BANGKOK, June 17, 2010 (IPS) - In the wake of a new U.S. government report on human trafficking, human rights and migrant rights activists are calling on a South-east Asian regional bloc to review its polices toward this scourge to protect the group’s most vulnerable citizens – its women and children.
Such an appeal to the 10 members of the Association of South-east Asian Nations (ASEAN) stems from the way human trafficking is viewed by this bloc, currently racing ahead to create a rules-based community that would closely resemble the European Union.
ASEAN’s narrow definition of what constitutes human trafficking and how it should be combated was revealed last year. It came after all members of the 43-year-old bloc endorsed its new charter to be a "more rules-based, effective and people-centred organisation" to become an ASEAN Community by 2015.
ASEAN’s members include Brunei, Burma (or Myanmar), Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
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