Home adviser Lieutenant General Md Jahangir Alam Chowdhury (retired) on Sunday categorically said that Bangladesh remained steadfast in its commitment to prevent human trafficking.
The adviser reiterated the commitment while addressing as the chief guest the third meeting of the BIMSTEC sub-group on Human Trafficking at Hotel Pan Pacific Sonargaon in Dhaka.
He said that they had established a strong legal framework to capture those involved in human trafficking. Security measures had been strengthened at frontiers alongside increasing the public awareness campaigns to make people aware about the dangers of trafficking.
In the context, he said that law enforcement agencies were vigilant and active.
The adviser said that Bangladesh had taken proactive steps to combat human trafficking. The measures included formulating a national action plan, efficiently identifying victims of human trafficking, assessing their needs and connecting them with appropriate service providers.
Jahangir said that a dedicated special tribunal was established to expedite the trial of human traffickers. 鈥業n addition, we have expanded our mutual legal assistance mechanism to strengthen cooperation with BIMSTEC and other countries in this regard.鈥�
The adviser said that other BIMSTEC member states had taken significant steps in the fight against human trafficking. Traffickers were constantly adopting new strategies to evade arrest.
鈥楾hey [traffickers] continue to exploit the economic crisis and poverty of the affected populations and use migration routes to further enhance their clandestine activities by using technology,鈥� he added.
鈥楳utual exchange of experiences and joint efforts will enable us to further strengthen our anti-trafficking strategy.鈥�
The adviser expressed gratitude to the member states for entrusting Bangladesh with the responsibility of the chairmanship of BIMSTEC for the next two years.
He said that Professor Muhammad Yunus had pledged to steer BIMSTEC with an inclusive and action-oriented vision.
Jahangir said that the outcome of the meeting would act as a catalyst for strong policy formulation, its effective implementation and deeper regional cooperation.
Khandaker Md Mahabubur Rahman, additional secretary, political and ICT division, public security department, ministry of home affairs and chairman of the third meeting of BIMSTEC sub-group on human trafficking, and Prasanth Chandran, director BIMSTEC secretariat, Dhaka, also spoke on the occasion.
The meeting was attended by members of the sub-group on human trafficking from seven BIMSTEC member countries, Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Nepal and Bhutan.
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Home adviser Lieutenant General (retired) Md Jahangir Alam Chowdhury addresses the third meeting of the BIMSTEC Sub-Group on human trafficking at the Hotel Pan Pacific Sonargaon in Dhaka on Sunday.听 PID photo
