Fiji’s shores may welcome thousands of enthusiastic holiday goers each year, but this lush paradise marketed offshore also lures the destitute who are brought into the country for murkier reasons.
It’s an issue that has blanketed at least six other Pacific countries – Palau, Papua New Guinea, Marshall Islands, the Solomon Islands, Tonga and Vanuatu – where the promise of a better life brings in foreign workers, mainly from Southeast Asian countries.
An extensive report compiled by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), titled Transnational Organised Crime in the Pacific: Expansion, Challenges and Impact released last week outlined the stark reality involving trafficking in persons in the Pacific.
The report states that there has been a notable increase in foreign workers from Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka and other Asian countries in Fiji since 2017.
UNODC says these workers are mainly men between the ages of 25 and 45 who are often attracted by prospects of favourable working conditions in Fiji and a chance to migrate or work in neighbouring New Zealand, Australia or the United States.
“Some of these workers may fall victim to trafficking in persons while looking for labour migration opportunities, particularly when they are deceived by recruiters,” the report states.
“For example, of the 26 cases of suspected trafficking in persons that the Fiji Department of Immigration investigated as of 2019, 22 involved false promises of economic opportunity made to victims of Indian citizenship.”
A Pacific issue
UNODC says these Pacific countries which were prone to trafficking in persons could create about 2400 victims per year.
In addition, it says the fishing sector is particularly prone to poor working conditions, low pay, high levels of risk, and extended time at sea, during which time workers are physically isolated.
According to the report, forced labour was also a concern in the fishing industry in the Pacific region.
“Persons employed on fishing vessels also may experience labour rights violations and human trafficking, and the fatality rate for fishers can be several times higher than that for workers in other industries,” the UNODC report stated.
“A main problem is illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing which has connections to trafficking in persons, a particular problem in the tuna industry.”
The UNODC says there have been numerous reports of migrant workers having their identity documents confiscated, being trapped in forced labour situations, and captains leaving crew stranded on remote islands as punishment, or because they are no longer required for work.
“Migrant workers in the fishing industry, mainly from South Asia and Southeast Asia, have been identified as victims of trafficking in some Pacific Island Countries and Territories (PICTs).
“There have also been several cases of sexual exploitation in the vicinity of foreign fishing vessels, some of which may amount to trafficking in persons.
“For instance, Micronesia has reported a few suspected cases of trafficking in persons each year, many of which appear to be connected to trafficking of local women and girls for sexual exploitation in the proximity of the domestic commercial fishing industry.
“Local women and girls and/or foreign women also have been identified as trafficking victims in recent years in Fiji, Palau, Marshall Islands, and Solomon Islands.”
Brought into servitude
Migrants brought to these PICTs are often unable to report their suffering due to the nature of their circumstances.
The UNODC says these migrants may often be prevented or restricted from communicating, not getting paid or paid less, and or threatened with violence to work longer or do different tasks.
“Foreign workers in multiple industries are sometimes forced to do work other than what was initially agreed upon, and some workers, upon arrival, are provided with new contracts, presented in language they are not familiar with, and stipulating different terms that were not agreed upon,” the report said.
For Fiji specifically, the UNODC report states there were about 5200 hidden victims of trafficking during the 2017-2021 period in Fiji, which primarily involved domestic trafficking of Fijians into forced labour, agriculture, forestry, construction, service and retail industries.
“A small portion of the victims of labour exploitation are children. From 2010 to 2021, Fiji successfully prosecuted four trafficking in persons cases, which included two cases of cross-border trafficking in persons and two cases of domestic trafficking of children.
“A few cases involving domestic trafficking of children for commercial sexual exploitation and cross-border cases alleging trafficking, slavery and forced labour, are in various stages of investigation or prosecution. Several have been dismissed due to insufficient evidence or refusal of victims to testify.”
Across the pond, the report details only one major case of trafficking in persons to have been prosecuted in recent years in Vanuatu. The case involved Bangladesh nationals who were brought to Vanuatu with promises of employment, however, they were enslaved.
As per the report, 12 migrants escaped in October 2018 from Port Vila, wherein they sought assistance from the Vanuatu Transnational Crime Unit.
“A total of 101 Bangladeshis were freed from exploitive conditions. In June 2022, after a four-year legal process, four Bangladesh nationals were sentenced to jail terms ranging from six to 14 years imprisonment for trafficking, slavery and money laundering charges.”
Need for Stronger Data Gathering in the Pacific
The UNODC observed that data on trafficking in persons and smuggling of migrants was severely limited and the prevalence of victims was difficult to ascertain.
“This is because the population tends to be more hidden and difficult to access due to limited awareness of both crimes and its clandestine nature, knowledge of how to identify victims of trafficking in persons, and victims’ isolation,” the UNODC report says.
“As data are the lifeblood of decision-making, statistics on the nature, extent and potential measurement of trafficking in persons and smuggling of migrants are necessary to collect the relevant data for measuring the phenomenon in a systematised way.
“In the absence of a common set of indicators with standardised definitions, it is difficult for any government to take stock of either the local or global nature and reach of the problem.
“Without a robust evidence base, it is also unclear how policymakers can shape policy and targeted interventions to combat trafficking in persons and migrant smuggling.”
For this reason, the report outlined that the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and UNODC developed a common international classification standard.
Now, the report says the International Classification Standard for Administrative Data on Trafficking in Persons (ICS-TIP) aims to facilitate the production and dissemination of high-quality administrative data relating to various aspects of the crime of trafficking in persons.
“The ICS-TIP conceptualises the characteristics of the individuals, events and organizations involved in a trafficking in persons case, with a view to producing easily aggregated raw data for a range of government uses and for sharing and reporting at the national, regional and international levels.
“Use of ICS-TIP in the PICTs would help to strengthen the capacities of countries in the region to improve administrative data collection, data analysis, data protection and national reporting on trafficking in persons, and would benefit their statistical capacities to measure the undetected number of trafficking in persons victims.”
The organisation has also identified trafficking in persons as a significant obstacle in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the Pacific region.
“Trafficking in persons and smuggling of migrants will continue to be conducted by transnational organised crime in collaboration with locally based criminals in the Pacific.
“Their illicit activities will continue to be enabled by corrupt public officials and prominent private individuals in the Pacific unless notable efforts are made to address relevant corruption challenges.”
