Burma is a source and transit country for human trafficking.

Burma
The Situation
Burma is a source and transit country for human trafficking.

Source
Burmese men, women, and children are trafficked for sexual and labor exploitation in Thailand, the People’s Republic of China, Malaysia, Bangladesh, South Korea, Macau, and Pakistan.1 Children are trafficked to Thailand for forced labor as beggars. In 2005, the Kachin Women’s Association of Thailand reported that Kachin women and girls trafficked to China were forced into prostitution or to become brides to Chinese men. While there are no reliable estimates on the number of Burmese who are trafficked, most observers believe that the number of victims is at least several thousand per year.2


Transit
Burma is a transit country for victims trafficked from China to Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore.3 There are also reports of Bangladeshis trafficked through Burma destined for Malaysia and Chinese trafficked through Burma to Thailand.4

Internal Trafficking
Burma has internal trafficking from rural areas to border areas with China and Thailand, particularly areas with trucking routes, mining areas, military bases, fishing villages, and military camps.5 Children are trafficked internally for forced labor in agriculture and small-scale industries or as child soldiers.

Causes
There are many causes of human trafficking in Burma. The military junta’s gross economic mismanagement, human rights abuses, and its policy of using forced labor are the top causal factors for Burma’s significant trafficking problem. The official ban on overland emigration of most young women drives some seeking to leave the country into the hands of “travel facilitators,” who may have ties with traffickers.6 The lacks of job opportunities and higher incomes have also pushed Burmese to migrate into one of its five neighboring countries. This situation has created an opportunity for traffickers to lure the victims to other countries with false premises.7

The Burmese Government
The Burmese Government was placed in Tier 3 in the 2007 U.S. Department of State’s Trafficking in Persons Report for not fully complying with the Trafficking Victims Protection Act’s minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and not making significant efforts to do so.

There are reports of military and civilian government officials who are complicit in trafficking children to serve as child soldiers.8 NGOs also reported that individual police officials extort money from economic migrants and others leaving the country.9 During 2006, the Burmese government did not take action against military or civilian officials who engaged in forced labor.10

The 2005 Anti-Trafficking in Persons Law criminalizes sex and labor trafficking in Burma.11 The penalty for trafficking women, children, and youth is 10 years to life; the penalty for trafficking men is five to 10 years; the penalty for fraud used to traffic is three to seven years; the penalty for trafficking victims for pornography is five to 10 years; the penalty for trafficking with an organized criminal group is 10 years to life; the penalty for serious crime involving trafficking is 10 years to life or death; and the penalty for public officials who accept money related to an investigation of trafficking is three o seven years. All penalties also include the option of a fine.12

Prosecution
The Burmese has taken steps to increase its arrests, prosecutions, convictions for trafficking. In 2006, the ruling junta reported that its police identified over 400 traffickers in 191 cases, and convicted 53 traffickers with sentences ranging from five years to life imprisonment. Authorities report that over 90 women from Ruili were sold into the P.R.C. as forced brides, arrested 34 suspects, and rescued 17 victims. In January 2007, police arrested an additional 47 suspected traffickers.13

The Burmese government has taken no law enforcement action against the military for forced labor. The ruling junta implemented a moratorium on prosecution of forced labor complaints and released two prisoners who were jailed for supporting forced labor complaints.14

Protection
The Burmese Government offers limited services to protect trafficking victims, offering even less services to victims of internal trafficking. The government requires a 30-day program of rehabilitation for victims of external trafficking, in eight vocational training centers and one shelter.15 According to police reports, the government returned 419 trafficking victims.16 According to the U.S. Department of State, there were over 80 trafficking victims in these shelters in 2006. According to the United Nations InterAgency Project on Human Trafficking (UNIAP), there have been over 100 girls and women returned to neighboring countries.17

Prevention
The Burmese government has a variety of prevention programs. The government has collaborated with non-governmental and intergovernmental organizations to offer educational programs, poverty alleviation, vocational skill training, and micro-credit loans. Ten TV spots have been allocated to UNIAP and UNICEF to increase awareness of trafficking.18 The Women's Affairs Federation and National Committee for Women's Affairs conducted almost 8,000 educational sessions for women around the country that included information about the risks of trafficking. The government also distributed pamphlets and newsletters by an international organization, published press articles, and aired television and radio plays on trafficking. The Central Police Training Institute includes trafficking in its curriculum for incoming cadets and in-service police training.19

International Cooperation
The Burmese government has been working with UNIAP to sponsor seminars for national, state/division, and lower level authorities and received training from the Asia Regional Trafficking in Persons Project. In January 2006, the government signed the ASEAN Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters Agreement.20 The Government has signed Memorandums of Understanding with Thailand and Australia to combat trafficking in Asia and assist Burmese illegal migrants working in Thailand.21

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1 2007 US Department of State Trafficking in Persons Report
2 2006 US Department of State Human Rights Report
3 UNODC: Trafficking in human beings: Global Patterns
4 2006 US Department of State Human Rights Report
5 UNIAP: Burma Overview
6 2007 US Department of State Trafficking in Persons Report
7 UNIAP: Burma Overview
8 2007 US Department of State Trafficking in Persons Report
9 2006 US Department of State Human Rights Report
10 2007 US Department of State Trafficking in Persons Report
11 2007 US Department of State Trafficking in Persons Report
12 2006 US Department of State Human Rights Report
13 2007 US Department of State Trafficking in Persons Report
14 2007 US Department of State Trafficking in Persons Report
15 2007 US Department of State Trafficking in Persons Report
16 2006 US Department of State Human Rights Report
17 UNIAP: Burma Overview
18 UNIAP: Burma Overview
19 2007 US Department of State Trafficking in Persons Report
20 2006 US Department of State Human Rights Report
21 UNIAP: Burma Overview