Human Trafficking in [Timor-Leste] [other countries]Street Children in [Timor-Leste] [other countries]Child Prostitution in [Timor-Leste] [other countries] |
Human Trafficking & Modern-day Slavery Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste [ Country-by-Country
Reports ] The Democratic
Republic of Timor-Leste (East Timor or Timor-Leste) [map] is located in the Lesser Sundas, Malay Archipelago, off the Timor-Leste is a
destination country for women from Indonesia, the People’s Republic of China
(P.R.C.), Thailand, Malaysia, and the Philippines trafficked for the purpose
of commercial sexual exploitation. Timorese women and children are vulnerable
to being trafficked from rural areas or from camps for internally displaced
persons to Dili with lures of employment and then forced into commercial
sexual exploitation. Following the re-establishment of international
peacekeeping operations in 2006, several businesses suspected of involvement
in sex trafficking have reopened. Widespread internal displacement, poverty,
and lack of awareness of trafficking risks could lead Timor-Leste to become a
source of vulnerable persons trafficked to other countries. - U.S. State
Dept Trafficking in Persons Report, June, 2008 [full country
report] |
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CAUTION:
The following links have been culled from the web to illuminate the
situation in ***
FEATURED ARTICLE *** U.S.
Department of Labor Bureau of International Labor Affairs - Indonesia [see footnote 992] Children have been reported
in militia groups that formed in East Timor and in the separatist region of
Aceh and in the Maluku Islands. Reports from the Malukus indicate that
children between the ages of 7 and 12 years of age have participated in both
sides of the conflict. “Asia Report: Indonesia and East Timor,” May 2000, 2,
7; According to this source, sources within the churches in the region said at least 200 boys had been forcibly recruited and trained as fighters. ***
ARCHIVES *** Bur of Democracy,
Human Rights & Labor - Country
Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2005 TRAFFICKING
IN PERSONS – The law
prohibits trafficking in women and children, whether for prostitution or for forced
labor; however, there have been several reports of women and girls trafficked
into the country for prostitution in recent years. In 2004 a local NGO
conducted a baseline study of human trafficking and the sex industry and
estimated that as many 115 foreign sex workers in the capital might be
victims of trafficking. Several establishments in the capital were known
commercial sex operations and were suspected of also being involved in
trafficking. UN officials and local NGO leaders
cited several instances in which foreign women, usually of Chinese,
Indonesian, or Thai origin, reported that they had been trafficked to the
country and were being held against their will. For example, in 2004 two
Indonesian women interviewed by a local NGO stated that they had been hired
by a businessman in Freedom
House Country Report - Political Rights: 3 Civil Liberties: 4 Status: Partly Free Human Rights Overview by Human
Rights Watch – Defending Human Rights Worldwide East
Timor: Old Migration Challenges in the World's Newest Country BUILDING AN IMMIGRATION SYSTEM - The immigration function
currently falls within the domain of the police. Because Timor-Leste shares a
142-mile (228km) long border with Indonesia, and has several Indonesian
islands near its coastline, there are enormous security concerns. The border
is porous and difficult to monitor. Current steep border crossing charges ($2
for native Timorese) encourage unauthorized crossings. Trafficking of women
and girls from countries such as Thailand and Indonesia has also emerged as a
problem in the country. Familiarizing the police force with the provisions of
a new immigration law, tracking visas, and enforcing the law within a
framework of human rights and due process remain important tasks as the
country works to secure its border and to track and manage immigration. The Bali bombing and East Timor
crisis of 1999 have led to a surge in the number of Territory pedophiles
going there on sex tours, a child protection organisation says. "Offenders are looking for
vulnerability, looking for destabilisation and a crisis situation," Ms
McMenamin said. "They look for
access and opportunity for children and they also look for places where they
won't get caught." U.S.
Department of Labor Bureau of International Labor Affairs - Indonesia [see footnote 992] Children have been reported
in militia groups that formed in East Timor and in the separatist region of
Aceh and in the Maluku Islands. Reports from the Malukus indicate that
children between the ages of 7 and 12 years of age have participated in both
sides of the conflict. “Asia Report: Indonesia and East Timor,” May 2000, 2,
7; According to this source, sources within the churches in the region said at least 200 boys had been forcibly recruited and trained as fighters. Seven Asian Nations
Sign Pact to Limit Sex Trade Human rights groups and UNICEF
also have documented the special threats of sexual exploitation spawned by
war and armed conflict. Desperation often compels women and children to offer
sex in exchange for food, shelter, vital documents or safe passage through a
war zone. In East Timor, women were
abducted, traded, raped and forced to do household chores. BACK DOOR
Newsletter on East Timor New legislation being adopted for
an independent East Timor will set 18 as the minimum age for recruitment. The
reintegration of child soldiers, some as young as 12, who were used by both
government and opposition forces during the conflict still presents a major
challenge. The abduction and recruitment of children by anti-independence
militia for the purposes of indoctrination has been reported. - COALITION TO STOP THE USE OF CHILD
SOLDIERS All material used herein
reproduced under the fair use exception of 17 USC § 107 for noncommercial,
nonprofit, and educational use |
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Human Trafficking in [Timor-Leste] [other countries]Street Children in [Timor-Leste] [other countries]Child Prostitution in [Timor-Leste] [other countries]