Tighter laws sought to curb human smuggling

Rasika SOMARATHNA

* Amendment proposed to Immigration Act

* Diaspora hand not ruled out in the racket

More muscle to existing laws and the introduction of new ones are sought by Immigration and Emigration authorities to curb human smuggling by way of amendments to the principal Act. This comes in the wake of the rising instances of Sri Lankans trying to enter foreign countries illegally as asylum seekers.

The External Affairs Ministry recently called on foreign governments to “deport” illegal Sri Lankan asylum seekers. The number of Sri Lankan Tamils trying to migrate to Australia as asylum seekers increased drastically this year and the authorities are of the view that these human smuggling activities are being carried out with the support of some political elements belonging to the pro - LTTE diaspora. Immigration and Emigration Controller General Chulananda Perera yesterday said the proposals to amend the Immigration and Emigration Act has already been formulated and has been forwarded to the Legal Draftsman. He confirmed the bulk of the proposals were with regards to the curbing of human smuggling and trafficking. According to sources several chapters in the Act from No 43 have been dedicated to the above purpose.

When questioned, Perera said he cannot comment on the details of the proposed amendments as they were with the legal draftsman. However, he said the proposed amendments to the Immigration and Emigration Act was quite substantial.

The Department recently sought a more coordinated effort between relevant government arms to mitigate human smuggling and trafficking and it is believed that regulations for such a mechanism too is included in the new amendments. Sri Lanka had long been identified as a source and destination country for human smuggling and trafficking. This was compounded by the long drawn out conflict against terrorism spanning nearly 30 years.

However, recent government efforts to improve the situation has yielded positive results. In the latest US State Department annual report on human trafficking Sri Lanka’s status was elevated to tier 2. Sri Lanka was removed from the “Watch List” it previously occupied and was moved into the above category which also includes Japan, Iceland and Switzerland. The US report stated the positive recognition was due to the government’s increasing efforts to protect trafficking victims and effective law enforcement against human traffickers . The proposed amendments to the Immigration and Emigration act is expected to further strengthen measures at curbing human smuggling and trafficking.