Indonesia’s Challenges In Dealing With Human Trafficking
Until now, human trafficking is still categorized as a strategic issue for Indonesia that gets priority to be handled and controlled. The modes of crime which are increasingly diverse and developing, continue to pose a threat to the Indonesian state. The government continues to rescue Indonesian migrant workers, which is the starting point for acts of trafficking in persons.
However, several challenges remain amid these efforts. The poverty rate of the Indonesian people is still high, the level of education and knowledge is low, and the lack of land for work which has led to an increase in the unemployment rate is supported by information technology that continues to develop and is accessed by the community, which is a trigger as well as a challenge that must be faced by Indonesia in overcoming human trafficking.
The latest data from the Indonesian foreign ministry shows that in 2022 there will be around 968 Indonesian citizens who are victims of human trafficking in the Southeast Asian region to commit online scams. The existence of this challenge is a reminder of the importance of the commitment of all parties to coordinate in dealing with crimes of human trafficking.
In addition to the challenges that arise from the community side, relaxed supervision and regulations enforced by government elements at the city, regional and national levels are also the cause of the increasing level of human trafficking in Indonesia. Therefore, integrated steps, strengthening bilateral, regional, and international cooperation and law enforcement are very important. Since adopting conventions and protocols on human trafficking, Indonesia has also been increasingly aggressive in promoting this issue.
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This is demonstrated by Indonesia’s active participation in various forums discussing cross-border crimes, including crimes of human trafficking. Both in international and regional forums. The legally binding nature of a convention is also capable of triggering member states to continue to comply with existing regulations.
Even though the protocol is categorized as a soft law, the impact and interest of each country in handling the issue of human trafficking inevitably make it an obligation that must be conformed. In addition, this also proves that a country’s compliance with international agreements is influenced by the level of urgency of the issues formulated in the agreement.
The adoption of transnational crime conventions and protocols to prevent, suppress and punish perpetrators of human trafficking practices, basically must be Indonesia’s and other parties of UNTOC’s ‘eternal’ turning point to encourage all parties to take part in preventing the practice of human trafficking crimes. Not only become a legal framework that is formally adopted as a national regulation.
Nafa Almaushofia is currently persuing a Master’s degree in International relations at Gadjah Mada University