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Asean member states share information to strengthen anti-trafficking cooperation

Malaysian Immigration officers arresting an Indonesian woman working as a smuggling syndicate transporter in Ampang in March 2025. The Kuala Lumpur workshop's objectives were to increase and strengthen cross-border investigative cooperation among law enforcement agencies within the Asean region. KUALA LUMPUR: Brunei's delegation participated in the Asean Workshop on Strengthening Transnational Investigative Cooperation under the Head of Specialist Anti-Trafficking Unit (HSU) Process Mechanism in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The workshop, on April 23 and 24, was one of the initiatives under the Asean Multi-Year Work Plan 2024–2028, endorsed ad referendum (for further consideration or ratification) by the Asean Senior Officials Meeting on Transnational Crime (SOMTC) on August 12, 2024. It aimed to strengthen cooperation among Asean member states in addressing key issues related to combating human trafficking in the region. Representatives from the Human Trafficking Investigation Unit of the Criminal Investigation Department at the Royal Brunei Police Force, the Security and Legal Division of the Prime Minister's Office, as well as the Immigration and National Registration Department attended the workshop. A representative from Brunei Darussalam presented 'Transnational Trafficking in Persons Case Identification and Formal and Informal Cooperation Mechanisms for Trafficking in Persons Cases among Asean Member States' during the information-sharing session. The workshop's objectives were to increase and strengthen cross-border investigative cooperation among law enforcement agencies and SOMTC focal persons under the HSU mechanism within the Asean region. It also aimed to enhance the operationalisation of the HSU Terms of Reference by updating bilateral and regional cross-border investigation processes into the HSU Process Mechanism. The programme also demonstrated the importance of Asean's collective efforts to combat trafficking in persons, strengthen regional cooperation, and reaffirm the commitment to protecting vulnerable groups. A total of 33 participants from 11 countries, including Timor-Leste as observers, attended the workshop. - Borneo Bulletin/ANN