Commentary: Slavery Still Exists Out at Sea
There's no doubt about it (though it is hard to believe): slavery still exists. The food we eat, the clothes we wear — there's a chance somewhere down the line a slave might have something to do with their production.
Modern slavery does not just exist in the dark world of international crime, like the sex trade. It doesn't just happen in remote areas. It happens everywhere, including out at sea.
According to the 2016 Global Slavery Index, Indonesians are not yet high on the list of enslaved people in the fishing industry, but Indonesia has become the top destination for foreign sea slaves to be forced to work and exploited.
Recent data from the International Organization for Migration (IOM) show there are approximately 1,216 trafficked foreign fishermen in Indonesia in 2015 — which made a total of 1,718 since 2011.
Many of the fishermen were reportedly trafficked from Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Thailand to Indonesian fishing ports in Pontianak, Ambon and Benjina, among others.
In April 2015, Associated Press documented and reported on slavery-like practices done by the only official fishing company on Benjina Island, Pusaka Benjina Resources.
This joint Thai-Indonesian venture tricked workers from neighboring countries Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia and Thailand into forced labor and laundered the slave-caught seafood into global supply chains.
The trafficked fishermen were paid very low wages and often subjected to privation and physical torture.
Many of the enslaved fishermen died trying to resist their abusers or from being maltreated at sea for years.
Fighting slavery at sea
Human trafficking and forced labor should not have been allowed to exist, let alone flourish, in Indonesia, a country that has ratified the International Labour Organization's (ILO) 1957 Convention on the Abolition of Forced Labor No. 105.
Following the discovery of the Benjina Island case, President Joko Widodo and Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Susi Pudjiastuti revoked the licenses of Pusaka Benjina Resources and five other fishing companies for violating Indonesia’s maritime law.
Eight suspects in the case have also been convicted.
The Presidential Task Force to Combat Illegal Fishing and the National Police, in collaboration with IOM, embassies and immigration officers, were sent to conduct interviews with the victims and to help with releasing the enslaved fishermen.
To prevent similar cases from happening, in December 2015 the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry issued a Ministerial Regulation on Human Rights System and Certification in the Fisheries Business based on the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and ILO Convention No. 188 of 2007.
This new regulation requires businesses to have an internal company policy on human rights, to undertake human rights due diligence report annually and to obtain human rights certification prior on getting their operating licenses in Indonesia.
Is it enough?
But, are these measures taken by the Indonesian government enough to put an end to sea slavery?
I would say that much more still needs to be done.
Since sea slavery is a transnational crime, Indonesia cannot fight it on its own.
Strengthening maritime partnerships with other Asean countries by taking prompt and coherent actions are crucial to stamp out slavery.
Unfortunately, Asean member states have so far only held discussions on the issue and agreed on some policy recommendations. No real action has ever been taken.
Stepping up compliance to MSCE (Monitoring, Control, Surveillance and Enforcement) in territorial seas and high seas, to international human rights laws and to international labor standards, as well as warning or if necessary punishing countries who can not fulfill their obligations are simply compulsory if governments in Asean countries are serious about rooting out slavery.
And there's another dilemma: the increasing demand for cheap seafood, at times coupled with a diminishing stock of high-quality fishes, has motivated fishing companies to cut their operational cost by employing cheap labors for boosting profits.
To tackle this, the Indonesian government and the other Asean member states simply have to come up with alternative, more cost-friendly fishery products obtained from sustainable and socially responsible fishing companies in order to stay competitive in the market.
Trade policies should also be issued to prevent exporters and importers from selling fishery products below market price or production cost, and also to allow only legally-caught fishing products to enter the market.
And of course, governments have to back up their policies with better enforcement and traceability.
Corruption and slavery: not so strange bedfellows
Minister Susi once said, "Combating fisheries crimes is not easy. Most of these crimes involve big business players, high-ranking officers, political backup and a huge amount of money."
Since corruption and human trafficking at seas go hand-in-hand, their counter-programs should also work in combo. The government needs to combine its anti-trafficking program with anti-corruption measures, because as long as corruption remains prevalent, so will slavery.
In the end, Indonesia, other Asean member states, fishing companies and the public need to work together to come up with, and execute, an integrated legal and political framework to remove slavery at sea completely.
This might sound like a formidable challenge, too optimistic of a goal. However, the situation is critical. Slavery has no place in a modern society. We need to find a way to end it once and for all.
The author, Grace Tjandra, is studying for a master's degree at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs.
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