ASEAN warns of online human trafficking

Leaders of Southeast Asian countries on Wednesday called for greater action against human traffickers operating online, who increasingly use social media to recruit and exploit their victims.

The concern includes internet scams aimed at forcing people to promote fraudulent cryptocurrency investments.

Building investigative capacity

Cambodia, Laos and Burma are the main countries of "destination" of victims, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

Meeting at a summit until Thursday on the island of Flores in eastern Indonesia, the heads of state and government of the states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) adopted a declaration to "strengthen cooperation and coordination" to arrest traffickers and identify victims.

In particular, member countries agreed to strengthen their investigative capacities, exchange of information and to carry out joint operations. "The crime of human trafficking must be completely eradicated," Indonesian President Joko Widodo said Monday.

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According to IOM, most victims forced to engage in these illegal online activities are recruited from Asia, particularly Vietnam, India and Bangladesh, but some are recruited as far away as Brazil or Kenya. The victims are usually "middle-class graduates who have limited employment opportunities," IOM regional spokesman Itayi Viriri told AFP in February. According to him, traffic centers are involved in online gambling, cryptocurrencies, online lending and dating sites.

Last year, Indonesia rescued more than a thousand of its nationals from online scams in Myanmar and Cambodia. The Philippines recently rescued more than a thousand people from different Asian states who had been forced to engage in online scams from their countries.