What is Singapore doing

With the initiatives under the NPA completed, the Taskforce launched the National Approach Against TIP in March 2016. Building on the success of the NPA, the National Approach sets out key strategies and outcomes to guide the Taskforce and its stakeholders as they develop work plans to combat TIP.

These are the four desired outcomes of the National Approach Against TIP:

• Prevention: A public that is aware of TIP crimes and actively takes steps to prevent, combat and suppress TIP. Government officials and stakeholders who are well-trained, competent and professional in identifying and dealing with TIP cases.
• Prosecution: An effective end-to-end criminal justice response to TIP crimes, involving comprehensive investigations and prosecution of all offenders who may be involved in trafficking or the exploitation of victims.
• Protection: An appropriate victim care and support framework that looks after the needs of all victims of trafficking.
• Partnership: A strong ecosystem comprising domestic and international stakeholders to put forth a whole-of-Singapore response against TIP.

Download: National Approach Against Trafficking in Persons (2016-2026) (PDF, 3.6MB)

Launched in 2012, the NPA was the roadmap for Singapore’s Whole-of-Government approach to dealing with TIP from 2012 to 2015.

Key NPA initiatives included:

• The training of officers to raise competencies to detect human trafficking
• Partnerships with regional and international bodies to better combat transnational crime
• The introduction of the TIP Public Awareness Grant

The TIP Public Awareness Grant seeks to encourage public education initiatives that help raise awareness of TIP crimes.

Another significant outcome of the NPA was the passing of the Prevention of Human Trafficking Act, which was introduced in Parliament in November 2014 and took effect in March 2015.

Local partnerships with civil society organisations, embassies and businesses are crucial in areas such as public awareness, referral of potential TIP victims and victim support arrangements.

Examples of our local partnerships include:

• Regular stakeholder engagement meetings and case conferences with NGOs to discuss TIP issues.
• Direct channels for NGOs to raise migrant worker-related enquiries to MOM.
• Project Dawn, a task force comprising representatives from MOM, IMH, Migrant Workers’ Centre (MWC) and HealthServe, and government psychologists, was set up in 2020 to boost mental health care and support for migrant workers in Singapore.

Singapore is a party to the United Nations Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children (UN TIP Protocol), as well as the ASEAN Convention against Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children (ACTIP).

The UN TIP Protocol lays out international standards for the elimination of TIP, and seeks to prevent, suppress and punish TIP perpetrators while protecting victims and promoting cooperation among state parties to meet these objectives. The ACTIP seeks to fulfil the same objectives among ASEAN Member States.

Singapore actively participates in anti-TIP platforms to contribute to the regional and global dialogue on combatting TIP. Some of the recent activities are:

2023

• 19th ASEAN Senior Officials Meeting on Transnational Crime (SOMTC) Working Group on Trafficking in Persons, 31 May 2023
• High Level Dialogue to Address Transnational Crime and Human Trafficking Associated with Casinos and Scam Operations in Southeast Asia, 28 June 2023
• Regional Support Office (RSO) of the Bali Process 2023: Constructive Dialogue on Irregular Migration, Trafficking in Persons, People Smuggling and Related Transnational Crime, 10 to 11 October 2023.
• US-Singapore Third Country Training Programme (TCTP): Workshop on Countering TIP from 23 to 27 Oct 2023
• Dissemination Forum for the ASEAN Multi-Sectoral Work Plan Against Trafficking In Persons 2023-2028 (Bohol TIP Work Plan 2.0), 21 November 2023.
• Workshop on the Development of Monitoring, Evaluation, Reporting and Learning (MERL) Framework of the ASEAN Multi-Sectoral Work Plan Against Trafficking In Persons 2023-2028, 22 to 24 November 2023.
• Canada and Indo-Pacific Post-Pandemic Border and Migration Management Training Symposium, 29 Jan 2023 to 2 Feb 2023.
• Human Trafficking and Child Exploitation – Executive Policy and Development Symposium on Transnational Organized Crime, 13 Feb to 24 Feb 2023.
• Thematic Training Course 23/04 by France Office for Combating Smuggling of Migrants (OLTIM) - Fight against irregular migration networks, 22 to 26 May 2023.

2022

• ASEAN Cross-Sectoral Meeting on the Review Report of the Bohol TIP Work Plan 2017-2020 and Its Ways Forward, 29 to 30 March 2022
• INTERPOL Human Trafficking Expert Group (HTEG) and INTERPOL Specialised Operational Network (ISON) meeting, 6 to 7 April 2022
• United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Working Group on TIP, 29 to 30 June 2022
• 22^nd ASEAN Senior Officials’ Meeting on Transnational Crime (SOMTC) Plenary and its related meetings which included the ASEAN Heads of Specialist Anti-Trafficking Units and SOMTC Working Group on TIP meetings, 19 to 21 July 2022
• ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) Consultation on Human Rights on Countering Trafficking in Persons in ASEAN, 27 to 28 September 2022
• The Regional Support Office of the Bali Process on People Smuggling, Trafficking in Persons and related Transnational Crime (RSO) Border and Technology Forum: Countering People Smuggling, Trafficking in Persons And Related Transnational Crime, 26 to 27 Oct 2022

2021

• Regional Workshop to Support Knowledge Exchange and Experience on Shelter Practices Across ASEAN Member States, 27 April 2021
• INTERPOL Human Trafficking Expert Group (HTEG) meeting, 22 to 24 June 2021
• 21^st ASEAN Senior Officials’ Meeting on Transnational Crime (SOMTC) Plenary and its related meetings which included the ASEAN Heads of Specialist Anti-Trafficking Units and SOMTC Working Group on TIP meetings, 26 to 29 July 2021
• ASEAN-Australia Counter Trafficking (ASEAN-ACT) Vietnam: Workshop on Digital Evidence in Trafficking, 8 October 2021
• ASEAN Workshop for the Review of the Bohol TIP Work Plan 2017-2020, 12 to 13 October 2021
• United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Working Group on TIP, 12 to 13 October 2021