During
the 68th United Nations General Assembly in New York on September 26, 2013 the
Philippines’ Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs, Evan
Garcia, stated that the fight against human trafficking should
be viewed as a joint responsibility of all UN member states.
According to recent statistics, about one-in-ten Filipinos that work
overseas are indentured laborers. Garcia noted that “protection
of the welfare and rights of Filipinos overseas is a pillar of Philippine
foreign policy.” According to the US State Department’s annual Trafficking in
Persons Report (TIP), the Philippines is a major source country of
trafficked individuals. The Philippines' efforts to combat human
trafficking include founding the Group of Friends United against
Human Trafficking to reignite awareness of human trafficking on a
global front; enhancing information sharing and human rights
approaches to combat trafficking in persons; adopting of a human
rights based approach to combat trafficking in persons; and promoting the
ratification of the Palermo Protocol and the full and effective implementation
of the Global Plan of Action to Combat Trafficking in Persons.
Full
account available at