DHAKA (UCAN): Government and campaigners in Bangladesh say the nation will strengthen efforts to combat the scourge of human trafficking following the October 31 to November 9 visit of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Trafficking in Persons, Siobhan Mullally, to Bangladesh.
“The discussion on anti-trafficking has intensified, pressure has come on policy makers and they will start working to prevent human trafficking anew, and effective action to prevent human trafficking in the long term comes from the concerned parties,” Sukleash George Costa, regional director of Caritas Bangladesh, said.
Costa said that Mullally’s visit and its revelations put a spotlight on the nation’s trafficking problem.
During a press conference in Dhaka at the end of the visit, Mullally said that internal trafficking for the purposes of exploitation, including forced labour, begging, and sexual abuse was a matter of serious concern.
“It is also worrying that girls and women are becoming victims of cross-border sexual exploitation after being trafficked to India in particular,” the UN envoy said in a written statement.
The discussion on anti-trafficking has intensified, pressure has come on policy makers and they will start working to prevent human trafficking anew, and effective action to prevent human trafficking in the long term comes from the concerned parties
Sukleash George Costa
She said that girls and boys were becoming victims of such internal trafficking, allegedly due to a lack of access to protection from the state.
Data from the Home Affairs ministry shows 5,835 cases of trafficking were registered in Bangladesh since last July. To date, a total of 29,339 people have been charged with human trafficking. The government said that between January and July this year, police submitted an average of three final reports to the court on human trafficking cases.
Costa observed that lawsuits and justice are one way to combat human trafficking, but there are many related issues that governments and non-governmental organisations must address to tackle the crime.
He pointed out that Caritas conducts anti-trafficking campaigns and raises awareness in border and coastal areas against trafficking. Apart from that, people living in vulnerable areas are provided with education and technical training so they become self-reliant and do not fall into the traps set by human traffickers.
“People are moving from coastal areas to cities due to natural disasters, many are crossing illegally abroad. So, Caritas is providing them with technical training and employment opportunities on the spot. As a result, these people will no longer be urban-oriented and will not think of going abroad,” Costa explained.
People are moving from coastal areas to cities due to natural disasters, many are crossing illegally abroad. So, Caritas is providing them with technical training and employment opportunities on the spot. As a result, these people will no longer be urban-oriented and will not think of going abroad
Costa
Global reports suggest Bangladesh is struggling to contain human trafficking despite having laws.
The US government’s Trafficking in Persons Report-2022 noted that Bangladesh could not fully do the minimum to prevent human trafficking, but the government’s efforts to investigate and punish human traffickers in Bangladesh have increased.
At the same time, the report notes that the country lagged in identifying people at risk of being trafficked compared to previous years. Appropriate action has not been taken against the companies that send workers illegally and this puts the workers at risk of being trafficked.
Khalekuzzaman Khan, a project officer of Agragati [Progress], an NGO that runs projects to prevent human trafficking in the southern coastal district of Khulna, said that human trafficking is a global issue and everyone must work together to prevent it.
“The UN special envoy came and asked the government to take certain steps. In this case, we can sit with the government and highlight the reasons for preventing human trafficking as the UN envoy has advised. Besides, their advice guides us and shows us whether we are working in the right direction or not,” Khan said.
AKM Mukhleshur Rahman, additional secretary of the Home Affairs ministry, said that the Human Trafficking Prevention and Suppression Act-2012 is a strong and important law to curb trafficking crimes.
Based on the law, the Bangladesh government formulated the National Action Plan 2012-22 for the Prevention and Suppression of Human Trafficking, Rahman said.
“When experts come to Bangladesh and give advice, the Bangladesh government must take it into account and take action, and UN human rights experts are no exception. According to her advice, we will work together with stakeholders to prevent human trafficking,” he added.
