After being briefed by the Ministry of the Interior (MOI) on anti-human trafficking efforts during the Executive Yuan Council meeting June 28, Premier Sean Chen stated that the ROC has been ranked in the first tier in the U.S. State Department's Trafficking in Persons Report for three consecutive years since 2010, demonstrating that the country's efforts in human trafficking prevention have received international recognition.
Premier Chen pointed out that the ROC set up a cross-ministerial human trafficking prevention task force in 2007. Based on the spirit of the United Nations' Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, which was enacted in 2003, the government examined relevant laws and regulations, coordinated the resources of various ministries and formulated a strategy integrating four major aspects of fighting human trafficking: prevention, prosecution, protection and partnership. These efforts have already reaped positive results, the premier said.
Premier Chen also directed relevant ministries to examine the recommendations the U.S. State Department made to Taiwan in its report and to discuss these issues in the trafficking task force's meetings.
The MOI noted that in the U.S. State Department's report released on June 19, 2012, the ROC was ranked in Tier 1, which is reserved for countries whose governments fully comply with the standards for eliminating human trafficking. Other Asia-Pacific countries to receive this ranking were South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.
The U.S. State Department's Trafficking in Persons Report 2012 can be read at www.state.gov/j/tip/rls/tiprpt/2012/.