ARTIP | ASIA REGIONAL TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS PROJECT

 SECURING JUSTICE FOR VICTIMS AND ENDING IMPUNITY FOR TRAFFICKERS

Previous key developments and resources can be accessed here: Key Developments and Resources Archive

Release Date: 28 July, 2011

Download this publication here [English]

The Report identifies general trends in criminal justice responses to trafficking throughout the ASEAN region and examines the challenges that lie ahead. It was requested by the ASEAN Senior Officials on Transnational Crime and was formally launched by ASEAN in Singapore on 28 July 2011.  The Report was prepared by technical experts within the Asia Regional Trafficking in Persons Project (ARTIP). Senior criminal justice practitioners from ASEAN Member States provided valuable information and insight as well as feedback on draft materials.

In the words of the ASEAN Secretary-General, the Progress Report is: “more than a compilation of publicly available information. Its goal is much more ambitious: to describe and examine national and regional responses to trafficking in South East Asia with specific reference to the rules and standards which ASEAN Member States themselves have developed or freely accepted”.

The Progress Report is structured around seven key components of an effective criminal justice response to trafficking:

• Strong and comprehensive legal frameworks
• Specialist investigative capacity to investigate TIP
• Front line capacity to identify and respond to TIP
• Prosecutorial and judicial capacity with regard to TIP cases
• Victim identification, protection and support
• Provision of support to victims as witnesses
• International legal cooperation.

Each Chapter deals with one component: commencing with a brief examination of the relevant standards that have emerged through a combination of international, regional and national law and policy as well as accepted good practices. Each Chapter then provides an overview of progress in the ASEAN region towards realisation of those standards, illustrated with examples. The final section of each Chapter summarises the major obstacles and opportunities towards effective realisation of the relevant component. The chapters conclude with an annex that sets out the relevant standards in tabular form ('quality standards').

Downloads:

• Progress Report on Criminal Justice Responses to Trafficking in Persons in the ASEAN Region ( to view the PDF file, you will need to download, at no cost, the Adobe Acrobat Reader).
• Foreword by the Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr. Surin Pitsuwan
• ASEAN Secretariat News, "ASEAN Progress Report on the Criminal Justice Response to Trafficking in Persons", Singapore, 28 July 2011

The Convention Concerning Decent Work for Domestic Workers sets standards for basic rights for domestic workers and, along with other protections, requires governments to set a minimum age for domestic work. To protect migrant workers, the treaty requires governments to regulate employment recruitment and to investigate abuse complaints. The treaty was adopted on 16 June 2011 and will come into force twelve months after the date on which the ratifications of two Members have been registered with the Director-General.

Release Date: 27 October, 2010

Download this publication here [English]

The purpose of this Handbook is to provide criminal justice officials within the ASEAN region with an introduction to the key tools of international cooperation, specifically mutual legal assistance and extradition and to provide guidance on how these tools might be relevant to the investigation and prosecution of trafficking in persons cases.

The Handbook is aimed at criminal justice practitioners, primarily law enforcement officers, prosecutors, central authority lawyers, and others who may be involved in investigating and prosecuting trafficking in persons cases, or in processing or considering requests for assistance across borders.

The information contained in the Handbook is primarily based on international legal standards as they relate to both trafficking in persons and the mechanisms of international cooperation. The Handbook also reflects norms and standards that have been developed at the regional level and through bilateral treaties. Frequent reference is made to key international human rights instruments as these provide a normative framework for criminal justice systems and outcomes that respect the rights of all persons. The Handbook also considers both accepted and emerging norms and standards that are contained in non-legal instruments such as policy documents of intergovernmental organisations, model laws and memoranda of understanding between States.

The Handbook is divided into five chapters:

Chapter 1: provides information on trafficking in persons with an emphasis on the elements of the crime of trafficking in persons as it has been defined in international law (and in the national legislation of most ASEAN Member States). The chapter also provides an overview of the international legal framework around trafficking in persons with a particular focus on those instruments that are most directly relevant to international cooperation.

Chapter 2: provides an introduction to international cooperation in the investigation and prosecution of trafficking cases. It explains the importance of such cooperation; identifies the main forms of cooperation; and provides an overview of its legal basis. The chapter concludes with a note on the key issues of sovereignty, safeguards and human rights as these relate to international cooperation.

Chapter 3: considers the international cooperation tool of mutual assistance. It commences by identifying the key international and regional principles on mutual assistance; explaining the relevance of mutual assistance in trafficking cases; and summarizing the legal basis for mutual assistance. The chapter then identifies and considers the various principles and conditions attached to mutual assistance. Information is provided on how to prepare, transmit and respond to mutual assistance requests.

Chapter 4: follows on from the previous chapter by considering mutual assistance in the specific context of recovery of proceeds of trafficking crimes. It commences by identifying the key international and regional principles on mutual assistance in this situation; explaining the importance of pursuing the financial proceeds of trafficking crimes; and summarizing the legal basis for mutual assistance to recover trafficking proceeds. The chapter then identifies and considers the procedural and evidential requirements as well as additional considerations that may arise in the context of cross-border proceeds recovery.

Chapter 5: deals with extradition. It includes information on the nature of extradition; the importance of extradition as a tool in prosecuting trafficking cases; and the various legal bases that can be relied on to support a request for extradition. The chapter then considers the pre-conditions and safeguards that typically apply in extradition cases. It concludes with practical information on procedures that are typically followed in extradition cases and on how to prepare, transmit and respond to extradition requests.

Annexes: The Handbook contains a number of important annexes. Annex 1 provides comprehensive country summaries of the legal and procedural framework relevant to international cooperation in each of the ten ASEAN Member States. Those country summaries have been organized in a way that tracks the structure of the present book. Other annexes include full texts and extracts from the major international and regional treaties that provide a legal basis for extradition between ASEAN Member States.

Downloads:

• ASEAN Handbook on International Legal Cooperation in Trafficking in Persons Cases [English]
• Foreword by the Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr. Surin Pitsuwan
• Joint AusAID ASEAN UNODC Media Release
• ASEAN Bulletin November 2010, "ASEAN Launches Handbook on Anti-Trafficking Cooperation", ASEAN Secretariat, 2 November 2010

Previous key developments can be accessed here: Key Developments and Resources Archive