UN experts on 19 May expressed alarm over large-scale trafficking in persons for purposes of forced labour and forced criminality in scam compounds across Southeast Asia, where hundreds of thousands of people of various nationalities are trapped and forced to carry out online fraud or assist the criminal operations. The situation is deeply entrenched, as scam operations typically relocate in response to law enforcement pressure rather than shutting down, and there is evidence, that this modus operandi is being exported to other regions globally.

“The situation has reached the level of a humanitarian and human rights crisis, and it is both undignified and intolerable,” the experts said. They called on the international community – particularly States in Southeast and East Asia – to take urgent and coordinated action to meaningfully protect victims and step up prevention efforts.

The experts noted that the victims were deceived and fraudulently recruited, including through social media platforms, from all over the world including Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and North and South America. The victims are held in facilities primarily located in Cambodia, Myanmar, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, the Philippines, and Malaysia.

“Once trafficked, victims are deprived of their liberty and subjected to torture, ill treatment, severe violence and abuse including beatings, electrocution, solitary confinement and sexual violence. They have limited access to food and clean water, and must endure cramped and unsanitary living conditions,” the experts said.

Some are sold to other scam operations, or ransoms are demanded from their families. Attempts to escape often result in severe punishment or death.

“Organised criminal groups are reportedly operating within the context of widespread corruption and impunity, where they benefit from collusion with government officials, politicians, local law enforcement, and influential business figures,” the experts said. “Advances in money laundering, online banking, and underground financial systems in Southeast Asia are further accelerating the rapid expansion of this exploitative scam industry.”

Although efforts to combat this complex form of trafficking and exploitation are ongoing, the experts noted that measures taken by States to identify, protect and assist victims and hold perpetrators at all levels accountable, remained inadequate, and protection against reprisals is limited. A victim-centered approach focusing on survivors' dignity and rights must be prioritized in all interventions.

“Immediate human rights-based action by States is urgently needed,” they said. “The nonpunishment principle must be fully applied, including ensuring that victims are not punished for offences committed as a direct result of being trafficked, under either immigration or criminal laws. It is also vital that victims are able to access meaningful torture and trauma rehabilitation and that the return of trafficking victims is strictly voluntary, carried out safely and conducted with dignity, in line with the principle of non-refoulement. Effective access to international protection must be ensured, without discrimination, and long-term unconditional residence permits granted to those unable to return to countries of origin.” Assistance and protection measures are currently inadequate. Long-term, unconditional assistance must be provided, including psycho-social, medical and legal assistance. Victims with disabilities must be ensured accessible rights-based assistance measures and effective access to justice.”

The experts also expressed concern about the lack of freedom of expression and shrinking civic space in the region, which hampers victim protection efforts including access to justice, punishes whistleblowing and prevents public exposure of these abuses. “States must urgently ensure that media, human rights defenders and NGOs can carry out their legitimate work free from interference, in line with international human rights standards,” they said.

“It is also crucial that all States go beyond surface-level public awareness campaigns to understand effectively the drivers that lead vulnerable people into this complex form of trafficking. A victim-centred approach focusing on survivors' dignity and rights must be prioritized in all interventions. States should address the root causes of trafficking for forced criminality such as poverty, lack of decent work opportunities, limited access to education and health, limited accessible pathways for regular migration, as well as weak information integrity online. “Urgent action is needed to increase the capacity to investigate trafficking in persons facilitated through digital technologies.”

“Forced scamming has been escalating since 2021 and the large-scale earthquake in Myanmar and Thailand this year has rendered the situation even more dramatic,” they said. Experts also have raised alarm over the ongoing humanitarian crisis at the Myanmar-Thailand border, where thousands of released victims remain trapped in inhumane conditions. They call for urgent humanitarian assistance from the international community, particularly Thailand and ASEAN, to those stranded on the Myanmar side of the border and urge countries of origin to provide prompt protection and assistance to their nationals.

The experts stressed the importance of intensified global efforts, particularly through ASEAN, to prevent forced criminality. They noted that strengthened international cooperation in law enforcement and investigations, including financial investigations, must uphold human rights across borders including ensuring procedural safeguards and protection of victims' rights throughout investigations and prosecutions. From this perspective, the experts welcomed ongoing efforts within ASEAN to develop guidance on the Non-Punishment Principle to guide anti-trafficking efforts. Strengthened international cooperation is also essential to ensure effective access to justice for victims. Survivor led prevention and protection measures must be implemented across the region.

The experts are in contact with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the Armed Forces of Myanmar, and the Governments of Cambodia, China, Lao PDR, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Viet Nam. A copy of the communications has been shared with Indonesia, Japan, Singapore, the Republic of Korea, and the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights. Related communications were previously sent to Cambodia in 2022.