US envoy applauded the passage of the 2018-2022 National Action Plan of Bangladesh emphasising prosecution, protection, and prevention in combating human trafficking.
The US Ambassador-at-Large to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons John Cotton Richmond visited Bangladesh from August 03 to 06 to discuss with the Government of Bangladesh (GoB) officials and other partners to discuss ways to combat trafficking.
Besides, the envoy also focused on encouraging measurable progress in implementing the recommendations in the Department of State’s annual Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report, according to a press release of the US Embassy in Dhaka.
Ambassador to Bangladesh Earl R Miller joined Ambassador Richmond for meetings in Dhaka with government officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Law, Justice, and Parliamentary Affairs, the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Ministry of Social Welfare, and the Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment.
They discussed about traffickers’ exploiting legal recruitment fees to trap migrant workers in debt-based coercion, increasing accountability for traffickers, and providing victim support services.
In Cox’s Bazar, Mr Miller and Mr Richmond reviewed with the Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner vulnerabilities to trafficking specific to the Rohingya population, steps the GoB can take to limit these vulnerabilities, and best practices for handling these trafficking cases.
They also met with the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) protection teams to expand on steps the GoB can take to limit vulnerabilities to human trafficking for the Rohingya population and address-related human-trafficking cases.
The delegation also met with trafficking victims at the USAID-funded Young Power in Social Action TIP Shelter and heard about the reintegration services the shelter provides to survivors.
The US team had lunch with a group of law students where they discussed the differences between smuggling and human trafficking—whether internal or external, and the importance of the annual TIP report and implications of Bangladesh’s third consecutive Tier 2 Watch List ranking.
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