The government at all levels, development partners, law enforcement agencies, civil society members, private sector and other relevant actors must make concerted efforts to raise awareness of modern slavery and take actions to stamp it out, speakers said on Tuesday.
They observed that trafficking is a crime which puts migrant workers at risk in terms of physical and mental abuse, harassment, forced labour, forced and illegal marriages, illegal trade and most importantly losing lives, reports UNB.
Discussants from different sectors came up with the observations at the opening ceremony of a debate competition titled ‘I stand against human trafficking’ held at Dhaka University Business Faculty auditorium marking the World Day Against Trafficking in Person 2019.
International Organization for Migration (IOM) and Dhaka University Debating Society (DUDS) organised the debate competition with support from the European Union, the US Government and the Embassy of Sweden to create better awareness among students regarding human trafficking.
The event also brought together policymakers, students, academics, media representatives, development partners, international organisations, and private sectors to highlight the important concepts around human trafficking, migration and its impact.
Head of Migrant Protection and Assistance of IOM Bangladesh Asma Khatun gave a brief overview of human trafficking.
She stressed that with globalisation in its full force- the mobility of people has increased many folds with 1 billion people on the move worldwide now.
An estimated 12 million Bangladeshis are currently employed overseas. Bangladeshis migrate in huge numbers for a variety of economic, social and environmental reasons.
Prof of Economics, Dhaka University Dr MM Akash said as they do not have enough job opportunities in Bangladesh, so people, especially young people, tend to go abroad through the irregular process.
“Those we are trafficked are generally poor. The trafficking situation is alarming now. We need to reduce our poverty and empower our youths to get a good job. We’ve to aware the aspirant migrants so that they can do informed migration. Most importantly, we should have a multi-country policy framework to stop trafficking,” he said.
Prof of Law, University of Dhaka Dr Nakib Md Nasrullah said trafficking is a transnational crime and the existing laws are good enough to prevent trafficking. “But we need to implement the laws strictly to bring the traffickers under custody. And, raising awareness is the key issue where we should give intensive emphasis.”
Deputy Chief of Mission- IOM Bangladesh Sharon Dimanche said a trafficked person does not take much time to calculate his or her future financial gains and swallow the offer of traffickers due to unemployment problem and economic inequality existing in the country.
“The victims are either abducted or lured with promises of a better life by providing a lucrative job or marriage offers and false proposals to visit holy places. It’s critical for all stakeholders to join hands and work together to combat human trafficking.”
After the opening session, 16 debating clubs of Dhaka University joined the debate competition. Additional Secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs disturbed prizes among the winners at the closing ceremony of the event in the afternoon, according to the IOM.