Addressing Human Trafficking
Indonesia has become a country of origin for overseas human trafficking with the destinations of Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Taiwan, Japan, Hong Kong and the Middle East. Indonesia has also become the country of destination for human trafficking from China, Thailand, Hong Kong, Uzbekistan, the Netherlands, Poland, Venezuela, Spain, and Ukraine with the purpose of sexual exploitation.
According to paragraph three of the Palermo Protocol, the transaction activities include: the recruitment, transportation, transfer, accommodating or acceptance of people, which is conducted by threat or other the use of coercion such as abduction, deception or deceit, abuse of power, abuse of prone position, the use of gifts or receiving of payments (profit) in order to get conscious approval (consent) from persons who have control over other people for exploitation purposes. The exploitation includes at least prostitution (exploitation of prostitution) of others, or other measures such as forced labor or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude, or the removal of organs.
Empirical evidence shows that women and children most frequently fall victim.
In the US State Department’s Human Trafficking report in 2011, Indonesia was placed in the second level in regard to the standard of protection for victims of human trafficking. Indonesia was deemed a main source of the trafficking of women, children and men, both as sex slaves or forced labor victims. According to Indonesia government data, which was quoted in the report, about 6 million Indonesians were employed as migrant workers abroad, including 2.6 million in Malaysia and 1.8 million in the Middle East. Of the overall number of migrant workers, 4.3 million had official documents and the other 1.7 million were undocumented workers. About 69 percent of Indonesian migrant workers were women.
The Women\'s Empowerment Ministry estimated that 20 percent of Indonesian workers overseas had fallen victim to human trafficking. At present, there are 6.5 to 9 million Indonesian workers employed abroad. Based on data from the International Organization for Migration (IOM), 70 percent of the mode of human trafficking in Indonesia originated from the illegal sending of workers abroad.
Regions believed to be at the center of recruitment are Java, Bali, Kalimantan and Sulawesi, with the destination countries in Asia, the Middle East and Europe. Unicef estimates that about 100,000 Indonesian women and children are trafficked each year for commercial sexual exploitation in Indonesia and abroad. About 30 percent of female prostitutes in Indonesia are under 18 years old and 40,000-70,000 children are the victim of exploitation agencies.
Human trafficking constitutes a modern form of slavery, which takes place both in the national and international levels. With the development of information technology, communication and transformation, the mode of human trafficking crimes has become increasingly sophisticated. Similarly, the sophistication of the workings of human trafficking has to be followed by legal devices that can catch the perpetrators. A special legal instrument is needed to protect the victims.
Each victim of human trafficking is entitled to legal assistance based on provisions of prevailing legislation. Victims of human trafficking are entitled to rehabilitation, both physically and psychologically, and to be integrated or returned to their families, community and educational institutions. The criminal acts of human trafficking are perceived as a threat to the community, state and nation, and against the norms of life.
Difficult to prove
Until now, the handling of the criminal cases is oriented mostly on the suspects or defendants, while the victims\' rights are often ignored. In the framework of legal protection for victims, the government issued Law No. 21/2007 on the eradication of human trafficking crimes.
In the legal enforcement of human trafficking crimes, evidence is absolutely needed. Theoretically, there are four systems of evidence in human trafficking crimes. First, conviction in time is a system of proof based on the judge\'s an sich belief in issuing a verdict on whether the indictment has been proven. Second, conviction in raisonee is a system of proof based on the judge\'s belief in issuing a verdict on whether the indictment has been proven. The judge\'s belief factor in the proof system has to be based on reasonable argumentation. This is what distinguishes it from the first system.
Third, positief wetelijk stelsel or better known as positive verification system is a system of proof based on the evidence that has been determined by the law in issuing the verdict on whether the indictment is proven. Fourth, negatief wetelijk stelsel or better known as negative verification system is a system of proof based on evidence that has been determined by the law and the judge\'s confidence in issuing the verdict on whether the indictment has been proven (Sudikno Mertokusumo, 2006 : 141).
In the Indonesian context, the verification system regulated under the Criminal Code is contained in Article 183, which concludes: "The judge cannot sentence someone unless there are at least two valid pieces of evidence, and he is confident that a crime really happened and that the defendant is guilty of committing the crime." From the article it can be seen that the process of finding proof has to be based at least on two valid pieces of evidence accompanied by confidence gained from the evidence.
It means the availability of at least two pieces of evidence alone is not enough to sentence the defendant. On the contrary, even though the judges are convinced about the guilt of the defendant, if there are at least two pieces of evidence, the judge is not able to sentence the defendant. In this case, the verdict against the defendant has to meet the two absolute requirements, namely the adequate evidence and the judge\'s confidence. The verification system is known as the negatief wettelijk system.
Child trafficking
The results of an International Labor Organization (ILO) study shows that throughout the world, about 12.3 million people are trapped in forced labor. Of that number, about 9.5 million are in Asia. The rest are scattered, 1.3 million in Latin America and the Caribbean, 660,000 in sub-Saharan Africa, 260,000 in the Middle East and North Africa, 360,000 in industrialized countries, and 210,000 in transition countries. Approximately 40-50 percent of the children under 18 years old.
Indonesia ranked second in human trafficking crimes involving violence and sexual exploitation of children in 2012. According to the UN, Indonesia has become a sending, transit and producing area for human trafficking. The main cause of this rampant practice is economic pressure and the absence of job opportunities, low education level, low security level, and the lack of care on the part of the government so that the opportunities are taken by irresponsible elements. Surprisingly, the big bosses in human trafficking are never caught in Indonesia or abroad, despite the many victims.
One of the causes of the increasingly rampant human trafficking is the big profits, reaching about US$32 billion each year, according to the ILO. According to the UN, human trafficking is the third-largest criminal enterprise at the world level, producing about $9.5 million in annual taxes, and one of the most profitable criminal enterprises and is strongly associated with money laundering, drug trafficking, document forgery and human smuggling.
In Indonesia, child trafficking cases have reached an alarming level. Child trafficking is very closely linked to the welfare of the population. Most children who are trafficked come from economically disadvantaged families, with the perpetrators being their own parents.
The country, in this case the government, has provided several "ammunitions" to protect the rights of the children as the nation\'s successor generation. There are four laws that have crucial points with regard to children\'s right issues, namely the Child Welfare Law, Human Right Law, the Child Conservation Law and the Penal Code. However, their application is hindered by many obstacles due to collision with the social system and the cultural roots of Indonesia which are mostly still discriminative against children and women.
In Indonesia, the UN Protocol on Trafficking is adopted in the National Action Plan for the Elimination of Trafficking of Women and Children. The National Action Plan is strengthened in the form of Presidential Decree No. 88 of 2002.
Nearly all of the patterns of illegal trade and slavery require a bilateral and multilateral response, involving several countries with different jurisdictions. It needs cooperation and joint regulation, for example, on the repatriation of the victims and criminal justice. Later, the ASEAN Convention against Human Trafficking can be an important instrument to combat the trafficking more effectively.
The following are several suggestions to tackle human trafficking. At the community level, provide labor intensive training to the communities and provide knowledge about human trafficking. At the national level, it can be carried out, among others, by upholding Law No. 21/2007, improving security maintenance in border areas, both on land, at sea and in the air, providing security to immigrants (permits to go abroad), increasing job opportunities, improving education, closing down areas where sex exploitation is prone to happen.
At the foreign level, among others, it can be carried out by improving bilateral cooperation, conduction joint operations, and forming organizations to combat human trafficking.
BIBIT SANTOSO
Major General of the Indonesian Military (TNI), Professional Manpower in the Fields of Social Affairs, Culture, and Defense at Lemhannas in Addressing Human Trafficking