Trafficking in children and women has emerged as
a major issue of global concern in recent years, particularly in
Asia. Trafficking of human beings for whatever reasons is a gross
violation of Human Rights. Indonesia has been identified as one
of the countries where this violation takes place.
In March 2000, the National Parliament of Indonesia
decided to ratify ILO Convention 182 on the Worst forms of child
labour by law (no.1/2000). This Convention acknowledges that the
sale and trafficking of children is a form of slavery or practice
similar to slavery and therefore one of the worst forms of child
labour.
This Convention stresses the urgency of achieving
prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labour.
Once a government has ratified ILO Convention 182, they should apply
it in law and practice by introducing action programmes to remove
and prevent the worst forms of child labour; to provide direct assistance
for rehabilitation of children and their social integration; to
ensure access to free education; to identify children at special
risk and to take account of girls and their special situation.
Trafficking under this Convention is understood
as an act, which includes a component of recruitment and/or transportation
of a person most often for exploitative labour by means of violence,
threat, deception or debt bondage.
The ILO, within its International Programme for
the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC), has working on the issue
of trafficking for several years. Programmes on combating child
trafficking are now being run in the Mekong Delta (Thailand, Cambodia,
Lao, Vietnam, Yunnan Province of China), South Asia (Nepal, Bangladesh,
Sri Lanka), South America (Brazil and Paraguay) and Central and
Western Africa (Benin, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Gabon,
Ghana, Malai, Nigeria and Togo). Another programme is going to start
for Philippines and Indonesia. This report serves as the base for
this programme.
In this review the information collected confirms
the assumption that trafficking indeed is a problem in Indonesia.
The information indicates that children are increasingly being recruited
and sold within and across national borders by organized networks.
The child's vulnerability to exploitation is even greater when they
arrive in another country, where they find themselves at the mercy
of the employer and authorities, often with ties to their families
severed.
There may be many different forms of trafficking,
each having its own patterns across different regions in the country.
In the present report, however, description and analysis will be
performed on those types, which may fall under the mandate of ILO/IPEC,
i.e., incidence of trafficking, which contains an element of labour
exploitation, including sexual exploitation. Other types of trafficking
such as for adoption and for organ transplant will not be considered
in this report. Readers who are interested to find information on
such types of trafficking should consider other documents.
ILO Senior Consultant Irwanto carried out this
study in a very short period of time. This would not have been possible
without the members of his team. He was assisted by two consultants
from the Department of Social Welfare, the Faculty of Social and
Political Sciences of the University of Indonesia, Fentiny Nugroho
and Johanna Debora Imelda and by an administrative assistant, Ety
Rahayu. Also Fatimana Agustinanto and Dhita Indriaty from the University
assisted in this study. In Bali three people from Yayasan Anak Kita,
Rohman, Made Ari Wirasdipta and Adria Rosy Starrine provided all
the information and carried out interviews. On Batam island this
was done by Lola Wagner, Rosmiyati, Mauladi Retno and Haryono from
Yayasan Mitra Kesehatan dan Kemanusiaan. In Medan Ahmad Sofian and
Muhammad Jailani of Pusat Kajian dan Perlindungan Anak carried out
the research. Without the cooperation of many others, informants,
individuals, representatives of NGOs or government institutions
this study would have been impossible to carry out.
Pandji Putranto and especially Elisabeth Unger
from ILOs International Programme for the Elimination of Child Labour
(IPEC) Jakarta supported the study and this report with their advice
and assistance.
This document is a preliminary description of the
situation. The funds and time for research were limited and the
information is not exhaustive. The nature of the problem makes it
almost impossible to have a complete overview of the problem. However,
much more research and documentation is needed, to gain more knowledge
about the magnitude and extent of the problem. The ILO encourages
readers with additional information to contact us.