”
But he welcomed Singapore's recent efforts, especially its setting up of an interagency task force and adopting UN definitions of trafficking, as steps in the right direction.
Reprinted courtesy of Straits Times Indonesia. To subscribe to Straits Times Indonesia and/or the Jakarta Globe call 021 2553 5055
This could have an impact on the way in which foreigners — especially young girls and women who ply the sex trade — are dealt with by the authorities when they are caught.
Instead of being regarded as immigration offenders and deported, they could be treated as victims and allowed to remain in shelters here while their cases are investigated.
Human trafficking refers to obtaining or holding someone forcibly for sex or labour purposes.
Singapore is among a few countries yet to sign the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, which has been signed or ratified by nearly 150 parties.
A Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) spokesman told The Straits Times that Singapore would sign the UN treaty when it was satisfied with 'domestic measures put in place to ensure adherence' to it. These could include changes in local laws.
The spokesman said that Singapore took a serious view of trafficking, and the problem could worsen.
“We are aware that as Singapore grows as a hub for travel, economic activity and tourism, the likelihood that we become an attractive destination for trafficking syndicates will increase,” she said.
To tackle the problem, the Government set up an inter-agency task force last November, co-chaired by the MHA and the Ministry of Manpower.
That came after the United States State Department, in its annual Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report last June, downgraded Singapore to a watch list of countries which it said did not fully comply with minimum international standards to eliminate trafficking. This year's report is due soon.
As far back as 2004, the TIP report said that Singapore had a “significant trafficking problem.”
The Singapore Government's oft-stated position has been that trafficking cases are rare here.
There have also been differences in defining what, exactly, constitutes trafficking.
Under UN and American law, any man, woman or child who is deceived or coerced into sex or labour is a victim of trafficking, regardless of whether he or she initially consented to the job.
Singapore's position earlier was that a foreigner who entered the country willingly to work illegally — as a sex worker, for example — was a party to 'human smuggling', and therefore an immigration offender.
But the UN's concern is that even those who are willingly smuggled in could end up victims of trafficking if they are exploited or forced to work against their will.
Asked if Singapore's position was different now, the MHA spokesman said that “as long as a person claims to have been trafficked, she will be treated as a victim.”
The Straits Times understands that this means that rather than being deported — as foreign sex workers caught in raids usually are — a woman who claims she was trafficked could be housed in a shelter here, while the authorities investigate her case against her alleged traffickers.
The MHA spokesman said that even a foreigner who arrives willingly to be a sex worker could be treated as a trafficking victim rather than an offender, if she claims she was 'deceived, defrauded or held against her will' while here.
Such an approach falls within the definition of trafficking under the UN treaty and in fact has already been '”operationally adopted” by the police while classifying trafficking cases.
However, this has yet to make an impact in terms of bringing traffickers to book.
So far, only two of the 32 alleged sex trafficking cases investigated by the police in 2009 — the most recent year for which figures are available — were prosecuted. And the total number of sex trafficking investigations actually fell from 54 in 2008 to 32 in 2009.
One reason could be that trafficking continues to be under-reported, said Bridget Tan, president of migrant workers group, the Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics (Home).
Trafficking victims are often afraid they might be treated as offenders for violating vice or immigration laws, she said.
Trafficking cases are also hard to prove, as many victims do not even know the real names of their traffickers — the men and women who act as their pimps and minders, who hold their passports and watch their every movement.
The MHA spokesman said that as trafficking is “fundamentally clandestine and transnational in nature,” the culprits might not be taken to task if victims did not come forward.
Washington-based Luis CdeBaca, tasked by President Barack Obama to lead America's global fight against trafficking, told The Straits Times in a phone interview that the authorities here could be more proactive.
“Trafficking investigations should involve intelligence gathering, just like counterterrorism,” said the ambassador-at-large at the US State Department's office to monitor and combat trafficking. “Waiting for a complaint to be lodged and then reacting to it is just not enough.”
But he welcomed Singapore's recent efforts, especially its setting up of an interagency task force and adopting UN definitions of trafficking, as steps in the right direction.
Reprinted courtesy of Straits Times Indonesia. To subscribe to Straits Times Indonesia and/or the Jakarta Globe call 021 2553 5055
Source: thejakartaglobe.com
Related articles
Saturday, April 9, 2011
Senator criticizes US anti-trafficking approach | AlterNet
A senator on Thursday urged reform of an annual report on human trafficking, saying the United States has alienated key allies in Asia through its spirited criticism of their efforts.
The State Department last year put a number of Asian nations including Singapore and Thailand on a watch list, saying they failed to prevent foreign women from forced prostitution. Singapore responded indignantly.
Senator Jim Webb, who heads the Senate Foreign Relations subcommittee on East Asia, said the report lacked clear metrics and caused "confusion and resentment" by lumping together countries with different records.
"I think we all support the intentions of the State Department to prevent trafficking and to assist victims. However, our engagement with Asia is in danger of being hindered by the approach of this report," Webb said.
Webb, a member of Obama's Democratic Party from Virginia, said that a friend in Singapore was "amazed at this categorization when you look at the quality of the government and the order in the society."
"If you compare the stability in Singapore to the United States, with its estimated 20 million illegals, many of whom came here through human trafficking, what's going on?" Webb said at a Senate hearing.
Webb also questioned the downgrade last year for Thailand, which was in the midst of major political upheaval, and asked why Nigeria was ranked higher than Japan.
Luis CdeBaca, the State Department's ambassador-at-large for human trafficking, defended the annual report and said it had led nations to improve their records, whatever their public expressions of dismay.
The fight against human trafficking "can mean telling friends truths they may not want to hear," CdeBaca said at the hearing.
Quoting an unnamed former skeptic, CdeBaca said the report "has made an indisputable contribution to the evolution of a global consensus around the problem of trafficking and, specifically in Southeast Asia, has served as the impetus for major reform initiatives."
He said that Indonesia and Malaysia have both drafted laws against human trafficking in response to the criticism, although enforcement has been inconsistent.
The latest report is due out in June. Last year, the State Department said that South Korea and Taiwan were the sole jurisdictions in Asia that took full-fledged action against human trafficking.
CdeBaca strongly praised Taiwan, saying it increasingly offered support to victims of human trafficking while taking aim at their victimizers.
The State Department put a number of Asian countries on the watch list last year -- Afghanistan, Brunei, Laos, Maldives, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Worldwide, 12.3 million people were victims of trafficking.
Bangladesh, China, India, Micronesia, the Philippines and Sri Lanka stayed on the list, unchanged from a year earlier.
North Korea, Myanmar and Papua New Guinea remained at the bottom level of countries that did not even meet the minimum standards on human trafficking.
The State Department on Friday releases a separate annual report on human rights, often a cause of friction with nations such as China whose records come under criticism.
Webb and other senators questioned why China was not at the bottom of the list on human trafficking.
Senator James Inhofe of Oklahoma, the top Republican on the Asia
subcommittee, pointed to the treatment of China's migrant workers and accounts of forced prostitution and labor by the migrants' children.
"As it continues to grow in prominence as an economic player, we cannot turn a blind eye to the acts of coercion and human degradation there, which so clearly define their communist regime," Inhofe said.
US Senator Jim Webb, pictured in 2010, on Thursday urged reform of an annual report on human trafficking, saying the United States has alienated key allies in Asia through its spirited criticism of their efforts.
Senator Jim Webb, who heads the Senate Foreign Relations subcommittee on East Asia, said the report lacked clear metrics and caused "confusion and resentment" by lumping together countries with different records.
"I think we all support the intentions of the State Department to prevent trafficking and to assist victims. However, our engagement with Asia is in danger of being hindered by the approach of this report," Webb said.
Webb, a member of Obama's Democratic Party from Virginia, said that a friend in Singapore was "amazed at this categorization when you look at the quality of the government and the order in the society."
"If you compare the stability in Singapore to the United States, with its estimated 20 million illegals, many of whom came here through human trafficking, what's going on?" Webb said at a Senate hearing.
Webb also questioned the downgrade last year for Thailand, which was in the midst of major political upheaval, and asked why Nigeria was ranked higher than Japan.
Luis CdeBaca, the State Department's ambassador-at-large for human trafficking, defended the annual report and said it had led nations to improve their records, whatever their public expressions of dismay.
The fight against human trafficking "can mean telling friends truths they may not want to hear," CdeBaca said at the hearing.
Quoting an unnamed former skeptic, CdeBaca said the report "has made an indisputable contribution to the evolution of a global consensus around the problem of trafficking and, specifically in Southeast Asia, has served as the impetus for major reform initiatives."
He said that Indonesia and Malaysia have both drafted laws against human trafficking in response to the criticism, although enforcement has been inconsistent.
The latest report is due out in June. Last year, the State Department said that South Korea and Taiwan were the sole jurisdictions in Asia that took full-fledged action against human trafficking.
CdeBaca strongly praised Taiwan, saying it increasingly offered support to victims of human trafficking while taking aim at their victimizers.
The State Department put a number of Asian countries on the watch list last year -- Afghanistan, Brunei, Laos, Maldives, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Worldwide, 12.3 million people were victims of trafficking.
Bangladesh, China, India, Micronesia, the Philippines and Sri Lanka stayed on the list, unchanged from a year earlier.
North Korea, Myanmar and Papua New Guinea remained at the bottom level of countries that did not even meet the minimum standards on human trafficking.
The State Department on Friday releases a separate annual report on human rights, often a cause of friction with nations such as China whose records come under criticism.
Webb and other senators questioned why China was not at the bottom of the list on human trafficking.
Senator James Inhofe of Oklahoma, the top Republican on the Asia
subcommittee, pointed to the treatment of China's migrant workers and accounts of forced prostitution and labor by the migrants' children.
"As it continues to grow in prominence as an economic player, we cannot turn a blind eye to the acts of coercion and human degradation there, which so clearly define their communist regime," Inhofe said.
;
Senator criticizes US anti-trafficking approach | AlterNet
Source: AlterNet
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Human trafficking a big concern for the region expert - Channel NewsAsia
Posted: 30 March 2011 2231 hrs
 | |||||||||||
 World map showing the countries blacklisted for human trafficking, based on a new US State Department report. | |||||||||||
|
SINGAPORE: Human trafficking is a big concern in Southeast Asia; and Singapore, despite its tight security, proved unexempt in the recent case of two auxiliary police officers who were jailed for their role in human trafficking.
Two former auxiliary police allowed travellers with fake passports, to board flights out of Singapore late last year.
The mastermind was a Sri Lankan "travel agent", who is said to be part of a wider human smuggling network.
A security expert has warned that human trafficking is big business for organised crime networks in Southeast Asia.
Agents can earn up to US$40,000 for each illegal migrant who uses this region as a transit point to go to western countries.
Observers said thousands of migrants, use the region as the transit point to Australia, Europe and Canada.
Most traffickers are believed to come from South Asia, who are looking for a better life in another country.
However, such economic migrants are not the only ones involved in human trafficking.
"They have also smuggled terrorists, people who have conducted human rights violations, bombings, killings, assasinations. And we have seen a number of terrorists who have used these human smuggling routes to travel to Canada, Europe and Australia," said Professor Rohan Gunaratna, head of Security Studies at Rajaratnam School of International Studies.
The solution calls for a joint effort by different governments.
"It is very important for courts to give very severe punishments for human smuggling. Unfortunately that is not the case, and unfortunately southeast asian police agencies they have not taken human smuggling seriously," said Professor Gunaratna.
Professor Gunaratna added that while most economic migrants travel by air, a small percentage would try to use sea routes as well.
[TRAFFICKING MONITOR: CLICK ON THE TITLE OF THE POST TO GET TO THE VIDEO MENTIONED ABOVE.]
SOURCE: CNA/cc
Monday, November 29, 2010
TODAYonline | Singapore | Human trafficking is more than sexual exploitation: Experts
Image via Wikipedia
05:55 AM Nov 29, 2010
SINGAPORE - An estimated 250,000 women and children are trafficked into South-east Asia every year, often to work in the sex industry.
But human trafficking is more than sexual exploitation, experts said.
It includes forced and child labour, as well as children who are used as soldiers, said experts speaking at the 4th NTS-Asia Annual Convention organised by the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies' Centre for Non-Traditional Security (NTS) Studies last Friday.
It is not for the lack of laws or action plans, but different perspectives on human trafficking from South-east Asian nations that has stymied progress in curtailing human trafficking in this region.
The executive director of the Philippines-based Institute for Strategic and Development Studies, Mr Herman Kraft, said: "There's a separation of human trafficking as an issue, which many Southeast Asian countries see as forced prostitution, and forced labour migration as an issue. You can't separate the two."
As a result, a country's anti-trafficking policies may be skewed towards curbing sexual exploitation but neglect to deal with problems of forced labour migration or child soldiers, he added.
Singapore's role as a destination country for women and girls subjected to forced prostitution - and for some migrant workers into what is perceived to be forced labour - was briefly mentioned.
But NTS researchers Manpavan Kaur and P K Hangzo pointed out that even though Singapore is not a signatory to the United Nations' Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, it criminalises human trafficking via several means like the Penal Code, Employment Agencies Act and Employment of Foreign Manpower Act (EFMA).
They said: "Penalties prescribed for sex and labour trafficking, including imprisonment, fines and caning, are sufficiently stringent."
The researchers noted that the strict implementation of the EFMA has "reduced illegality" in the labour sector and has come down heavily on employers who fail to pay salaries on time or fail to maintain the foreign workers they have brought in.
Experts concluded that a multi-pronged approach involving source and destination countries, regulating labour recruiters, educating the population and tackling the demand for unreasonably cheap labour, would reduce human trafficking.
Source: Today Online
TODAYonline | Singapore | Human trafficking is more than sexual exploitation: Experts
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Sun2Surf: No compromise for traitors
Image via Wikipedia newsdesk@thesundaily.com
KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 14, 2010): Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein today warned civil servants of severe action if they put the country's security at risk in attempts to gain riches for themselves.
Referring to the seven immigration officers who were detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA) three days ago for allegedly working in cahoots with international human trafficking syndicates, he said the government will not compromise on those who betrayed the country with devious plots to gain wealth.
He said the ISA was invoked on the men as the matter involved national security.
"I wish to remind all officers and staff who are entrusted with safeguarding all entry points of the country to carry out their duties and responsibilities with integrity. Do not betray the country to pursue material wealth.
"There will be no compromise for those who betray the country regardless of which department they are from.
"I view this seriously as it affects the security of the country and affects our image. It can also be a threat to the region and our neighbouring countries," he said at a press conference at the federal police headquarters.
Hishammuddin said the alleged offences by the detained immigration officers were serious and dangerous.
He said the authorities had kept watch on such activities over time before arresting the officers as well as two Indonesian men.
Asked if the men will be charged in court for the offences, he said this would be done in a closed court in due time as the police were still gathering information and evidence from the suspects.
Earlier, Hishammuddin met an Australian government delegation led by its Minister of Immigration and Citizenship Chris Bowen and police top brass to discuss matters concerning the security of both countries and the region.
"We spoke on our bilateral relationship, transnational crimes and other issues on security. It was a good meeting," he said.
Bowen described the relationship between Australia and Malaysia as one of the best in the world.
"The meeting was very productive and we spoke on joint efforts in overcoming various security issues. Our ties with Malaysia is first class and we intend to enhance this further. Australia appreciates Malaysia's commitment in tackling various issues." he said.
Updated: 09:30PM Thu, 14 Oct 2010
Source: Sun2Surf
Saturday, September 11, 2010
TODAYonline | Singapore | In peril on the high seas
05:55 AM Sep 11, 2010
HE BARELY speaks any English, but when Filipino Leopoldo de Guzman Jr flew here last October after paying 15,000 pesos ($447) in agents' fees, he was hurriedly made to sign a contract written in English, then packed off on board a Taiwanese fishing vessel.
For the next nine months, Mr de Guzman, 32, hauled heavy fishing gear for 18 hours daily and had no contact with his wife and two children back home.
When his vessel, Taiyuan 32, docked in Singapore recently, Mr de Guzman broke his contract and got off the boat with two countrymen, forgoing his hard-earned wages.
Even then, their freedom did not come easy. The men only got their passports back from the ship's captain after telling him they needed to buy medicine on land. But they never returned to the ship.
In July, they flew home with the help of a local migrant workers' group, the Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics (Home).
The predicament of foreign fishermen like Mr de Guzman is often outside the ambit of government agencies in Singapore. Seafarers do not come under the Employment Act, and to add to their vulnerability, these fishermen are often unqualified and without seamen's books. The book would entitle them to help from the Singapore Organisation of Seamen, which is affiliated to the National Trades Union Congress.
For the next nine months, Mr de Guzman, 32, hauled heavy fishing gear for 18 hours daily and had no contact with his wife and two children back home.
When his vessel, Taiyuan 32, docked in Singapore recently, Mr de Guzman broke his contract and got off the boat with two countrymen, forgoing his hard-earned wages.
Even then, their freedom did not come easy. The men only got their passports back from the ship's captain after telling him they needed to buy medicine on land. But they never returned to the ship.
In July, they flew home with the help of a local migrant workers' group, the Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics (Home).
The predicament of foreign fishermen like Mr de Guzman is often outside the ambit of government agencies in Singapore. Seafarers do not come under the Employment Act, and to add to their vulnerability, these fishermen are often unqualified and without seamen's books. The book would entitle them to help from the Singapore Organisation of Seamen, which is affiliated to the National Trades Union Congress.
REFUGE IN NGOs
Some fishermen have found refuge in non-government organisations here. Home began seeing such cases in early April and has since encountered 26 fishermen facing problems.
Most were referred by foreign domestic workers here whose relatives are on the ships, said its executive director Jolovan Wham.
MediaCorp met up with four Filipino fishermen including Mr de Guzman at Home's office while they were awaiting their flight home. They produced receipts and documents showing recruitment fees of between 15,000 and 23,000 pesos paid to an agency in the Philippines.
All said they flew to Singapore and were brought to a manning agency in Kitchener Complex where they signed their contracts. They were told the first four months of their salaries of about US$200 ($270) would go towards paying for agents' fees.
According to Home, the men often do not realise that breaking their three-year contracts incurs a penalty of US$2,000.
Last September, the Manpower Ministry investigated and found the manning agency at Kitchener Complex not to be an employment agency and hence not regulated by the Employment Agencies Act. MediaCorp understands that there is no update on the agency's status.
Another group providing a lifeline to these fishermen is the Stella Maris Catholic Seamen's Mission, which has helped crew from the Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, China and Africa over the years. Port chaplain Reverend Father Romeo Yu Chang said he has encountered cases since starting work here in 2001.
NUMBERS UNCLEAR
The mission, part of the Catholic Church's Apostleship of the Sea, began documenting the fishermen's cases in 2008. It has helped 19 fishermen so far this year; the figure was 23 last year, said Father Yu. Funded by the Church of St Teresa, the mission helps the men financially and puts them up temporarily at its retreat centre.
There are no official estimates of troubled foreign fishermen passing through Singapore when their ships berth here. Father Yu believes the number of fishermen who break their contracts are "much more and we don't have an accurate record of them".
Helping the fishermen is often an uphill task. The fishermen are often hurriedly made to sign contracts - which they are not given copies of - and are often unaware of the detailed terms and conditions, said Father Yu.
The plight of the foreign fishermen has not been widely reported here. But the Singapore connection is not lost on Father Bruno Ciceri, former Taiwan director of the Apostleship of the Sea, an agency of the Catholic Church. He declined to be interviewed for this story but referred us to previous reports he wrote documenting the fishermen's circumstances.
One of the ways they are recruited, is to "fly as a tourist" to destinations like Singapore (for Filipino fishermen), Bangkok (for Vietnamese fishermen) and Davao (for Indonesian fishermen), where they board the vessels, he reported.
"An amount of US$1,000/2,000 is paid before leaving their country and in the airport (they) are asked to sign a contract that will condemn them to three years of slavery with a monthly salary of US$120/150, of which US$100 is kept by the agent in Singapore and will be given only at the end of their contract only if they sign off in Singapore," Father Ciceri wrote for an International Christian Maritime Association regional conference held in 2005.
Father Ciceri, whose Taiwan stint lasted from 1996 to 2008, is now based at The Vatican. The same problems have persisted over the years, he said.
AN INTERNATIONAL PROBLEM
In its 2009 Global Report on Forced Labour, the International Labour Organisation reported that "more evidence is coming to light that seafarers and fishers can be at particular risk of forced labour and trafficking". More research is required on how they are recruited and placed on ships, as well as "restrictions in practice on their right to leave vessels".
In Asia, the ILO noted the existence of forced labour in Thailand's fishing industry. News reports in recent months have cited Cambodian men being trafficked to work on board Thai fishing vessels.
While the ILO report did not mention Filipinos working on Taiwanese vessels, the Philippine Embassy in Singapore regards these workers as "illegally deployed and their recruitment constitutes a form of human trafficking".
An embassy spokesperson told MediaCorp that many of these fishermen are former farmers without seamanship training or experience. "The embassy has previously seen contracts that contain only the signature of the fishermen, without the corresponding signature from the employer or agent," he said. "In these cases, there is difficulty in establishing a definite employer-employee relationship."
But the Philippine Government has now amended its Migrant Workers Law to better protect its workers from being illegally recruited and trafficked, the spokesperson added.
Although Singapore's Employment Act does not apply to these fishermen, Member of Parliament Halimah Yacob believes the same principles of protection for foreign workers in Singapore should apply to them. "This requires an agency to look into complaints of abuse or exploitation, otherwise such incidents by unscrupulous foreign and local agents will only give Singapore a bad reputation," she said.
Migrant worker issues also require greater collaboration among countries, said Mdm Halimah, who is also chairman of the Government Parliamentary Committee for Manpower. Countries whose citizens go abroad to work should ensure control over activities of manpower agents there "as the seeds of exploitation usually start there", she said.
Some fishermen have found refuge in non-government organisations here. Home began seeing such cases in early April and has since encountered 26 fishermen facing problems.
Most were referred by foreign domestic workers here whose relatives are on the ships, said its executive director Jolovan Wham.
MediaCorp met up with four Filipino fishermen including Mr de Guzman at Home's office while they were awaiting their flight home. They produced receipts and documents showing recruitment fees of between 15,000 and 23,000 pesos paid to an agency in the Philippines.
All said they flew to Singapore and were brought to a manning agency in Kitchener Complex where they signed their contracts. They were told the first four months of their salaries of about US$200 ($270) would go towards paying for agents' fees.
According to Home, the men often do not realise that breaking their three-year contracts incurs a penalty of US$2,000.
Last September, the Manpower Ministry investigated and found the manning agency at Kitchener Complex not to be an employment agency and hence not regulated by the Employment Agencies Act. MediaCorp understands that there is no update on the agency's status.
Another group providing a lifeline to these fishermen is the Stella Maris Catholic Seamen's Mission, which has helped crew from the Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, China and Africa over the years. Port chaplain Reverend Father Romeo Yu Chang said he has encountered cases since starting work here in 2001.
NUMBERS UNCLEAR
The mission, part of the Catholic Church's Apostleship of the Sea, began documenting the fishermen's cases in 2008. It has helped 19 fishermen so far this year; the figure was 23 last year, said Father Yu. Funded by the Church of St Teresa, the mission helps the men financially and puts them up temporarily at its retreat centre.
There are no official estimates of troubled foreign fishermen passing through Singapore when their ships berth here. Father Yu believes the number of fishermen who break their contracts are "much more and we don't have an accurate record of them".
Helping the fishermen is often an uphill task. The fishermen are often hurriedly made to sign contracts - which they are not given copies of - and are often unaware of the detailed terms and conditions, said Father Yu.
The plight of the foreign fishermen has not been widely reported here. But the Singapore connection is not lost on Father Bruno Ciceri, former Taiwan director of the Apostleship of the Sea, an agency of the Catholic Church. He declined to be interviewed for this story but referred us to previous reports he wrote documenting the fishermen's circumstances.
One of the ways they are recruited, is to "fly as a tourist" to destinations like Singapore (for Filipino fishermen), Bangkok (for Vietnamese fishermen) and Davao (for Indonesian fishermen), where they board the vessels, he reported.
"An amount of US$1,000/2,000 is paid before leaving their country and in the airport (they) are asked to sign a contract that will condemn them to three years of slavery with a monthly salary of US$120/150, of which US$100 is kept by the agent in Singapore and will be given only at the end of their contract only if they sign off in Singapore," Father Ciceri wrote for an International Christian Maritime Association regional conference held in 2005.
Father Ciceri, whose Taiwan stint lasted from 1996 to 2008, is now based at The Vatican. The same problems have persisted over the years, he said.
AN INTERNATIONAL PROBLEM
In its 2009 Global Report on Forced Labour, the International Labour Organisation reported that "more evidence is coming to light that seafarers and fishers can be at particular risk of forced labour and trafficking". More research is required on how they are recruited and placed on ships, as well as "restrictions in practice on their right to leave vessels".
In Asia, the ILO noted the existence of forced labour in Thailand's fishing industry. News reports in recent months have cited Cambodian men being trafficked to work on board Thai fishing vessels.
While the ILO report did not mention Filipinos working on Taiwanese vessels, the Philippine Embassy in Singapore regards these workers as "illegally deployed and their recruitment constitutes a form of human trafficking".
An embassy spokesperson told MediaCorp that many of these fishermen are former farmers without seamanship training or experience. "The embassy has previously seen contracts that contain only the signature of the fishermen, without the corresponding signature from the employer or agent," he said. "In these cases, there is difficulty in establishing a definite employer-employee relationship."
But the Philippine Government has now amended its Migrant Workers Law to better protect its workers from being illegally recruited and trafficked, the spokesperson added.
Although Singapore's Employment Act does not apply to these fishermen, Member of Parliament Halimah Yacob believes the same principles of protection for foreign workers in Singapore should apply to them. "This requires an agency to look into complaints of abuse or exploitation, otherwise such incidents by unscrupulous foreign and local agents will only give Singapore a bad reputation," she said.
Migrant worker issues also require greater collaboration among countries, said Mdm Halimah, who is also chairman of the Government Parliamentary Committee for Manpower. Countries whose citizens go abroad to work should ensure control over activities of manpower agents there "as the seeds of exploitation usually start there", she said.
Image 1 of 2
Filipino fishermen with fake copies of the seamen's book their recruitment agency in the Philippines procured for them. They declined to be photographed for fear of repercussions at home. Photo by Neo Chai Chin
TODAYonline | Singapore | In peril on the high seas
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