The ASEAN Multilateral Judicial Knowledge Exchange (JKE) on Victim-Sensitive Adjudication of Trafficking in Persons Cases was officially opened today at the Radisson Hotel. The programme, running until 5th February, brings together judges from ASEAN Member States, judicial training institutions and the Secretariat of the Council of ASEAN Chief Justices (CACJ).

An initiative of the CACJ Working Group on Judicial Education and Training, jointly chaired by the judiciaries of Republic of Indonesia and the Republic of the Philippines, the JKE reflects ASEAN’s commitment to strengthening judicial responses to trafficking in persons through victim-centred and human rights-based approaches. The programme is supported by ASEAN-Australia Counter Trafficking (ASEAN-ACT) and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

The opening ceremony featured senior judicial and international representatives, who emphasised that trafficking in persons is a serious transnational crime requiring a strong, coordinated and victim-sensitive judicial response. They highlighted the importance of regional cooperation, knowledge-sharing and harmonised adjudication. 

The JKE provides a platform for sharing practical experience and best practices, and for developing a regional Compendium on Victim-Sensitive Adjudication for trafficking in persons cases, covering court procedures, victim protection, the best interests of the child, compensation, and judicial capacity-building.