Updated: 09/17/2013 00:10 | By Channel NewsAsia
S'pore open to work with NGOs to fight human trafficking
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SINGAPORE: Second Home Affairs Minister S Iswaran said Singapore is open to working with non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to fight human trafficking.
He was responding to a question from Holland-Bukit Timah MP, Christopher de Souza who had asked for more government cooperation with impartial NGOs to reach out to vulnerable women and children.
Mr de Souza said: "It would be easier for them, especially if they're trafficked or in vulnerable positions, to speak with a disarming NGO rather than a government officer who perhaps wants to intervene rather than just receive sharing from these vulnerable people."
Mr Iswaran replied that there are four prongs in the way to deal with this issue.
These are prevention of the crime, prosecution of the offenders, protection of the victims and partnerships with other countries, embassies, and NGOs, and the private sector.
He welcomed Mr de Souza's suggestion on cooperating with NGOs.
Mr Iswaran said: "We're open to the idea. We work closely with the Ministry of Social and Family Development and depending on the nature of the proposal, the ideas put on the table, I think we can take that discussion forward."
Given the transnational nature of human trafficking, Mr Iswaran said the Home Affairs Ministry is also studying the merits and possibilities of an act against organised crime that can be exercised outside Singapore.
- CNA/fa
