Although Laos has laws in place to address human trafficking, police and lawyers have difficulties in enforcing them because they have little direct experience of dealing with this crime.
“Human trafficking has long been a problem for us but we have only just begun to address it in legal terms, so we don't have much experience to draw from,” said Police Captain Phetsamone Vongpadith after attending the opening ceremony for a training course on anti-human trafficking law enforcement at the Judicial Training Centre at the Faculty of Law and Political Science in Vientiane yesterday.
The training course, which runs until Thursday, is being hosted by the Ministry of Justice and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), and has 15 lawyers and police attending, including the Deputy Minister of Justice, Mr Kisinh Sinphanngam.
The UNODC, in conjunction with the Ministry of Justice, established a project in October 2006 to strengthen law enforcement institutions to prevent and combat human trafficking.
Police Captain Phetsamone, who has been involved in anti-human trafficking initiatives in Laos, explained that there were a number of Lao laws which defined human trafficking as a crime punishable by prison sentences, such as the law on the protection of women and children, and the law on children's rights.
But he said enforcement of these laws was a major problem in addressing human trafficking, and that more training was needed for police and lawyers to gain a better understanding of the issues.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the training course, UNODC representative Mr Leik Boonwaat said that human trafficking was one of the worst violations of human rights confronting the United Nations, adding that it involves the illegal trading of women, children and men for purposes of exploitation such as prostitution, forced labour and organ removal.
“Human trafficking in the Mekong region is widespread and growing, with some 200,000 to 400,000 estimated to be trafficked each year,” he said.
“The situation in Laos is of great concern. Laos is both a source and transit country for human trafficking and has destination areas for internal trafficking,” he told the training participants.
Mr Leik emphasised that trafficking in human beings had become one of the most profitable activities of organised crime groups worldwide after illegal drugs and firearms, and he urged the sectors concerned to address the problem.
Laos is a member of UN conventions and protocols to prevent, suppress and punish trafficking in pers ons, especially women and children, therefore it is an obligation of UNODC to provide assistance to Laos, and especially the Ministry of Justice, in addressing the issue, Mr Leik said.
