Ministry of Immigration and Corrections
Directorate General of Immigration
PHUKET (10/08/2023) – The issue of trafficking in persons, which has recently been rife, has become a separate discussion for Indonesia – Cambodia on the occasion of the 26th DGICM forum, which took place from 8 to 11 August 2023 at Angsana Laguna Hotel Phuket-Thailand. Present at the meeting were the Director General of Immigration – Silmy Karim, and the General of Police, Chantarith Kirth, who became the Head of the Cambodian Immigration Delegation.
"In the meeting, I said that many Indonesian citizens become victims. Online gambling, online fraud, and kidney sales," explained Silmy on Thursday (10/08/2023) at the event location.
Silmy further said that based on the explanation from the Cambodian delegation, the authority had legalized online gambling activities. Still, since June 2019, the permits for gambling operations and online gambling have been revoked and declared illegal.
"In 2022, an operation was carried out in Sihanoukville, which is suspected to be a gambling epicentre. More than 200 people were arrested, most of whom were from Indonesia," added Silmy.
After the operation, the Indonesian Embassy in Phnom Penh protected Indonesian citizens who were indicated as victims.
"Those indicated as victims are temporarily placed in social services, while those who are not are placed in the Cambodian immigration detention room," said Silmy.
In his statement, Silmy added that the issue of kidney sales was new information for the Cambodian government. Still, follow-up on this matter was not under the authority of the Immigration Department.
From the Indonesian side, Silmy has appealed to immigration officials to make preventive and protective efforts to prevent trafficking in persons.
Indonesian Immigration's vital role is passport services and immigration checks at the Immigration Checkpoint (TPI). In passport applications, officers are asked to conduct in-depth profiling for applicants who are indicated to provide incorrect information. Against them, the passport application can be suspended for up to two years. To create a deterrent effect, the Directorate General of Immigration will take steps so that the postponement of the passport application can be extended for up to 3 years.
Immigration checks at TPI are also the second filter in preventing human trafficking. Officers can halt or delay a person's departure if there are indications the person will become an illegal migrant worker.
"Regarding human trafficking, which has claimed many victims, we agree that Indonesia will initiate a cooperation agreement with Cambodia as a follow-up. We hope that it will be completed soon," Silmy concluded.
Last updated 17 January 2024
