CLAIMS OF PROSTITUTION POINTS TO TRAFFICKING WHILE POLICE REMAIN ALOOF

BY GEORGINA KEKEA

SOLOMON Islands Government does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking but is making significant efforts to do so.

A report from the Department of State, on trafficking, said Solomon Islands government has proved its efforts by initiating its first two prosecutions of suspected traffickers and investigating the parents of two child victims. This investigation allegedly took place in Temotu province.

Despite its effort and initiative to amend a legal agenda to provide additional protections for children against all forms of trafficking, the Solomon Islands government still does not meet the minimum standards in several key areas.

As reported over the past five years, Solomon Islands is a source, transit, and destination 

country for local and Southeast Asian men and women subjected to forced labor and forced prostitution, and local children subjected to sex and labor trafficking. 

It is claimed that women from China, Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines pay large recruitment fees for jobs and upon arrival are forced into prostitution. Men from Indonesia and Malaysia, recruited to work in logging and mining industries, are subjected to forced labor.

RECENT COMPLAINT

AS of late, complaints are resurfacing in the media about prostitution, allegedly involving Asians. It is claimed that those involved in this trade comes under visitor permit as well as work permits and are accommodated in some areas in the city.

10 years ago when this issue was raised by the media, the Immigration and Labor department said it was impossible for them to detect anything based on the possibility of prostitution. All documents were said to be legal and correct.

The complaint this time round reported use of illicit and illegal drugs such as ecstasy and methamphetamine as well as the Asian organized prostitution ring. It is alleged that these drugs were brought into the country by workers in logging barges.

Sex trade was alleged to be arranged via a communication application called ‘WeChat’, with gatherings allegedly taking place in different locations in Kukum, Ranadi and KGVI.

POLICE INDIFFERENT

BUT in his weekly media conference, Police Commissioner, Mathew Varley says it comes as no surprise that people are using illicit and illegal drugs in the country.

Varley says police is aware on the use of such drugs and Solomon Islands as a country is not immune to such illegal activities.

He said police are also aware of the alleged Asian organized prostitution ring and that there are ongoing investigations in this issue. He said this issue is not a new one.

“I don’t think this is a particular new issue and I certainly don’t think it is an issue that Solomon Islands is alone in. We know that transnational crime groups around the world and particularly around the region often are involved in prostitution rackets in various locations". 

"And I’ve heard similar reports about prostitution rackets occurring in remote areas in particular logging camps. It is something we do keep an eye on. Often it is a hidden trade”, Varley said.

RECOMMENDATIONS AND ACTIONS

IN the 2018 Trafficking in Person’s (TIP) report, the US Department of State in one of its recommendations is calling on the Solomon Islands government to agree to the 2000 UN TIP Protocol. This Protocol is to prevent, suppress and punish trafficking in persons, especially women and children.

A report of the same in 2017 publicized Solomon Islands as a hot spot for prostitution and child trafficking thus this call is said to be significant to safeguard these people.

The 2018 TIP report also calls on government to raise public awareness on human trafficking and to allocate funding to relevant ministries to implement its action plan for combating human trafficking.

Though no public awareness was held by government Ministries, in July this year, the Immigration Department hosted a round table discussion on trafficking in persons. The discussions were held because trends of child trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation was said to be at an alarming rate in the country.

The goal of the roundtable was to discuss key issues and priorities for responding to trafficking in persons (TiP) in Solomon Islands, and to gather inputs from a wide range of government stakeholders on the remaining priorities for the National Action Plan against Human Trafficking and People Smuggling 2015 – 2020.

PARTNERSHIP SOLUTION TO CURB ORGANIZED CRIME

WHILE Solomon Islanders are yet to understand human trafficking and prostitution, in Asia, gangs involved in this trade earn millions annually.

However arrests of an organized crime like this will need collaboration and partnership between countries law enforcement agencies.

In Singapore, South China Post reported that Chinese and Singaporean police have cracked down on an international prostitution ring that trafficked mainland Chinese women into Singapore’s sex trade. 

The article said police in China and Singapore had discovered the gang in March and that the gang used WeChat and other messaging apps to trick more than a hundred mainland Chinese women into prostitution in Singapore.

Prostitution is officially illegal in China but the trade is widely flourishing underground. According to investigators, gang members cooperated with criminals in Singapore to lure the women there with promises of highly paid professional work and forged working visa application documents. The gang is then reported to illegally sized profits from prostitution.

WECHAT

IN April this year (2018), South China Post also reported that Chinese Authorities have broken up an international prostitution ring that used WeChat to run its business.

The gang operated in Mainland China and Malaysia and their business was largely conducted through WeChat, China’s most popular social media platform. WeChat is described by Forbes (global business magazine) as one of the world’s most powerful apps. It is also known as China’s app for everything. 

WeChat provides text messaging, hold-to-talk voice messaging, broadcast (one too many) messaging, video calls and conferencing, video games, sharing of photographs and videos and location sharing. The difference between WeChat and Whatsapp is that WeChat is a very big platform with a broad spectrum of services whereas Whatsapp is only a platform for text messaging in a more reliable way.

 WeChat was also claimed to be used by the organized prostitution group here in Solomon Islands where sex trades are said to be communicated through.

POLICE RESPONSE TO TRANSNATIONAL CRIME

MEANWHILE RSIPF Commissioner in his comments on transnational crime with regards to organized prostitution says police need the public to inform them on these illegal activities so that they can crack down on the people involved.

He said the transnational unit in the RSIPF is aware of these issues and are carrying out ongoing investigations.

“The challenge of course is that we need information from the community as well. Information provided by community sources is very important. Even small pieces of information on hotel rooms, vehicles, will assist the police in solving the puzzle”, Varley said.

AFP & INTERPOL

IT was only in 2017 RSIPF became a member of INTERPOL while in 2018 it also signed a MOU with the Australian Federal Police (AFP). 

Illicit drugs, trafficking, transnational sex offences are priority criminal issues under this MOU. Further to the MOU, the RSIPF’s membership with INTERPOL should greatly assist them in combating transnational crime. 

“We will have access to INTERPOL’s data base on stolen and missing passports as well as the data base on the names of wanted criminals from all over the world. This will greatly assist RSIPF in its work on transnational crime”, Commissioner Varley reportedly said, when lodging Solomon Islands application to become an INTERPOL member in 2017.

INTERPOL is the international police organization designed to promote police cooperation against global crime. More than 190 countries are members of INTERPOL.

INTERPOL also has a project known as Asian Organized Crime (AOC). With Solomon Islands membership to INTERPOL, it is hoped that information provided to the RSIPF will also assist global policing work in general to curb such organized transnational crimes.

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