BALI PROCESS CALLS FOR COOPERATION IN COMBATING HUMAN TRAFFICKING

PUTRAJAYA, March 31 (Bernama) -- The Bali Process Ministerial Conference has called for participants' cooperation in drawing up practical measures to tackle issues related to human trafficking and international crime in the Asia-Pacific region.

Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said this was a follow-up to
the discussions participated by 50 countries and international agencies including Malaysia, Australia, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Thailand, Sri Lanka, New Zealand and Singapore.

"At the conference, I had the opportunity to meet with Australia's
Immigration and Citizenship Minister Cris Bowen to discuss the direction and Malaysia-Australia cooperation in tackling issues related to human trafficking and international crime in a more focused manner," he said in a statement Wednesday.

Hishammuddin is now in Bali to attend the conference, where he also held a discussion with International Organisation for Migration (IOM) secretary-general William Lacy Swing over related issues, including assistance that IOM could give to victims of human trafficking in Malaysia.

He said IOM had been monitoring the detention centres in Malaysia where the victims of human trafficking were placed between October and December last year.

"The monitoring and evaluation findings were submitted to the National Anti-Human Trafficking Council jointly chaired by me and Women, Family and Community Development Minister Shahrizat Abdul Jalil," he said.

Among the proposals by IOM were the establishment of a national referral system, training for first respondents who received reports of the crime, and greater NGO involvement in public awareness campaigns and in managing the detention centres.

Based on IOM's evaluation, Shahrizat's ministry was tasked with handling all victims of human trafficking regardless of gender. If had before this, focused on helping female and child victims.