US ambassador lauds Taiwan’s anti-human trafficking efforts

2016/07/29

The first International Workshop on Strategies for Combating Human Trafficking was held in Taipei City July 27, during which Susan Coppedge, the U.S. ambassador-at-large to combat and monitor trafficking in persons, commended Taiwan for achieving Tier 1 status for the seventh consecutive year.

“To date, Taiwan has signed 16 memoranda of understanding with countries around the world, most recently Panama and El Salvador, to increase information sharing and cooperation in stemming the flow of trafficking. We are very appreciative to have such a reliable partner as we seek to end modern slavery,” the ambassador said.

Coppedge, who gave a speech at the workshop, was on her first visit to Taiwan since being confirmed by the U.S. Senate and appointed to the position by President Barack Obama in 2015. Her presence at the event underscores the close cooperation between Taiwan and the U.S. in the fight against human trafficking.

The U.S. Department of State’s 2016 Trafficking in Persons Report divided 188 countries into three tiers, with Tier 1 status accorded to nations that fully meet the minimum standards of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act. Taiwan is one of only five Tier 1 countries in Asia, the other four being Armenia, Israel, the Philippines and South Korea.

“Staying at Tier 1 for seven years in a row indicates Taiwan’s 4-P strategies—prevention, prosecution, protection and partnership—for combating human trafficking are effective,” the National Immigration Agency under the Ministry of the Interior said. “When it comes to fighting human trafficking, Taiwan can be rated as a model for Asia and the world.”

According to the TIP Report, Taiwan surpasses many other countries in its efforts to fight human trafficking. “Taiwan’s Human Trafficking Prevention and Control Act [which took effect in June 2009] prohibits forced prostitution and labor and prescribes up to seven years’ imprisonment; these penalties are sufficiently stringent and commensurate with those prescribed for other serious crimes, such as rape.”

Taiwan was also given credit in the report for its measures designed to protect victims, such as three shelters set up by the NIA. The Ministry of Labor was also cited for subsidizing 20 similar facilities and a 24-hour hotline for trafficking victims.

Source: Taiwan Today (http://taiwantoday.tw/ct.asp?xItem=246580&ctNode=2194&mp=9)