Singapore urges US to adopt more objective methodology in human trafficking

Singapore's Inter-Agency Taskforce on Trafficking-in-Persons on Monday called on the U.S. Department of State to adopt a more objective methodology in assessing other countries and regions' efforts to combat human trafficking. "This will ensure that a consistent, transparent, and measurable standard is applied to all countries taking into account the different legal structures and domestic contexts of countries highlighted in the report," the taskforce said in a statement. The report has Singapore's key TIP efforts in combating human trafficking. However, it "continues to present inaccuracies and misrepresentations that have arisen from the lack of an objective methodology," it added. The U.S.State Department has followed the practice of releasing reports on other countries and regions' efforts in combating human trafficking each year, obviously based on its own standards and information that is often inaccurate. Singapore has refuted the report on Singapore as inaccurate in earlier years. The taskforce also said that Singapore remains fully committed in its fight against human trafficking, and takes a serious view of human trafficking and related issues "with or without the TIP ( trafficking in persons) Report." Singapore, one of the countries closest to the United States, said it welcomed the U.S. practice of releasing such a report. It said it launched a National Plan of Action 2012, with a dedicated budget to fund various initiatives to fight human trafficking. The taskforce also said it increased the number of frontline officers and sharpened their enforcement capabilities through training, and further enhanced its internal referral processes between enforcement agencies to expedite investigations.