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Friday 7 January 2011

REMARKS BY AIT DIRECTOR STEPHIEN M.YOUNG AT 2008 INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON STRATEGIES FOR COMBATING HUMAN TRAFFICKING October 30, 2008

It is a pleasure to be here to welcome you today to this international conference on combating trafficking. Forums such as this one are important in highlighting ways in which we can work together locally and internationally in our fight against this global tragedy.

I would like to recognize the efforts of the organizers of this conference, the National Immigration Agency, along with local and  international NGOs such as Taipei Women’s Rescue Foundation, the Taiwan Association to End Child Prostitution(ECPAT-Taiwan),Oxfam Quebec International, and CARAM Cambodia, local law enforcement agencies, prosecutors, and others, who are working to raise awareness and to assist victims of human trafficking.

We applaud and support your efforts.

Taiwan has made great strides in its attempts to combat human trafficking, stepping up efforts to prosecute traffickers, instituting measures to grant trafficking victims temporary work and residency permits, and collaborating with non-government organizations to raise public awareness and improve services, shelter, and counseling provided to victims.

While Taiwan has made important progress in recent years, there is still more to do, including passing the draft comprehensive trafficking law which will soon go before the Legislative Yuan, standardizing implementation of victim protections, and strengthening coordination across agencies.

This is one of the most important human rights issues of the 21st century, and the United States, including AIT, is committed to working with our friends here on Taiwan and throughout the world in combating this global problem.

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