(Bandar Seri Begawan, 2nd) — A Brunei delegation, comprising representatives from the Brunei Immigration and National Registration Department and the Human Trafficking Investigation Unit of the Royal Brunei Police Force’s Criminal Investigation Department, attended the regional consultation seminar on ‘Strengthening the Non-Punishment Principle in Human Trafficking Cases’ held in Jakarta, Indonesia.
This two-day seminar was held from October 30 to 31, 2025, and was jointly organized by the ASEAN Senior Officials Meeting on Transnational Crime (SOMTC) and the ASEAN-Australia Counter-Trafficking (ACT) program. It was attended by 73 representatives from SOMTC, various ASEAN sectoral bodies, ASEAN Member States, and relevant agencies. This seminar is a continuation of the “ASEAN Guidelines for the Implementation of the Non-Punishment Principle for Victims of Trafficking in Persons,” which was launched on June 2, 2025. These guidelines reflect the strong collective commitment of ASEAN Member States to protect victims of human trafficking from being punished for offenses committed as a direct or indirect consequence of being exploited.
The goal of this seminar is to strengthen the implementation of the ‘National Protection Policy’ in human trafficking cases through the development of ASEAN-specific approaches, namely the ASEAN Forced Crime Human Trafficking Indicators and ASEAN-tailored training materials. During the seminar, participants had the opportunity to explore, in accordance with ASEAN guidelines, indicators of forced human trafficking crimes and effective capacity building training materials. The seminar helped to establish a collaborative platform to ensure that any victim of human trafficking is not treated as a criminal, especially for offenses committed without their consent.
In this regard, the National Committee on Anti-Trafficking in Persons remains committed to ongoing efforts to prevent and combat the threat of human trafficking. The National Committee will also continue to adopt a victim-centered approach and focus on groups vulnerable to human trafficking crimes.
This two-day seminar was held from October 30 to 31, 2025, and was jointly organized by the ASEAN Senior Officials Meeting on Transnational Crime (SOMTC) and the ASEAN-Australia Counter-Trafficking (ACT) program. It was attended by 73 representatives from SOMTC, various ASEAN sectoral bodies, ASEAN Member States, and relevant agencies. This seminar is a continuation of the “ASEAN Guidelines for the Implementation of the Non-Punishment Principle for Victims of Trafficking in Persons,” which was launched on June 2, 2025. These guidelines reflect the strong collective commitment of ASEAN Member States to protect victims of human trafficking from being punished for offenses committed as a direct or indirect consequence of being exploited.
The goal of this seminar is to strengthen the implementation of the ‘National Protection Policy’ in human trafficking cases through the development of ASEAN-specific approaches, namely the ASEAN Forced Crime Human Trafficking Indicators and ASEAN-tailored training materials. During the seminar, participants had the opportunity to explore, in accordance with ASEAN guidelines, indicators of forced human trafficking crimes and effective capacity building training materials. The seminar helped to establish a collaborative platform to ensure that any victim of human trafficking is not treated as a criminal, especially for offenses committed without their consent.
In this regard, the National Committee on Anti-Trafficking in Persons remains committed to ongoing efforts to prevent and combat the threat of human trafficking. The National Committee will also continue to adopt a victim-centered approach and focus on groups vulnerable to human trafficking crimes.