The Star
“The amendments will harm victims of human trafficking by making it more likely that they will be treated as undocumented migrants subject to immediate deportation, undermining government efforts to counter trafficking,” he said in an open letter dated Sept 8 to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.
International law and practices recognised that “people smuggling” and “human trafficking” were dissimilar and required different law enforcement strategies, he said.
Any changes to strengthen Malaysian law against people smuggling should be incorporated into the Immigration Act and other legislation focused on border control, not anti-trafficking legislation, he said.
“If Malaysia wants to end human trafficking, it needs to start treating trafficking victims as victims,” Robertson said.
He said that by imprisoning undocumented migrants for people smuggling would only drive them underground and kill co-operation between them and the authorities to combat human trafficking.
Malaysia, he added, must preserve the basic rights of undocumented migrants and refugees.
PETALING JAYA: A human rights group has cautioned that recently-passed amendments to the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act could hamper Malaysia’s efforts to curb human trafficking.
Internationally-based Human Rights Watch said the changes to the laws had a narrow legal definition of human trafficking.
The groups’s Asia deputy director Phil Robertson said the amendments reduced the protection for children and adults who were tricked into becoming victims of the trafficking trade.
Internationally-based Human Rights Watch said the changes to the laws had a narrow legal definition of human trafficking.
The groups’s Asia deputy director Phil Robertson said the amendments reduced the protection for children and adults who were tricked into becoming victims of the trafficking trade.
“The amendments will harm victims of human trafficking by making it more likely that they will be treated as undocumented migrants subject to immediate deportation, undermining government efforts to counter trafficking,” he said in an open letter dated Sept 8 to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.
International law and practices recognised that “people smuggling” and “human trafficking” were dissimilar and required different law enforcement strategies, he said.
Any changes to strengthen Malaysian law against people smuggling should be incorporated into the Immigration Act and other legislation focused on border control, not anti-trafficking legislation, he said.
“If Malaysia wants to end human trafficking, it needs to start treating trafficking victims as victims,” Robertson said.
He said that by imprisoning undocumented migrants for people smuggling would only drive them underground and kill co-operation between them and the authorities to combat human trafficking.
Malaysia, he added, must preserve the basic rights of undocumented migrants and refugees.
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