He made the request at the 27th meeting of ASEAN Directors-General of Immigration Departments and Heads of Consular Affairs Divisions of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs (DGICM) in Nha Trang, Vietnam.
"Indonesia, with abundant human resource potential, is an easy target for human trafficking syndicates in ASEAN, where more than 85 percent of victims are smuggled into, from, and within the region," he said at the forum, according to a press release.
From 2020–2023, as many as 2,434 cases related to online fraud were recorded as being handled by Indonesian representatives in the Southeast Asia region.
According to him, the new mode of trafficking of Indonesian nationals involves online fraud schemes, such as fake investments, love scams, and money laundering.
The victims are recruited and lured with promises of lucrative jobs in neighboring countries, but end up becoming victims of exploitation, which includes, among other things, long working hours and threats or acts of violence.
He underlined that President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has instructed law enforcement officials to prevent and eradicate transnational crimes, including human smuggling.
The Directorate General of Immigration is carrying out human smuggling prevention and eradication efforts by pursuing regional and international cooperation.
The director general said that cooperation between ASEAN countries contributes significantly to efforts to repatriate Indonesian nationals who fall victim to human trafficking.
He added that in 2022, as many as 484 Indonesians were repatriated from Cambodia, while 23 were repatriated from Laos.
On June 26, 2023, Indonesia's immigration authorities, together with the government of the Philippines, conducted an operation to save 137 Indonesian nationals trapped in online fraud companies.
Furthermore, in July of the same year, 10 Indonesians were repatriated from Cambodia with the help of the local government, while 26 Indonesian nationals were repatriated from Myanmar after allegedly falling victim to human trafficking.
Karim expressed the hope that the DGICM would contribute to tackling issues in ASEAN, especially human trafficking.
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Translator: Fath Putra, Raka Adji
Editor: Aditya Eko Sigit Wicaksono
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