Campaign vs human trafficking launched next week

MANILA, Philippines – With the problem of human smuggling becoming more lucrative and complex, a campaign will be launched and a covenant among stakeholders will be signed in Manila next week to seal their commitment against human trafficking.  

US Ambassador Kristie Kenney will deliver the keynote address at the launching of the campaign called the War Against Human Trafficking on Tuesday at the Sofitel Philippine Plaza Hotel in Pasay City.

The campaign, spearheaded by the non-governmental organization Visayan Forum Foundation (VFF), will be launched with the signing of a covenant between VFF and its partners to seal their commitment against human trafficking, a social problem that has victimized countless Filipino women and children. 

The Philippines is a source, transit and destination country in this human trade.

The War Against Human Trafficking aims to fight the numerous facets of the human trafficking problem and to generate concrete actions from various stakeholders in the source communities, transit areas, and popular destinations where human trafficking occurs. 

The campaign also seeks to mobilize support from the public, communities, student groups and the private sector, particularly industries that are involved in transporting people through sea, air, and land. 

People who enlist in the movement will contribute to the protection and freedom of women and children who are sold into prostitution and trapped in slavery and servitude by traffickers.

The battle against human trafficking is a high priority for the US government and the American people. 

Between 2006 and 2008, the VFF has received over $1 million in funding from the State Department and US Agency for International Development (USAID), including funding to operate halfway houses at several ports throughout the country. 

The US also trains law enforcement officials on evidence-gathering techniques for human trafficking cases, and partners with prosecutors in creating models for handling these sensitive cases. 

The Philippines has called for intensified international cooperation to combat human trafficking that has been blamed on migration.

The Philippine delegation to the Vienna Forum to Fight Human Trafficking underscored the need to infuse present and future discussions and strategies with a gender and human rights perspective, and a balanced approach addressing both supply and demand factors.

The Philippines’ efforts to combat trafficking in persons was highlighted at the Vienna Forum to Fight Human Trafficking convened by the United Nations to counter the growing problem of trafficking in persons, considered as modern-day slavery.

Ambassador Linglingay Lacanlale, Philippine Permanent Representative to the UN in Vienna, highlighted the Philippines’ comprehensive anti-trafficking regime, founded on the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act (Republic Act 9208) enacted in 2003, as well as the valuable work undertaken by the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking in Persons (IACAT) in the areas of prevention, law enforcement, prosecution, penalties, and rehabilitation and reintegration services to the victims.

The Philippines has long been an advocate of international cooperation to combat human trafficking, given the huge segment of the Philippine population migrating abroad or from rural to urban areas in search of economic opportunities, and as women comprise the majority of Filipino migrants.

The Philippines is party to relevant UN conventions such as the Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime and its Supplementary Protocol Against Trafficking in Persons, as well as the Convention on the Protection of Migrant Workers and their Families.