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CEDAW asks Timor-Leste to modify draft law on human trafficking

Source
Dili Weekly - May 5, 2016

Paulina Quintao – The committee for the Convention for the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) has called on the Timorese government to modify its draft law on human trafficking.

The government presented its second and third reports to CEDAW last November in Geneva. The National Director for Gender Development Policy, Henrique da Silva, said it was very important to protect and help the victims.

"The CEDAW committee has asked our government to take back the pending laws, especially the human trafficking and land property laws, in order to assure women's rights [are protected]," da Silva said at his office in Kaikoli, Dili.

He said the Timorese government also needed to take into consideration trafficking that occurred across international borders and domestically.

National MP Ilda Maria da Conceicao said the law was still with Commission A (for constitution, justice, public administration, local authorities and anti-corruption affairs) and had not yet been scheduled for discussion by the parliament.

She also called for a campaign to raise awareness in communities so that women could better understand the risks. "They (women) often have no information [and] therefore some people use them by offering them unexpected jobs and they accept it for financial reasons," she said.

She said the Parliamentary Women's Caucus (GMPTL) strongly condemned the perpetrators of the crime and would continue to take action to protect the new generation from falling victim.

On April 7, the government of Timor-Leste and its development partners established an inter-agency group to oversee the implementation of its programs to combat human trafficking and forced labor. In 2015, the Department of Prosecution and national police investigated eight cases of human trafficking.

Meanwhile, Alola Foundation Executive Director Alzira Reis said they continued to raise awareness among young people about human trafficking and its consequences.

She said Timor-Leste was not only a destination country and that in some cases Timorese women were also trafficked abroad. "Timor-Leste is at risk of human trafficking due to the limited employment opportunities so it is easy for other people to exploit the Timorese," she said.

In 2015 there were a number of attempts to traffic women abroad, but they were captured by police at the airport. Domestic trafficking across municipality and town borders was also a problem, with women from rural areas often tricked into coming to Dili with promises of employment, she added.

Source: http://www.thediliweekly.com/en/news/news/13706-cedaw-asks-timor-leste-to-modify-draft-law-on-human-trafficking

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