Answer for Written Question PT009

QUESTION

Yang Berhormat Dayang Hajah Rosmawatty binti Haji Abdul Mumin

YANG BERHORMAT DAYANG HAJAH ROSMAWATTY BINTI HAJI ABDUL MUMIN asked the MENTERI DI JABATAN PERDANA MENTERI to state the impact of the National Committee on Trafficking in Persons (JKAPO) to date and the main challenges to its effectiveness, as well as the concrete and measurable improvement measures to be implemented to strengthen prevention, prosecution and victim protection.

ANSWER

Yang Berhormat Menteri di Jabatan Perdana Menteri

Since the establishment of JKAPO in 2020, Negara Brunei Darussalam has recorded several significant impacts in its efforts to combat Trafficking in Persons (TIP) crimes, and among the main impacts that have had a significant effect on the country are as follows:

a. The United States Government has recognised the significant efforts undertaken by Negara Brunei Darussalam through JKAPO in addressing TIP crimes. Accordingly, the United States Department of State decided to upgrade the position of Negara Brunei Darussalam from Tier 3 to the Tier 2 Watchlist in the United States TIP Report 2025.

This is a major achievement, given that Negara Brunei Darussalam had been downgraded to Tier 3 in the United States TIP Report two years ago;

b. Negara Brunei Darussalam has received recognition on several international platforms, such as the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) and the ASEAN Senior Officials Meeting on Transnational Crime (SOMTC), as the only ASEAN country whose citizens have not been recruited or trafficked to online scam centres in the region.

This positive impact is the result of the dedicated efforts of agencies under JKAPO in addressing TIP crimes, guided by the National Standard Operating Procedures on TIP (NaSOP on TIP) and the National Plan of Action on TIP (NPA on TIP). In this regard, the establishment of the TIP Assessment Team under the Working Committee on Trafficking in Persons has also contributed by strengthening investigations and prosecutions of TIP cases.

This reflects Negara Brunei Darussalam’s approach to addressing TIP crimes, which is based on the principles of Maqasid Syariah, particularly the emphasis on the preservation of life as one of the key pillars, which is also a key pillar of the NPA on TIP. In addition, the 'Whole-of-Nation' and 'Whole-of-Government' approaches are also practised by JKAPO to ensure that efforts to combat TIP crimes are implemented comprehensively and in an integrated manner.

Insya-Allah, continued efforts to address TIP crimes are intended to help improve the position of Negara Brunei Darussalam to Tier 2 or Tier 1 in the United States Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report 2026.

JKAPO also faces challenges that limit the committee from achieving maximum effectiveness, given several key issues as follows:

a. Labour Trafficking, according to an assessment by the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime, is an extremely difficult and complex issue in terms of obtaining evidence and motives that are admissible in court. Moreover, the modus operandi of Labour Trafficking crimes is becoming increasingly complex, challenging and evolving, particularly with the development of criminal trends such as employment fraud (job scams).

Nevertheless, Negara Brunei Darussalam successfully recorded two (02) convictions for Labour Trafficking cases involving two citizens of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh in 2025. This achievement demonstrates the effectiveness of law enforcement and the mechanisms established under JKAPO;

b. The trend of foreign worker arrivals in Negara Brunei Darussalam may contribute to the potential occurrence of Trafficking in Persons crimes, given that a large number of these workers originate from countries known to have significant Trafficking in Persons activities.

To address the impact of this trend, Negara Brunei Darussalam has taken proactive measures, including signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh in 2022 and the Government of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste in 2023 on the employment and recruitment of their citizens as workers, to ensure that worker recruitment is managed in an orderly manner.

Through the Working Committee on Trafficking in Persons, JKAPO uses the updated NPA on TIP for the period 2025–2029, which has further added to and emphasised the efforts of agencies in combating TIP crimes. These efforts are contained within four key pillars, namely Prevention, Protection, Prosecution and Law Enforcement, as well as Partnership and Cooperation. The objective of the NPA is to build upon the previous amendments, whereby the convictions in two Labour Trafficking cases in 2025 resulted from the efforts and investigations of agencies under JKAPO based on the previous NPA on TIP.

Furthermore, agencies under JKAPO have enhanced their capacity through 49 training programmes, particularly in identifying TIP elements. These include The ASEAN Multilateral Judicial Knowledge Exchange on Victim-Sensitive Adjudication of Trafficking in Persons Cases, which was organised by Negara Brunei Darussalam and served as a platform for judicial officers to share practical experiences, national perspectives and best judicial practices in handling TIP cases.