Govt launches plan of action to combat human trafficking

DHAKA, MAY 19: A three-year national plan of action was launched on Saturday for combating human trafficking. The stress is on prosecution of offenders and protection of victims, with the involvement of all stakeholders.

The objectives are to make way for certain implementable measures to prevent and put a check on human trafficking and allocate responsibilities among various government agencies and other organisations for these measures, and monitoring the enforcement of existing laws.

It also aims to ensure justice for the victims of trafficking by a comprehensive protective regime through state interventions and social actions, including measures for their rescue, recovery from physical and psychological trauma, repatriation, rehabilitation and re-integration into families and society.

Home minister Sahara Khatun formally declared the launching of the National Plan of Action for Human Trafficking, 2012-2014, at a ceremony at Hotel Ruposhi Bangla.

The ministry of home affairs, in association with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and Winrock International, organised the programme, a part of which was a dialogue on the issue of human trafficking.

The programme was addressed, among others, by expatriates welfare and overseas employment minister Khandker Mosharraf Hossain, foreign minister Dr Dipu Moni, Prime Minister’s international affairs adviser Dr Gowher Rizvi and the US Ambassador to Bangladesh, Dan W Mozena. Senior secretary of the home ministry, CQK Mustaq Ahmed, moderated the programme, while the additional secretary in the ministry, Dr Kamal Uddin Ahmed, made a presentation on the plan.

Describing human trafficking as a despicable crime, the home minister said: “Women are trafficked and forced to work as sex workers. People are turned into slaves in foreign countries. Even, there are instances where people have lost their organs.” The Human Trafficking Deterrence and Suppression Act, 2012 was meant to stop trafficking of women and children from Bangladesh, she said.

The minister also said: “Human trafficking cannot be combated only through enactment of law. Rather, concerted efforts by all are needed to counter the menace.”

Expatriates welfare and overseas employment minister Khandker Mosharraf said there is a deficiency in awareness about migration creating manifold problems for those who sought overseas jobs. The high cost of migration in Bangladesh also contributed to the problems related to human trafficking, he said, adding that the cost of migration should be between Tk. 35,000 to 50,000. “If we cannot get rid of brokers, the cost of migration will never be brought under control. A worker will have to be able to realise the cost of migration within three months,” he added. The minister also said that due to the high cost of migration people are forced to become illegal immigrants without any legal protection.

“India, a country of 117 crore people, is sending about six lakh workers every year. Bangladesh has a population of 16 crore. We are also sending about six lakh workers every year,” he said. In the first four months of the current year, over three lakh workers went abroad, he added.

Detailing different steps taken by his ministry to address the migration problem, Mosharraf said registration centres had been introduced in all 64 districts to prevent human trafficking in the name of migration.

Foreign minister Dipu Moni said the plan had been launched to properly implement the Human Trafficking Deterrence and Suppression Act, 2012. The minister also said that the government had planned to open 19 missions abroad within the current and next fiscal year. Of them, two missions—one in Mauritius, one in Lebanon—were expected to open within the next two months, she said, adding that this would help Bangladeshi workers abroad.

Dr Gowher Rizvi said: “The victims of trafficking face trauma not only during trafficking, but also after their rescue. The victims should wait for some years before being brought back to the country. We don’t have enough facility to rehabilitate the victims of trafficking.”

Assuring US support in combating human trafficking, Ambassador Dan Mozena said: “The plan is only a piece of paper. What matters is how it is implemented.”

In his presentation, additional secretary Kamal Uddin stated that the key challenges faced by the country in addressing human trafficking included mainstreaming the understanding on the trafficking nexus, minimising the gaps in order to effectively implement international and national laws, conventions and policies, reducing poverty to counter trafficking, maximising  GO-NGO collaboration, ensuring community participation in counter-trafficking intervention, maintaining a gender perspective in CT interventions and maintaining a rights-based approach to CT interventions.

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By Khandaker Nazneen Sultana

Journalist

The New Age