Human trafficking turns people into objects to be sold to the highest bidder and it is violation of dignity and a form of slavery.
That is the sentiment of Police Commissioner, Commodore Esala Teleni addressing participants at the consultative forum on human trafficking in Suva this morning.
Commodore Teleni said with the introduction of the New Crimes Decree, the Fiji Police Force will now able to prosecute offenders however he stresses that while there is a law in place, there are deficiencies with regards to enforcement.
He stresses that human trafficking is closely linked with poverty, prostitution and these issues need to be dealt with as well.
Teleni while speaking to the participants highlighted the recent reports from the US State Government which shows Fiji was downgraded from Tier 2 and is now in the Tier 3 category.
The US Embassy's Deputy Chief of Mission, Richard Pruett clarified that according to the US State report, a Tier 3 rating means that the country has not met the minimum requirement to deal with human trafficking and the Government is not doing anything to address the issue.
The Human Trafficking workshop continues today and will come up with guidelines for the new unit in the Police Force that deals specifically with Human Trafficking.
Human trafficking violates dignity
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