Submission to the Justice Committee: Crimes (Increased Penalties for Slavery Offences) Amendment Bill

All mokopuna have the right to be protected from all forms of exploitation including modern slavery and people trafficking. Slavery and trafficking can and do occur cross-border and internally within Aotearoa New Zealand, breaching the rights of mokopuna. Mana Mokopuna supports the Bill because increasing the penalties for these offences sends the message that Aotearoa New Zealand strongly denounces this offending.

However, we recognise that increased penalties will only have a meaningful impact in cases where exploitation is identified and convictions sought and obtained. Therefore, we recommend further work is done to prevent the exploitation of mokopuna, including ensuring the recommendations from the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child are fully implemented.