The latest Regional COMMIT Task Force (TF) meeting took place in Bangkok on 15 and 16 October. The meeting brought together the leadership of the national TFs from each of the 6 COMMIT members (Cambodia, China, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand and Viet Nam) and UN-ACT as the COMMIT Secretariat.
On the agenda were COMMIT capacity development; engagement with civil society actors; cooperation with ASEAN; monitoring and reporting progress of SPAIV implementation; and 2016 work planning. The meeting welcomed external partners for selected sessions, including the ASEAN Secretariat, IOMX, World Vision and Save the Children.
The draft report of the COMMIT capacity assessment and development strategy was discussed with TFs and will be going through a national-level validation process before finalization. The strategy will provide an important resource for UN-ACT and other development partners to identify and coordinate their support to the COMMIT Process going forward.
TF representatives committed themselves to engaging NGOs in relevant sessions at COMMIT meetings, both nationally and regionally. The regional CSO platform will be submitting annual reports on their SPAIV implementation to the COMMIT TFs for joint progress monitoring. The COMMIT Youth Forum will be organized nationally and regionally in the lead up to COMMIT Senior Officials Meetings (SOMs).
There was agreement to intensify cooperation between COMMIT and ASEAN, especially following the adoption of the ASEAN Convention on Trafficking in Persons (ACTIP). Communication between national focal points for COMMIT and human trafficking affairs in ASEAN will also be strengthened. The ASEAN-COMMIT workshop on TIP indicators later this year is a concrete example of the intensifying relationship.
Existent national M&E mechanisms and expertise will be drawn upon for COMMIT reporting and monitoring purposes. A reporting template has been developed regionally to ensure compatibility, although different countries may opt for different approaches in line with SPAIV.
The work planning process for 2016 will kick off shortly, with national-level consultations planned for inclusion and buy-in of all relevant actors. The objective is to have the national work plans based on SPAIV finalized for implementation in early 2016.…
We have published the latest blog, ‘Victim Identification: A Multi-Stakeholder Process’:
The piece is inspired and informed by our recent Regional Network Meeting on Human Trafficking with victim identification as the thematic focus.
It discusses some of challenges with identification procedures in possible human trafficking cases, which help explain why only around 45,000 trafficked persons are identified annually despite millions estimated to be in situations of forced exploitation. The blog proposes a broadened approach to victim identification in response, incorporating labour inspectors and non-governmental organizations, and also describes why it is important to view it as a process as opposed to a one-off event.
You can access the blog by visiting our forum or clicking on this link.
Why do you think so few trafficked persons are identified annually? And what do you think can be done about it?
You can comment directly in response to the blog!…
Regional COMMIT Task Force Concluded
The latest Regional COMMIT Task Force (TF) meeting took place in Bangkok on 15 and 16 October. The meeting brought together the leadership of the national TFs from each of the 6 COMMIT members (Cambodia, China, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand and Viet Nam) and UN-ACT as the COMMIT Secretariat.
On the agenda were COMMIT capacity development; engagement with civil society actors; cooperation with ASEAN; monitoring and reporting progress of SPAIV implementation; and 2016 work planning. The meeting welcomed external partners for selected sessions, including the ASEAN Secretariat, IOMX, World Vision and Save the Children.
The draft report of the COMMIT capacity assessment and development strategy was discussed with TFs and will be going through a national-level validation process before finalization. The strategy will provide an important resource for UN-ACT and other development partners to identify and coordinate their support to the COMMIT Process going forward.
TF representatives committed themselves to engaging NGOs in relevant sessions at COMMIT meetings, both nationally and regionally. The regional CSO platform will be submitting annual reports on their SPAIV implementation to the COMMIT TFs for joint progress monitoring. The COMMIT Youth Forum will be organized nationally and regionally in the lead up to COMMIT Senior Officials Meetings (SOMs).
There was agreement to intensify cooperation between COMMIT and ASEAN, especially following the adoption of the ASEAN Convention on Trafficking in Persons (ACTIP). Communication between national focal points for COMMIT and human trafficking affairs in ASEAN will also be strengthened. The ASEAN-COMMIT workshop on TIP indicators later this year is a concrete example of the intensifying relationship.
Existent national M&E mechanisms and expertise will be drawn upon for COMMIT reporting and monitoring purposes. A reporting template has been developed regionally to ensure compatibility, although different countries may opt for different approaches in line with SPAIV.
The work planning process for 2016 will kick off shortly, with national-level consultations planned for inclusion and buy-in of all relevant actors. The objective is to have the national work plans based on SPAIV finalized for implementation in early 2016.…
‘Victim Identification as Multi-Stakeholder Process’: The latest Blog
We have published the latest blog, ‘Victim Identification: A Multi-Stakeholder Process’:
The piece is inspired and informed by our recent Regional Network Meeting on Human Trafficking with victim identification as the thematic focus.
It discusses some of challenges with identification procedures in possible human trafficking cases, which help explain why only around 45,000 trafficked persons are identified annually despite millions estimated to be in situations of forced exploitation. The blog proposes a broadened approach to victim identification in response, incorporating labour inspectors and non-governmental organizations, and also describes why it is important to view it as a process as opposed to a one-off event.
You can access the blog by visiting our forum or clicking on this link.
Why do you think so few trafficked persons are identified annually? And what do you think can be done about it?
You can comment directly in response to the blog!…
UN-ACT September 2015 Newsletter
Click on UN-ACT September 2015 Newsletter for all the latest information on human trafficking in the Greater Mekong Sub-region.…