Jale Daucakacaka 
Accurate figures and data on human trafficking and migrant smuggling are difficult to come by because they deal with a “hidden population”.
Speaking at the Pacific Regional Forum on Trafficking in Persons & Smuggling of Migrants in Suva today, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Regional Coordinator Rebecca Miller says this is the challenge that the anti-trafficking sector has to deal with in order to resolve the issue.
“There have been constant calls for more robust evidence to prove or disprove claims about the nature, the extent and location of human trafficking, the characteristics of trafficked persons and the continued investments in certain types of responses.”
Rebecca Miller
Miller told attendees of the three-day forum that the underlying question remains on what kind of evidence is valued in the anti-trafficking community.
Meanwhile, Fiji Bureau of Statistics Chief Executive Maria Musudroka says sharing data and experiences with representatives of regional authorities will help improve research and implementation efforts to curb human trafficking in the region.
