Fight against human trafficking

NOTICE

Atiqul Kabir Tuhin
| Published: May 25, 2024 9:11:23 p.m.

Human trafficking is an affront to any decent society with a minimum of self-respect and morality. This is undoubtedly a crime against humanity and particularly embarrassing for a nation that claims to be moving forward on the path of development and committed to meeting the basic needs of its citizens. It is a sad truth that human trafficking results from crushing poverty and social repression that leave unfortunate victims with no choice but to fall into the trap set by traffickers.
The scale of human trafficking in Bangladesh is both horrific and alarming. UNICEF estimates that around 400 women and children are victims of this scandalous crime every month. This is further underlined by a study revealing that around 300,000 Bangladeshi children and women aged 12 to 30 have been trafficked to India over the past decade. Trafficked women end up in brothels or are used to make pornographic films. Children, who know even less about the world, suffer in the same way. Furthermore, in their desperation to find employment, large numbers of young people also fall prey to human traffickers. There is no shortage of traffickers' agents to lure them and lead them astray. It is no wonder that many victims die during their journey across the Mediterranean Sea to Europe. Bangladesh has become a fertile ground for the exploitation of poor and vulnerable populations.
In 2012, the government promulgated the Human Trafficking Prevention and Suppression Act to combat human trafficking. It contains a provision for the death penalty to discourage this practice. It was hoped that this strict legislation would be enough to eliminate the problem, but in practice this has not been the case. The 2023 U.S. Trafficking in Persons Report recognizes Bangladesh's continued efforts to combat human trafficking and identifies gaps in key areas, including anti-trafficking court capacity, legal measures and government involvement. law enforcement. The media is full of reports that more than 3,000 human trafficking cases are currently awaiting trial in Bangladesh, and many trials have been gathering dust for years. Additionally, although cases of human trafficking are numerous, the conviction rate in these cases is extremely low (around 1.5 percent).
It is alleged that corrupt investigators accept bribes from both victims and defendants, deliberately delay investigations, and ultimately help members of powerful trafficking networks evade punishment. This shameful disregard for the rule of law has rendered anti-human trafficking laws virtually ineffective.
A National Referral Mechanism (NRM) framework was recently launched to protect and assist victims of human trafficking. This framework involves a multidisciplinary group of governmental and non-governmental actors. According to its statement, the NRM is a multidisciplinary system with protocols and guidelines to ensure effective assistance to victims. The government, led by the Public Security Division of the Ministry of Interior, will manage the NRM, while Switzerland supports the development of the framework through a project called Ashshash.
The main objective of the NRM is to identify victims of trafficking and modern slavery and provide them with the necessary support for their social and economic reintegration and empowerment. Several NGOs are also working in this area, but they are not able to meet the challenge of meeting the needs of such a large number of women and children. Unfortunately, they have no place in social protection systems. There are budgetary allocations for the most disadvantaged, but in practice they rarely benefit from them. The effective functioning of the NRM framework could go a long way in protecting the rights of these unfortunate victims of human trafficking.
To effectively combat human trafficking, it is necessary to address the root causes of trafficking, raise public awareness and prosecute trafficking-related offenses. Here, law enforcement must work with sincere commitment to bring human traffickers to justice. The government must step up its efforts if it does not want Bangladesh to be portrayed as a nation completely insensitive to human rights.
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