Trafficking report needs global review

Trafficking report needs global review

The United States recently released its annual Trafficking In Persons report, which evaluates the global fight against human trafficking (" 'Progress made' to fight trafficking"; June 22).

Singapore was placed in Tier 2 as the report found that it had not complied with the "minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking".

Though Singapore has taken steps to rectify the problem, these were deemed insufficient.

While the report's efforts to rally governments to end human trafficking are laudable, whose interests does it serve?

At best, it is a unilateral approach by one state in measuring different governments' efforts in the prevention of human trafficking.

There has been no mention of a review panel, or plans to subject the results to scrutiny by an international audience and government bodies.

For its conclusions to be recognised, and for human trafficking to be acknowledged as a global problem, the report should be subject to a review by an international panel. This will give it multinational credence.

Daphne Goh Huiqi (Ms)


This article was first published on July 06, 2014.
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