A LAW to control human trafficking would be enacted late this year, an official from the Ministry of Home Affairs said last week.

Police Colonel Sit Aye, the head of the ministry’s Department against Transnational Crimes, said the law would ensure that the rights of trafficked victims were protected and that traffickers were severely punished.

The law would also allow enforcement agencies to freeze the property of traffickers and their accomplices.

Police Colonel Sit Aye said the law was prepared in accordance with the United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organised Crime.

He said the enactment of the law would be followed by the formation of a committee which would lead activities to counter trafficking.

He said in addition to the trafficking in persons law, it was necessary to formulate a law which ensured the safety of witnesses who provided information against traffickers.

“It is important that witnesses receive protection against the threats of groups that organise transnational crimes,” said Police Colonel Sit Aye.

He cited as an example legislation in the Philippines which enables witnesses to be given a new identity.

The planned enactment of the anti-trafficking law was welcomed by Daw Susu Thatun, the deputy program manager of the United Nations Inter-Agency Project on trafficking in persons, which is based in Bangkok.

“It is encouraging that the law will allow trafficking to be addressed in more substantive way,” said Daw Susu Thatun. Myanmar is currently using other laws and the Anti-prostitution Act to take action against traffickers, she said.

Daw Susu Thatun was in Yangon last week to attend a ceremony to mark the handover of UNIAP documents from various countries to the United Nations Information Centre on Natmauk Road.

The handover was aimed at ensuring easy access to information about human trafficking.

“We would like the documents and information to reach a wider audience,” Daw Susu Thatun said.

The documents would also enable researchers and scholars to undergo comparative studies of trafficking issues in various countries, she said.

In another development, a three-member Myanmar delegation will attend an ASEAN-US forum being held in Washington on June 27 to discuss activities within the regional grouping to counter transnational organised crime.

The delegation will be headed by Myanmar’s permanent representative to the UN in New York, U Kyaw Tint Swe. Its other members will be the charge d’affaires at the Myanmar embassy, Daw Yin Yin Myint, and Police Colonel Sit Aye, who will give a presentation on behalf of the ASEAN countries.