US Department of State | Local authorities fail to protect trafficking victims

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson speaks at a 2017 Trafficking in Persons Report ceremony at the State Department

Local authorities have decreased efforts to identify and protect trafficking victims, according to the 2017 Trafficking in Persons Report issued by the United States Department of State. 

The report acknowledged that the MSAR authorities are “making significant efforts” to meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking. They are doing so through measures such as “inspecting employment agencies, construction sites, and companies with gaming licenses for indicators of trafficking; conducting numerous anti-trafficking trainings and public awareness campaigns, including through new online videos available in eight languages.”

Although authorities investigated four cases of potential labor trafficking in 2016, those probes didn’t result in any charges. The report adds that “authorities have never identified labor trafficking victims in Macau” and fewer victims of sex trafficking were identified in 2016 than in previous years. Last year, four victims were identified: three children and one adult. This compares with six in 2015, five in 2014, and 38 in 2013.

The report makes some recommendations to local authorities, among them the need to significantly increase efforts to investigate, prosecute, and convict sex and labor traffickers. According to the report, there is also the need to “implement proactive victim identification methods, especially among vulnerable populations.” A minimum wage for foreign domestic workers was also recommended. 

The Secretary for Security’s Office issued a statement yesterday refuting the report and claiming that it “ignores objective facts about the situation in Macau.”

“The security authorities reiterate that human trafficking will not be allowed, as well as any acts associated with it,” the statement  noted.