Transnational organized crime such as human trafficking, drug trafficking, arms smuggling, illegal migration, environmental crimes, money laundering etc. are threat to national, regional and international security. A country alone cannot tackle these security challenges. As a regional organization, ASEAN has been tackling these security challenges under the framework of ASEAN Security Community.
Since becoming a member of ASEAN in 1997, Myanmar has been actively participating in the ASEAN activities in line with its norms and values. This article will highlight how Myanmar’s education sector contributes in anti trafficking in person in line with ASEAN Convention Against Trafficking in Person especially Women and Children (ACTIP) and Bohol Trafficking in Person Work Plan (2017-2020). The “Bohol TIP Work Plan” has been developed by SOMTC (Senior Officials Meeting on Transnational Crime) Philippines in November 2016 through the collaborative efforts of relevant ASEAN Sectoral Bodies working towards combating trafficking in person. The plan is envisioned to drive the work of ASEAN on trafficking in persons from 2017-2020. Several ASEAN bodies have been involved and they are ASEAN Senior Law Officials Meeting (ASLOM), Senior Official Meetings on Social Welfare Development (SOMSWD), Senior Official Meetings on Education Development (SOM-ED), ASEAN Senior Officials Meting on Health Development (SOMHD), ASEAN Directors-General of Immigration Departments and Heads of Consular Affairs Divisions of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs (DGICM),ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) and ASEAN Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Rights of Women and Children (ACWA).
Myanmar is responsible to take chair of SOM-ED for the year 2019 and has been participating in the educational activities of the ASEAN. The SOMTC Philippines hosted the ASEAN Cross-sectoral meeting on the implementation of Bohol TIP Work Plan (2017-2020) from 5-6 March 2019 in Bohol.The aim of the meeting is to share the good practices in implementing the Bohol TIP Work Plan. Two-day meeting was held with nine plenary sessions. Two Myanmar delegations from SOM-ED were invited to participate the meeting. Among the plenary sessions, session four provides all ASEAN Sectoral Bodies to share their good practices and initiatives to combat trafficking in persons such as prevention of trafficking in persons, protection of victims, law enforcement and prosecution of crimes of trafficking in persons, and regional and international cooperation and coordination. Myanmar delegations of SOM-ED shared our country’s experience in combating TIP by highlighting three main points: 1) situation of TIP and implementation in Myanmar, 2) role of SOM-ED in preventing trafficking and 3) future needs to be implemented.
Myanmar has taken a number of initiatives in combating as a national cause since 1997 and carried out prevention and suppression under the existing laws. In 2004, Myanmar became a signatory to the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and its protocols and promulgated Anti TIP Law in 2005. According to Third Five-Year National Plan of Action to Combat TIP (2017-2021), several forms of human trafficking were found such as forced marriage (60.1%), forced prostitution (17.2%), forced labour (20.9%), child trafficking (0.8%) and debt bondage (1%). In the cross-border trafficking incidents, it was found that 63.7% were trafficked to China for forced marriage. In order to tackle the seissues, Myanmar has signed bilateral agreement with neighbouring countries like China and Thailand. Myanmar is also a member of Coordinated Mekong Ministerial Meeting in Trafficking (COMMIT).
It was an opportunity for Myanmar delegations to share some salient points of education sector such as Myanmar Sustainable Development Plan (2018-2030) and National Education Strategic Plan (2016-2021) at Bohol TIP meeting in 2019. These two plansdescribes about preventing and punishing human trafficking, preventing school drop out and combating use of child labour, giving awareness and education programmes, providing vocational education and training programmes for poor population, eliminating abuse discrimination and exploitation faced by young people including girls in all educational environments. The role of SOM-ED in Bohol TIP Work Plan is to cooperate with SOMTC and other sectoral bodies in the area of prevention such as(1) to provide information awareness campaign regarding victim’s rights using social media,(2)to conduct survey on how each ASEAN Member States integrate TIP in school curricula and at which level and (3) to conduct regional training programmes for school heads and teachers on the identification of victims and those at risk of trafficking in persons, where appropriate with the initiative of SOMTC. To be in line with Bohol TIP Work Plan (2017-2020), SOME-ED has conducted public awareness and educational talks on human trafficking in collaboration with SOMTC, Ministry of Home Affairs and MRTV, Ministry of Information. In 2018, the SOM-ED also held seminars and conducted essays, poems, articles, arts and poster competition in 35 Universities and15 Education colleges in both urban and remote areas.
Knowing that public awareness on TIP by using the social media is much more effective, education talk shows are broadcast in cooperation with MRTV. SOM-ED supported and participated in Anti TIP Day of Myanmar, which is held every year in Nay Pyi Taw. In order to be more effective in giving public awareness and to meet the Bohol TIP Work Plan, all Myanmar Universities and Colleges that already have set up their own websites should activate not only for information on education but also awareness on human trafficking.
Moreover, according to Bohol TIP Work Plan,it is necessary for SOM-ED to conduct survey on how ASEAN member states integrate TIP in school curricula and at what level. Here, let me share one effective example of the pilot project implemented by Asia Foundation in Myanmar. The Foundation,in partnership with Myanmar Library Association has implemented a pilot project to raise awareness about human trafficking. Myanmar libraries are chosen for a pilot project because they are serving as both community centers and information hubs. Thirty-nine librarians are trained from ten townships across the country with a comprehensive curriculum on “Human Trafficking and Risky Migration” that build life skills to reduce vulnerability to trafficking, violence and exploitation.The training module and the manual guide include Myanmar folk tales like “ရွှေစွန်ညိုဘာလိုလို့ ဝဲတယ်” “ ဗျိုင်း၊ ငါး၊ ပုဇွန်လုံး ” which makes easy and clear understanding about trafficking. In this context, SOM-ED needs to take a leading role in drafting the awareness of TIP in the school curriculum together with Myanmar National Curriculum Committee. It is also necessary to discuss at which level is best suited to give awareness and these plans should be implemented before 2020. Besides school curricula, special attention should also be paid to the monasteries where monastic education takes place. Many poor children, young nuns and monks are learning in many monasteries and awareness on TIP should also be conducted.
Last, but not least, according to Bohol TIP Work Plan, it is to conduct regional training programmes for school heads and teachers on the identification of victims and those at risk of trafficking in persons, where appropriate with the initiative of SOMTC. Although local trainings and workshops were conducted with the initiative of SOMTC, it is yet to implement the regional training programmes in which school heads and teachers are involved. Myanmar will host SOMTC and related meetings in June 2019 in Nay Pyi Taw. In this context, it is prerequisite for Myanmar to prepare with outcomes of the Bohol TIP Work Plan. With this aim in the mind, this article highlights to encourage SOM-ED to be prepared, support and work together with SOMTC to combat TIP effectively in line with ACTIP and the Bohol TIP work plan (2017-2020).
References:
– Bohol TIP Work Plan (2017-2020)
– Myanmar Sustainable Development Plan (2016-2030), Ministry of Planning and Finance, August 2018
– Myanmar Third Five-Year National Plan of Action to Combat Trafficking in Persons (2017-2021), Ministry of Home Affairs,
– Miki KyawMyint, “Can Myanmar Libraries Help Combat Human Trafficking?”, https://asiafoundation.org/2018/03/28/can-myanmars-libraries-help-combat-human-trafficking
