Association of Southeast Asian Nations' (ASEAN) immigration heads meeting in the Philippines from 16-18 October, agreed to crack down on the trafficking of women and children.

Fifty delegates met in Davao City, Philippines for the fourth annual meeting of immigration chiefs and consular heads. Delegates agreed a plan of action to tackle human trafficking in the region, irregular immigration, and policies that will improve the treatment of migrant workers. They also agreed to strengthen regional co-operation in order to fight growing transnational crime in the region.

Philippine Immigration Commissioner, Rufus Rodriguez, estimated that a large proportion of the one million child labourers and women prostitutes shipped to different countries came from ASEAN countries.

A recent US Government report stated that countries in the region were major source for human traffickers, both for other Asian countries as well as the rest of the world. The report, published this April, estimated that between 700,000 and 2 million women and children were trafficked across borders each year.

ASEAN comprises Brunei, Burma, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.