37th ASEAN Heads of Specialist Anti-Trafficking Units – HSU Meeting held

The 37th ASEAN Heads of Specialist Anti-Trafficking Units – HSU Meeting was held virtually at the meeting hall of Anti-Human Trafficking Police Force Office No.38 yesterday.
Representatives from ASEAN member countries and representatives from the ASEAN Secretariat, including four representatives led by Police Brig-Gen Myint Htoo, commander of the anti-human trafficking police force, attended the event.
The meeting was held with ten agendas, and the leader of the Indonesian delegation, who acted as the chairman, gave an opening speech.
Police Brig-Gen Myint Htoo explained Myanmar’s anti-trafficking efforts, considering the changing forms of human trafficking and the ways to respond in case of emergency situations and technological innovations.
Myanmar carries the fight against human trafficking as a national policy, and the Constitution of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar clearly states that “the State prohibits slavery and human trafficking (Article 358)”.
Myanmar’s anti-trafficking law was enacted in 2005 and was amended in 2022.
The new law highlighted clear definitions of forced prostitution and other forms of sexual abuse, forced labour or forced service, slavery or servitude, forced marriage, forced begging, fraudulent adoption and surrogacy of children, etc.
In addition, in order to improve international cooperation, the law was able to establish a new working committee on international relations and cooperation.
They discussed that the Law on Children’s Rights was passed on 23 July 2019 and that the National Mechanism for the Referral of Human Trafficking Victims was approved and implemented on 14 December 2021.
Anti-Trafficking efforts, and HSU Business Plan 2022 – 2023 implementation conditions were focused during the meeting.
They also discussed the finalization of the HSU Action Plan 2023-2024 (Draft) and Laos’ hosting of the 38th Anti-Trafficking Task Force Leaders’ Meeting before the chairman’s closing speech. — MNA/KZL