Source - The Nation Website (Eng)
May 061, 2006


The Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) countries will meet in Phnom
Penh from Wednesday to Friday to review and update the three-year plan of
joint activities to realise their vision of wiping out human trafficking.

The crime continues to prevail in the region. With the signing of
the Commit agreement in Rangoon in October 2004, the governments of
Cambodia, China, Laos, Burma, Thailand and Vietnam laid the foundation for
cooperation.

The GMS network aims to catch traffickers and prosecute them,
protect victims of trafficking and assist their safe return home and launch
efforts to prevent others from sharing the same fate.

This high-level gathering is a critical step forward that
demonstrates the will and determination of the GMS governments to join
together to put political commitments made in the Commit agreement into
concrete action.

The Commit Subregional Plan of Action focuses on law enforcement
and criminal justice as well as prevention and the protection, recovery and
reintegration of victims. It sets the standard for anti-trafficking work in
the region.

The plan is a practical road map for priority action and is
buttressed by the technical expertise and support of UN agencies,
international and national NGOs, and bilateral and multilateral donors.

Over 30 senior government officials will attend the Phnom Penh
meeting in order to review and assess the course of cooperation on
trafficking in the Mekong region for the next decade and more.

Major donors have already committed to support the implementation
of these activities. Norway has pledged about US$1 million (Bt37.8 million)
and the Search Project, a Canadian Cida-supported regional project, has
committed about $800,000.

The secretariat for the Commit process is the UN Inter-Agency
Project on Human Trafficking in the GMS. Commit has since its inception has
been funded by the government of Norway, Search, ADB, AusAID, NZAID, Cida,
UNFPA, Unicef, UNODC, Save the Children UK, World Vision International and
the International Organisation for Migration.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com

 

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