The irregular movement of people across borders is an issue that has become increasingly grave, calling for multilateral efforts. Throughout history, it has been a logical human activity that people move from place to place in search of greener pastures and arable lands. People move to places that would make livelihood much easier and rewarding.

Owing to the vulnerable and clandestine nature of the problem, the entailed activities of irregular movement such as people smuggling, trafficking in persons and related crime have increased globally. Therefore Myanmar is of the view that the problem has to be seriously considered and properly solved. It has taken on new dimensions and become a pressing issue for many countries in the world.

Myanmar has 3805 miles of land boundary with five neighbouring countries. Some people in Myanmar find the situation of the more economically developed neighbouring countries and elsewhere, lucrative and attractive. Thus it is easy for the traffickers to lure the victims to such countries with false promises.

Myanmar people have over the years crossed the borders or the trans-boundaries in search of better job opportunities and higher incomes. Individual economic aspirations, rather than other reasons, were the coordinal motivation behind their movement. This situation has created opportunity for those who want to exploit them in various ways.

Policy Framework

Myanmar views trafficking in persons as a grave issue confronting humankind. Accordingly, it has been seriously tackling the issue through a comprehensive framework that includes national legislation, a national plan of action, high-level commitment, bilateral, regional and multilateral cooperation.

National

While the Myanmar National Committee for Women's Affairs (MNCWA) provides the leadership for the advancement of women in all sectors, it gives special emphasis to eliminating violence against women. Following the Beijing Platform, Myanmar addressed trafficking in women and children as a component of Violence against Women, but in recent years the MNCWA has heightened its interventions by addressing this issue as an independent but highly inter-linked component of its own.  Following its participation in Mekong Region Law Center (MRLC) Regional Conference in 1997, the National Plan of Action for Trafficking of Women and Children was successfully put forward to the First Conference on Myanmar Women.

The National Plan of Action for Prevention of Trafficking in Persons represents the national policy and it adopts a four-pronged approach to combating the issue: Prevention, Prosecution, Protection, and Repatriation, Return and Re-integration. It requires determining the domestic and cross-border trafficking situations, setting up a national task force, holding national workshops, training the officials, rehabilitating the trafficked victims, and promoting the role of Non-Governmental Organizations and International Non-Governmental Organizations effectively.

To monitor this National Plan of Action and to develop trafficking-related policy and to submit reports to the Government the State has entrusted the Ministry of Home Affairs (MOHA) as the focal ministry for trafficking. The Government also recognizes the important role of local and international NGOs in supporting prevention and awareness raising activities, and providing support to victims. It works closely with these organizations, as well as UN partners, Save the Children-UK and World Vision International both directly and through the UN Inter-Agency Project (UNIAP) on Human Trafficking in the Greater Mekong Sub-Region.

As a fulfilment of the commitment made in Beijing, the Government established a national machine for women namely the Myanmar National Committee for Women's Affairs (MNCWA) on 3 July 1996. The Chairman of the Committee is the Minister for Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement.

A Working Committee was formed on 7 October 1996 namely the Myanmar National Working Committee for Women's Affairs (MNWCWA) and it is headed by the Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement and constituted 30 members from 11 related ministries and NGOs.

Another working committee under MNCWA was formed on 17 July 2002 namely the Preventive Working Committee for Trafficking in Person. This Committee is headed by the Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Home Affairs and constitutes 24 members from 11 related ministries and NGOs.

The MNCWA, in cooperation with UNIAP, UNICEF, and SC-UK, organized the first-ever national seminar on trafficking in persons. The seminar brought together all of the key government agencies, as well as international organisations and NGOs. The experts and practitioners from Myanmar and abroad were engaged in two days of important discussions on the nature of trafficking in Myanmar and appropriate responses. The seminar recommendations provide a basis for the development of new and expanded responses to trafficking in Myanmar, building on the many activities already in place.

With the aim to promote the welfare and advancement of Women in Myanmar , a new NGO, namely "Myanmar Women's Affairs Federation" (MWAF) was formed on 20 December 2003. One of the seven objectives of MWAF is to strive for the elimination of trafficking in women and children. To implement this objective, Working Groups on Trafficking in Women and Children; Rehabilitation and Reintegration and Violence against Women were formed. MWAF co-ordinates and collaborates with UN agencies, national and international NGOs in addressing the issue of trafficking in women and children.

On 13 September 2005, Myanmar enacted the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Law.

Regional

One way towards contributing to addressing this issue by actively participating in a number of regional and international fora. Myanmar participated in the Regional Conference on the Prevention of Trafficking in Persons organized by the Mekong Region Law Centre (MRLC) in 1997. In terms of international cooperation, Myanmar has actively participated in international conferences held in Laos PDR, Thailand , Australia , Indonesia , China and Japan between 2000 and 2003. In particular, Myanmar actively participated in the Ministerial Meetings in Bali related to Trafficking in Persons where the issue of collaboration across the region was discussed.

In June 2003, Myanmar signed a MoU on Cooperation in the Employment of Workers with the Government of the Kingdom of Thailand with the aim of regularizing Myanmar illegal workers currently employed in Thailand .

The Australian government contributed a project named Asia Regional Cooperation to Prevent People Trafficking (ARCPPT) to combat trafficking within Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Lao PDR, and the MoU between Government of Myanmar and Government of Australia was signed on 22 December 2003.  In recognition of the complex nature of the crime of trafficking, the Ministry of Home Affairs is in the process of establishing a special anti-trafficking unit under this project. This unit will have overall responsibility for Myanmar 's criminal justice response to trafficking. With similar units also being established in several other countries in the Greater Mekong Sub-region, the Government is confident that this will provide the basis for closer cooperation in apprehending and prosecuting traffickers, and protecting victims, across the GMS region.

International

Myanmar has signed, ratified and acceded to the following international instruments relating to trafficking in person issue;

After a thorough consideration of the UN Convention on Transnational Organized Crime and its Protocols on Trafficking in Persons and Smuggling of Migrants, Myanmar deposited the instruments of accession on 30 March 2004. As follow up action to the accession, Myanmar has enacted the Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters Law on 28 April 2004.

Prevention and Protection Programs
Vulnerability Reduction Programs

A multi-disciplinary mobile training team was organized with the cooperation of UNIAP and MNCWA in 2001.In addition to member from UN-IAP and MNCWA the team consists of officials from Police, Immigration, Attorney General's Office, Social Welfare, Health, Education, MMCWA run participatory training courses throughout the country.  Since October 2001 up to May 2004, the mobile team has been able to train over 380 service providers from the above ministries in 12 States and Divisions. The impact of the training has been indicated that it's replicating training at the district and township levels by the trained personnel. In addition, Parents, Teachers and Community groups have been sensitized on the issue of trafficking.

Other initiatives include education and vocational training programs, awareness raising and information dissemination, credit and loan schemes and HIV/AIDS prevention and counseling. In Myanmar, MNCWA, Myanmar Maternal and Child Welfare Association (MMCWA) and related ministries na

mely: the Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement, the Ministry for Progress of Border Areas and National Races and Development Affairs, and UN agencies such as UNDP, UNICEF, UNODC, UNFPA and UNIAP as well as the INGOS including Save the Children (UK) and World Vision International have been involved in these programs. Educational programs range from stipends and scholarships to non-formal education classes, learning circles and reading circles for out-of-school children.

Poverty alleviation programs include income generated activities, vocational skills training and provision of micro-credit loans. The Ministry for Progress of Border Areas and National Races and Development Affairs and MNCWA are implementing these programs in collaboration with UN agencies and International organizations.

Awareness raising and information dissemination are implemented through community campaigns, training workshops, educational talks, radio talks and production of several IEC materials such as pamphlets, posters, comic books, video plays, video spots with messages on trafficking and its related issues. Ten TV spots have been produced as joint effort among MNCWA, UNIAP and UNICEF and aired on Myanmar TV channels. The newsletter on trafficking in persons was produced for the first time in Myanmar as a collaborative activity between UNIAP and UNICEF.

Child protection programs are being carried out through preventive, protective and rehabilitative measures for Children Need Special Protection (CNSP) with the cooperation of relevant departments, NGOs and ING0s. Various programs for child abuse, neglect and exploitation are undertaken in accordance with the 1993 Child Law in line with CRC. The CRC implementation and child protection program are also undertaken by the Social Welfare Department as a focal point of CRC.

With the cooperation of UNICEF awareness-raising on child protection and child abuse, neglect and sexual exploitation are being conducted in State/ Division, District and Township levels. The target groups are CRC members, NGOs and community members at different levels. Two training manuals are produced in Myanmar Language. The training workshops on child protection and child abuse, neglect and exploitation have been held. The Social Welfare Training School provides training programs on child protection, child abuse and exploitation for Social Welfare Officers, Probation Officers and Care-providers, IEC materials were produced and distributed to the States and Divisions Social Welfare Officers and other relevant Departments.

Labour standards

The Union of Myanmar, in keeping up to its obligations as a member of the United Nations and the International Labour Organization have adopted measures that address the assurances of protection of the populace in general and the workers in particular.  Labour Laws have been enacted and administered by the Ministry of Labour and its departments to provide protection of labour standards in Myanmar . The coverage of these laws encompasses any person who comes under the definitions of "worker" without any form of discrimination.

The 13 existing labour laws in Myanmar that are administered by the Departments, Boards & Committees under the Ministry of Labour includes amongst other: Employment and Training Act, 1950 and Social Security Act, 1954.

These Labour Laws are now under review for their efficacy by the Laws Scrutiny Central Body of the Attorney General's Office to be in line with the changing economic and social conditions.

Criminal Justice Response
Legal Framework

The practice of Criminal Justice System in Myanmar has 7 areas of operation by 5 components of the law enforcement and the justice system. The seven areas include prevention of crime, detection of crime, investigation of crime, proceeding, prosecution, trial and correction. The five components are police force, the law office, the court proceeding, the prisons department and non-custodial component. The responsibility for crime prevention and reduction does not lie within a single component, but within all five components in the criminal justice system, applying coordination and cooperation.

The exclusive practice of the criminal justice system in Myanmar is the formation of committees on crime reduction and education at all levels of jurisdiction from States and Divisions to townships. The Deputy Minister of Home Affairs acts as the chairman of the Central Committee while other local authorities provide leadership at the remaining levels respectively. For instance, the Chairperson of the Township, Peace and Development Council heads the Township Committee while the Township Police Officer, the Judge, the Law

Officer and the Information and Public Relations Officer act as members.

Although there is no specific law on trafficking in persons, Myanmar has a wide range of existing legal provisions in related areas to pursue trafficking cases. Relevant laws include:

The offences can include: physical, sexual or psychological assault or abuse; offences related to the exploitation of prostitution ('pimping', brothel management), production or possession of forged or stolen identity or travel documents; facilitation of illegal immigration; and the conspiracy to commit any of these crimes. The Supreme Court has issued directives to the effect that any case concerning convictions for trafficking related crimes will attract severe penalty.

The Law Relating to Overseas Employment functions not only as a protection for oversea workers, but also as a deterrent against illegal migration.

All of the offences stated above can be subject to extra-territorial provisions as Myanmar law allows for the prosecution of a Myanmar national in Myanmar in respect of crimes committed both inside and outside of Myanmar.

Myanmar has drafted a specific anti-trafficking law. The Ministry of Home Affairs has organized the drafting committee with representative from respective departments. The Committee has reviewed the existing legislation in Myanmar and studied the UN CTOC and its Protocols, various anti-trafficking laws of other countries and the UN Recommended Principles and Guidelines on Human Rights and Human Trafficking to facilitate the drafting of a special law on trafficking in persons.  This follows a long process of reviewing the relevancy to draft a specific law.

Recognizing the important role of victims as witnesses in trafficking cases, the Government is also considering a range of other issues in the legislative review. These include provisions to protect the identity of a victim-witness in criminal proceedings; provisions to conduct audio or video recording of interviews; and witness protection programs.

The Mutual Legal Assistance is an instrument that the respective countries have to lay down as the procedure of cooperation. Myanmar has recently enacted the Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters Law on 28 April 2004.

Arrests and Prosecutions

During the period between 17 July 2002 and 30 June 2004, 388 trafficking cases were reported to the Preventive Working Committee for Trafficking in Persons. Of these 157 cases were already indicted and handed down while 105 are currently being tried.  115 cases are under investigation by the police force. The maximum punishment for traffickers can be life imprisonment and for human smugglers 3 to 7 years of imprisonment as stated in the Law Relating to Overseas Employment, 1999 Overseas Employment Act. A total of 756 traffickers: 415 males and 341 females were arrested and a total of 2010 victims were identified.

Victim Support
Services for Victims

The Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement is the focal ministry for providing services to victims. It deals mainly with repatriation of trafficked persons and reintegration/ rehabilitation programs including education supports and vocational training with alternative income opportunities for girls/women and boys, and managing institutions/shelters and vocational training centres.

The MNCWA, MMCWA and international NGOs such as SC-UK and World Vision have been providing services in counseling, skills training, financial assistance, health support, non-formal education according to the needs and the best interest of the victims. The types and levels of support provided for each individual is different depending on a variety of circumstances; depending on one's own interest, training and job available opportunities. Necessary follow up visits are provided depending on the accessibility and location of their homes. Community participation plays an important role especially for the cases located in the out reach places. In such cases interested village social workers are trained to provide follow up support.

Return and Reintegration services

The Ministry of Home Affairs, the Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement, the Ministry of Immigration and Population and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs are the main ministries for facilitating receiving Myanmar victims of trafficking in persons from abroad in cooperation with governmental and non-governmental organization.

One of the return services initially facilitated by UNIAP, involves MNCWA, IOM, Save the Children UK, World Vision International and local NGOs. Since March 2001, over one hundred girls and women have been returned to the motherland. With the cooperation between the Governments of Myanmar and Thailand, six young Myanmar girls who were trafficked into Thailand for child labour were repatriated to Myanmar in January 2004.

Return and reintegration services include family tracing and assessment, alternative shelter/safe space identified for victims with a negative assessment of the family, alternative livelihood and community based activities to facilitate their long term reintegration into the community, counseling services, health care provision and referral services, educational assistance and other welfare supports.

The Department of Social Welfare (DSW) established training schools for boys, girls and Vocational Training Schools for Women (VTW) for Children Need Special Protection (CNSP) children-Sexual abused and exploited children are being taken care in VTW by providing educational training, vocational training and Social training. Social counseling, reproductive health, knowledge of HIV/AIDS are given to them. The DSW provides medical treatment with the cooperation of Department of Health (DOH). The probation officers make home visit for social investigation so as to reintegrate into the society. Based on the social investigation report, sexual abused and exploited children who have parents and guardians and healthy social environment are sent back to their family and society. The Department provides follow up activities such as financial assistance, placement and income generation.

International Cooperation

In terms of international cooperation, Myanmar has actively participated in international conferences held in Laos PDR, Thailand, Australia, Indonesia, China and Japan between 2000 and 2003.  In particular, Myanmar actively participated in the Ministerial Meetings in Bali related to Trafficking in Persons where the issue of collaboration was discussed.  Ongoing collaboration with h neighbouring countries such as Thailand, China and Laos are in place.

As noted above, Myanmar and Thailand have signed a MoU on Labour Migration on 22 June 2003. While recognizing the importance of the migration management, a specific MoU on trafficking is being considered.., Myanmar also has signed a MoU with the Australian government to combat trafficking in Asia on 22 December 2003.

As the Myanmar Government recognizes the importance of close cooperation among the GMS countries on the trafficking issue, it will host the Ministerial Meeting as the process of Coordinated Mekong Ministerial Initiatives against Trafficking (COMMIT) in October 2004 and welcomes the proposal for a regional MoU or MoA among the GMS countries, with a view to developing a sub-regional plan of actions in combating human trafficking.

The handing-over of fugitives is being carried out on a case-by-case basis. The action in this regard has also been submitted to UN Counter Terrorism Committee in its official report. From 2001 to 2003 the number of fugitives handed over to the People's Republic of China was 23 and 1 to Thailand and 2 to India.

Conclusion and Recommendations

The issue of trafficking in persons especially  women and children is not new, and in every country concerned, governmental organizations, the NGOs and UN organizations have always strive their best to prevent it. However, it appears to be increasing and acquiring grave new directions in the recent context of globalization.

Myanmar, as presented above has achieved progress to some extent in prevention, protection, prosecution and rehabilitation of the victims. Some of the constraints in dealing with this issue are difficulty in obtaining accurate data because of the sensitivity and illegality of the trafficking business and the existence of new sophisticated mechanism. It has now become evident that the trafficking issue cannot be adequately addressed through short term and micro-projects. It is indeed a national development issue, linked to larger regional and global development process. Thus the recommendations are as follows: