Taipei, July 20 (CNA) The government will tackle the human trafficking issue with comprehensive legislation that seeks to identify victims and provide them with better protection, an official said Friday in a video conference with U.S. officials.
A draft bill that focuses on the protection of human trafficking victims has been in the works and is expected to be placed on the agenda of the Legislative Yuan in September, said Chien Hu Hui-juan, Immigration Affairs Division director of the National Immigration Agency (NIA) , in the conference, which was titled "Preventing Trafficking in People Crimes through Comprehensive Legislation" and organized by the American Cultural Center.
Chien said the bill is expected to be the first legislation in Taiwan that coordinates inter-agency collaboration by the Council of Labor Affairs, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of the Interior, the National Police Agency, the Coast Guard Administration, and various social groups and non-government organizations that aims to identify criminals and victims of human trafficking.
The initiative was welcomed by the U.S. government as Mark Lagon, director of the State Department's Office to Combat and Monitor Trafficking in Persons, praised the government's response to multi-dimensional trafficking since last year, which included the creation of a national plan of action and an inter-agency committee; the drafting of legislative amendments to the immigration law; and increased prosecution of trafficking crimes.
Lagon, who spoke to about 100 conference attendees in Taipei and Kaohsiung from Washington, D.C., stressed the importance of adequate legislation that addresses all of the elements found in modern day slavery, saying that a comprehensive law is the "gold standard" and a "critical tool."
Criminal law is not enough to cover all facets of the trafficking problem, because "it only punishes the criminals, " said Mohamed Mattar, a professor at Georgetown University and the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.
Collaboration between law enforcement and social care groups is instrumental in combating human trafficking and rescuing victims, said March Bell, senior special counsel for trafficking issues in the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice.
The comprehensive bill is looking to do just that, Chien said. However, all the agencies involved in the program have to avoid departmentalism and prosecutors need to take the leading roles, which is not the case at present, she said.