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international lobby work effective way to put pressure on gov'ts.

May 20, 2005

Our lobby work in the Philippines and Japan on what the Philippine gov't. call the "Overseas Performing Artists," popularly known as entertainers or japayuki (Filipina women working in the clubs in Japan) whose work is mostly hostessing, dohan (afternoon dates), flying booking (the transfer of the women from one club to the other), prostitution, and trafficking started to be more effective when our different networks in the Philippines and overseas also became actively involved on the issue.

This led to the passage of the Anti-Trafficking Law in the Philippines in May 2003 after several years of lobby work. DAWN and our women members actively participated in the congressional hearings and various fora to push for the passage of the law. But inspite of the passage of this very good law, the implementation is very much lacking. The Philippine gov't. continued to send the entertainers to Japan inspite of the reported blatant violations of the rights of the women/trafficking. DAWN initiated meetings with the Government of Japan (GOJ). Last May 2004, the Asia- Pacific Regional Hearing of the Global Commission on International Migration (GCIM) was held in Manila. DAWN staff met with Mr. Shigeki Sumi, Deputy Director General of the Japan Ministry of Foreign Affairs to discuss the situation of our Filipino women entertainers in Japan. Follow- up meetings were held in Tokyo. Various networks, i.e. Philippine Migrants Rights Watch, the Coalition Against Trafficking in Women (CATW-AP) started our active lobby work with the Japanese gov't. as well. Last June 2004, the International Labor Organization-Tokyo (ILO-Tokyo), The U.S. Embassy in Tokyo and Vital Voices organized a conference on Human Trafficking in Asia in Tokyo. DAWN through its Executive Director, Ms. Carmelita G. Nuqui, presented a paper on "The Vulnerabilities of Filipino Women as Potential Trafficking Victims." Representatives of the various agencies of the Government of Japan were also invited, together with other resource persons and participants from Japan and other countries. After this conference, follow-up meetings were held, and a suggestion to visit the Philippines was made. The Inter-Agency Task Force of the Prime Minister's Office Coordination Mechanism on Trafficking in Persons, a nine-member delegation visited the Philippines last September 2004 and met with DAWN and its women members and visited the DAWN alternative livelihood programs for the women victims of trafficking, the Philippine Migrants Rights Watch (PMRW) and with representatives of the different agencies of the Philippine government. Follow-up meetings with DAWN were held in Tokyo and Manila. The members of the Task-Force were impressed with the hollistic approach of DAWN in assisting trafficked women in Japan and made commitments to support DAWN's program. The Task Force also met with the officers of Vital Voices in Washington, DC. The Task-Force also visited Thailand and Colombia. As, a result, the Government of Japan came out with a Plan of Action to Combat Trafficking in Persons in December 2004. New rules on the deployment of Filipino entertainers to Japan were implemented starting March 15, 2005.

We learned that recently, the UN Optional Protocol on Trafficking in Persons Especially on Women and Children has been approved by Japan's House of Representatives. It is now awaiting approval at the House of Councilors. Continuing lobby work both local and international is necessary to put pressure on governments to immediately act on issues.

Carmelita G. Nuqui, Development Action for Women Network (DAWN), Executive Director