Myanmar’s Anti-Human Trafficking Police Force investigated 130 cases of human trafficking this year through July. The cases involved 219 victims and 353 suspects, who are now facing legal action.
Most of Myanmar’s human trafficking cases this year were reported in Yangon Region and Shan State, each with 33 cases. There were also 20 in Mandalay Region, 15 in Kachin State, eight in Ayeyawady Region, five each in Rakhine State and Bago Region, three each in Naypyidaw and Mon State, two in Sagaing Region, and one each in Magway Region, Kayin State, and Taninthayi Region.
Out of these 130 cases, 96 involved women being sold into forced marriages in China.
“In China, the ratio of men to women is very high. Men are much more plentiful. This is why they purchase Myanmar women through brokers. Brokers lure Myanmar women with intent to sell them to China. These are human trafficking cases,” a member of the Anti-Human Trafficking Police Force told Eleven.
According to the latest Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report, released by the US State Department in June, Myanmar is ranked among the countries doing the least to combat human trafficking, along with China, Russia, Syria, South Sudan, and others.
The report cited the mass expulsion of the Rohingya as the main cause of human trafficking and exploitation in the country. With only five cases on record in Rakhine State, where the 700,000 Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh used to live, it seems that Anti-Human Trafficking Police Force is not looking into those cases.
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