"We will never lose against mafia syndicates that cold-heartedly traffick the nation's children abroad," he said at a press conference at the office of the Coordinating Ministry for Political, Legal, and Security Affairs here on Tuesday.
According to him, the number of Indonesian workers illegally migrating abroad is still increasing. He invited all parties to build synergy in the fight against human trafficking mafias.
Based on data from the World Bank, of the nine million Indonesian migrant workers working abroad, only 4.6 million are legally registered with BP2MI.
"We must not allow this humanitarian issue to continue," he stressed.
The BP2MI said it is committed to eradicating mafias that send migrant workers illegally and will not hesitate to take firm action if any BP2MI personnel are found involved in the crime.
Rhamdani informed that from January 2020 till July 4, 2023, his agency has taken prevention steps and rescued 7,268 prospective Indonesian migrant workers.
So far, 714 cases have been handed over to the police, 255 cases have been handed over to the prosecutor's office, and verdicts have been issued in 42 cases.
He further said that the formation of the Human Trafficking Task Force by President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has reflected the state’s presence in protecting its people from human trafficking syndicates.
Rhamdani expressed the hope that the formation of the task force would expand efforts toward the universal eradication of and fight against syndicates sending Indonesian migrant workers illegally.
At the press conference on Tuesday, Political, Legal, and Security Affairs Minister Mahfud MD expressed his support for BP2MI's steps to fight human trafficking.
"What BP2MI is doing is very good. We have to support Mr. Rhamdani. We acknowledge his eagerness to fight the mafias," he said.
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Translator: Sugiharto Purnama, Raka Adji
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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