The United States has said that Malaysia could step up more on its efforts to combat human trafficking activities which see thousands of women and children brought into the country illegally each year to work in the sex industry.

Director of the US State Department Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons John R Miller said Malaysia has presented a "mixed picture" to US evaluators monitoring anti-trafficking activities worldwide.

"We saw that Malaysia had adopted some amendments to its criminal code on trafficking in 2002. They were working with source countries through memoranda of understanding signed with Indonesia and the Philippines.

"There were some arrests maybe not enough but there were some. It's a mixed picture. We are not saying the had done a great job but we thought there was significant effort and we hope they will do more," he said in an exclusive interview with malaysiakini last week.

Miller, a former US Congressman, was referring to the US State Department annual Trafficking in Persons report which ranks more than a hundred countries annually on their efforts towards fighting trafficking activities.

Since the report's debut in 2001, Malaysia has consistently been ranked a Tier 2 country (Tier 1 being the best and Tier 3 the worse) for its efforts to comply with minimum standards listed under the US Trafficking in Victims Protection Act.

The US law was enacted in October 2000 to provide US government agencies with the mandate to ensure effective punishment for traffickers and enhance protection for victims.

Aside from issuing its Trafficking in Persons report, the Washington is also authorised to subject Tier 3 countries to certain sanctions, mainly through the withholding of non-humanitarian and non-trade related aid.

Funding limitations

However, the US report failed to satisfy human rights organisations, including New York-based Human Rights Watch which said Malaysia deserved to be ranked lower for its lack of a comprehensive anti-trafficking law and focus on penalizing victims rather than protecting them.

Responding to this, Miller, who was in Kuala Lumpur for a two-day visit, said Malaysia had made "enough effort to justify Tier 2" but investigations showed that there was still "extensive sex slavery, perhaps even forced labour".

"We know that the Malaysian government is a leader in fighting the trade in drugs so we want to encourage Malaysia to be a leader in fighting the trade in human beings," he said.

To date, Miller said the US government has funded anti-trafficking activities in Malaysia only via indirect means such as training of government and law enforcement personnel.

"My understanding is that in recent months, relations between our governments are such that we are hopeful we can enter into a partnership and help each other more in this area.

"There is a possibility (for financing of programmes by local NGOs) but I wouldn't go beyond saying that. Even though (US President George W Bush) pledged to double what the US is currently spending (on combating trafficking), there are limits on what we can do," he added.

During his visit, Miller met with officials from the Foreign Affairs Ministry and the Attorney-General's Chambers.

Inevitable criticism

Meanwhile, Miller addressed some of the key criticisms against the 'Trafficking in Persons' report voiced by governments irked by the US' decision to rank their performance.

Among others, the report has been rapped as an attempt by US lawmakers to impose their domestic legislation abroad and that the rankings have been used to reprimand and withhold aid from countries not on friendly terms with Washington.

"I think criticism is inevitable. Suspicion will be there. My office tries to apply the law and evaluate countries based on what they are doing to fight the slave trade and not what they are doing in other relationships with the US," said Miller.

"China may be unhappy they were placed in Tier 2 but Canada was also placed in Tier 2 (although) it is a close ally and friend. Greece and Turkey are North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) allies but they were placed in Tier 3.

Furthermore, Miller said the anti-trafficking policy of the US should not be viewed as a value imposed only by US law but that it formed a body of universal values supported by all states.

"There are United Nations covenants and all sorts of international declaration that countries have signed to oppose slavery. All the world is against slavery but sometimes, (governments) look the other way.

"The interests that are supporting slavery are organised crime. We know they get more revenue from the trade in human beings than any other source except for drugs and arms. If you want to accuse us of interfering with organised crime, we plead guilty," he asserted.

Miller acknowledged there were still shortcomings with the report but said US legislators had recently passed amendments to the law to address some of the problems.

There will be more emphasis on statistical data, particularly on the number of arrests and convictions of traffickers. There will also be more pressure on governments to provide data to US embassy officials compiling information for the report, he said.

"There is a burden on governments in question to produce the evidence. If they don't produce the evidence then there are presumptions that can be made based on non-production of evidence."

The country listing will also be fine-tuned to include a special watchlist for countries teetering between a Tier 2 and Tier 3 ranking.

US' performance

On the effectiveness of the US initiative thus far, Miller said the reports have generated some positive response, although governments continue to protest over the rankings.

For instance, he noted that Turkey implemented a host of commendable reforms within three months of the reports' publication in an attempt to redress some of the country's failings.

"So much was done (in Turkey) that you have to say the report has some positive influence. But in the long run, this problem can only be solved if people and their governments realise the enormity of the issue," he added.

Evaluating the US' own performance in combatting trafficking, Miller said his government has done well in introducing a clear and advance law to provide for tough penalties for traffickers while ensuring support for victims.

However, he conceded that much more has to be done in the US as well as in educating potential victims and potential exploiters.

"Our government believes that some 800,000 to 900,000 people are trafficked across international borders every year and 18,000 to 20,000 of them across US borders. We recognize this is an international problem.

"Our health and human services department is starting a massive education and media campaign directed at potential victims. There is also a call for the setting up of an education campaign directed at some of the customer-exploiters, particularly the sex tourists.

"There are pull factors as well as push factors and we want to look at both sides. We don't want to make it seem that it is only the responsibility of the countries where these people originate," Miller said.