Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The National Polices Criminal Investigation Department (Bareskrim) has urged the Indonesian government to ratify the convention against trafficking in persons (TIP).

Cambodia, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar, and the Philippines have enacted their law ratifying the convention, while other member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are in the process of finalizing such a law, Bareskrim Chief Commissioner General Ari Dono Sukmanto noted in a press statement released on Tuesday.

"Of course, it is important for Indonesia to think of how to solve the root cause of the problems while at the same time uphold human rights," he emphasized.

Sukmanto made the statement during the ASEAN Regional Forum Workshop on TIP held in Semarang, the capital of Central Java Province.

Based on the data of 2017, some 30 million cases of TIP have been recorded worldwide, Sukmanto remarked.

"This means that one out of every 280 people in the world falls prey to TIP. Of the 30 million, 600 thousand to 800 thousand men, women, and children fall victim to TIP who cross borders worldwide every year," he emphasized.

Of the total, 80 percent are women who are trapped in the sexual exploitation industry, he stated.

"Ironically, 50 percent of them are girls," Sukmanto added.

The forum was also attended by Director for ASEAN Political and Security Cooperation of the Indonesian Foreign Ministry M. Chandra W. Yudha, Anti-Trafficking Coordinator of the European Union Dr. Myria Vassiliadou, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime representative Collie Brown, European Police representative for Interpol Global Complex for Innovation Benoit Godart, and Director of Human Rights and Humanitarian Relations of the Indonesian Foreign Ministry Dicky Komar.(*)

Editor: Heru Purwanto
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