Through The 42nd Summit, Indonesia Encourages ASEAN To Strengthen Joint Efforts In TIP Management

Spokesperson for the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Teuku Faizasyah. (DOC. ANTARA)

JAKARTA - Indonesia will strengthen efforts to deal with criminal acts of trafficking in persons (TPPO) in the plenary session of the 42nd Summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) which will be chaired by President Joko Widodo next week.

"TIP is one of the important topics in the summit because ASEAN leaders are very concerned about the issue," said the spokesman for the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Teuku Faizasyah.

Given the increasing number of TIP cases in Southeast Asian countries through fraud using information and communication technology (online scams), Indonesia has taken the initiative to propose strengthening joint efforts in eradicating these crimes.

"Indonesiatif Indonesia sebagai bentuk upaya regional dalam penanganan TIP akan dibahas dan dituangkan dalam ASEAN Leaders' Declaration on Combating TIP Caused by Abuse of Technology," ujar Faizasyah dalam keterangan tertulis Tim Komunikasi dan Media KTT ASEAN 2023, dikutip ANTARA, Senin, 1 Mei.

The complexity of the TIP problem, he said, requires collective efforts to handle the regional collectively starting from the stage of detection, prevention, protection, repatriation, rehabilitation, and overcoming the root of the problem.

For this reason, Faizasyah said that the capacity of ASEAN member state law enforcers needs to be strengthened in conducting investigations, collecting evidence, and identifying victims. It is also necessary to strengthen cooperation for prevention, rehabilitation, and reintegration of victims.

The 42nd ASEAN Summit to be held in Labuan Bajo, East Nusa Tenggara on 9-11 May 2023 will also discuss issues related to strengthening ASEAN institutions, post-2025 ASEAN Vision, post-pandemic economic recovery, strengthening health architecture in the region, as well as other important issues in the region and outside the region.