Why do similar incidents keep occurring? The government should be able to minimize this.
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Speaker of the Regional Representative Council (DPD), La Nyalla Mahmud Mattalitti, has urged the government to develop a comprehensive strategy to halt human trafficking and dismantle human trafficking networks at their roots.

"Put an end to the illegal sending of migrant workers because 90 percent of Indonesian citizens who died while working abroad were sent illegally by syndicate perpetrators," he stated in a statement received on Thursday.

He also emphasized the need for the police and relevant institutions to take legal action against human trafficking perpetrators, including officials suspected of shielding these criminal networks.

"Law enforcement officials actually understand the modus operandi of human smuggling, but the question is: Why do similar incidents keep occurring? The government should be able to minimize this," he expressed.

According to Mattalitti, human trafficking involving the illegal sending of migrant workers is an exceptional issue that demands serious attention and resolution through appropriate and decisive measures.

"This is related to the state's responsibility to protect its citizens. It is disheartening to witness bodies being repatriated daily as victims of human trafficking resulting from poverty. They intended to earn a living in other countries, but they return home in a casket," he remarked.

He further highlighted that, based on data from the Indonesian Migrant Workers' Protection Agency (BP2MI), the number of Indonesian corpses repatriated due to human trafficking-related deaths has reached 1,900 within a year.

"The issue of human trafficking is a fundamental problem that concerns human rights, which should be guaranteed protection by the state," he added.

Earlier on Wednesday (May 25, 2023), BP2MI head Benny Rhamdani stated that there are approximately 4.4 million undocumented Indonesian migrant workers abroad who are at risk of becoming victims of violence.

On Tuesday (May 30), President Joko Widodo ordered the restructuring of the Task Force for the Eradication and Prevention of Human Trafficking Crimes.

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Translator: Melalusa Susthira, Raka Adji
Editor: Anton Santoso
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