UNB, Dhaka :
Since Bangladesh passed the Prevention and Suppression of Human Trafficking Act (PSHTA) in 2012, as many as 4,152 trafficking cases have been recorded in the country over the last six years.
But, when it comes to meting out justice, the rate of convictions remained very low. Bangladesh reported just 10 to 15 convictions a year in human trafficking cases in comparison to 50 to 80 convictions a year in neighbouring Nepal, stated the ‘Global Report on Trafficking in Persons, 2016’, prepared by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). Though PSHTA has a provision for a tribunal that will exclusively handle trafficking cases, the tribunal has not been set up yet. With governments, non-government organisations and right bodies across the globe observing the ‘World Day against Trafficking in Persons’ on Monday (July 30), the UN body said it will come up with its latest Global Report on Trafficking in Persons at the end of 2018.
“According to preliminary data, children make up almost 30 per cent of all human trafficking victims worldwide. However, in some parts of the world, like West Africa and Central America, children account for the majority of victims detected. In addition, preliminary results also show that one third of the victims of trafficking for sexual exploitation are children,” said UNODC.
On the 2018 World Day against Trafficking in Persons, UNODC focuses on ‘responding to the trafficking of children and young people’. This year’s campaign highlights the fact that almost a third of trafficking victims are children. Hence, the theme draws attention to the issues faced by trafficked children and to possible action initiatives
linked to safeguarding and ensuring justice for child victims.
Today, there are millions of people whose liberty, dignity and essential human rights have been stolen. They are coerced into sexual exploitation, forced labour, domestic servitude, forced begging and stealing, and even compelled to “sell” skin and organs. Low rate of convictions in trafficking cases can be one possible reason why Bangladesh has been bracketed for two years on the trot in the ‘Tier 2 Watch List’ of the US State Department’s annual ‘Trafficking in Persons’ (TIP) report. Before 2017, Bangladesh had been in a better category for five years since 2011. This year’s TIP report that that the United States published late last month, stated that the “Government of Bangladesh does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so.”
It said, the Bangladesh government did not demonstrate increasing efforts compared to the previous reporting period. “Courts convicted only one trafficker in 2017-a decrease from 2016 and a low number compared with the scale of the trafficking problem.” In TIP Report, ‘Tier 1’ refers to the governments of countries that fully meet the Trafficking Victims Protection Act’s (TVPA) minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking, ‘Tier 2’ refers to the governments of countries that do not fully meet the TVPA’s minimum standards, but are making significant efforts to bring themselves into compliance with those standards. However, ‘Tier 2 Watch List’ refers to the government of countries that fail to provide evidence of increasing efforts to combat severe forms of trafficking in persons from the previous year, including increased investigations, prosecution, and convictions of trafficking crimes. And last but not the least, ‘Tier 3’ refers to the governments of countries that do not fully meet the TVPA’s minimum standards and are not making significant efforts to do so.
Since 2011 Bangladesh was in ‘Tier 2’ but in last year the country relegated to ‘Tier 2 Watch List’ and couldn’t bounce back this year too. US State Department report recommended Bangladesh to take steps to eliminate recruitment fees charged to workers by licensed labor recruiters and ensure they are paid by employers; increase prosecutions and convictions, particularly of labor traffickers, fraudulent labor recruiters, and complicit government officials, while strictly respecting due process; proactively incorporate forced labor and sex trafficking prevention measures into the response to the Rohingya refugee crisis; increase investigations and prosecutions of credible allegations of trafficking of Rohingya; establish guidelines for provision of adequate victim care and standard operating procedures for the referral of victims to such services.
It also recommended Bangladesh, among other things, to enhance the training provided to officials, including law enforcement, labor inspectors, and immigration officers, on methods to identify trafficking cases and refer victims to protection services; expand the support services available to victims, including adult male victims, within Bangladesh and at Bangladesh’s embassies abroad; expand the Ministry of Expatriate Welfare and Overseas Employment’s (MEWOE) mandate to include the regulation of sub-agents; improve quality of pre-departure trainings, including sessions on labor rights, labor laws, and methods to access justice and assistance in destination countries and Bangladesh; and complete the draft 2018-2022 National Plan of Action (NPA).
According to this year’s TIP Report, in 2017, the government reported 778 cases were recorded with police under the PSHTA, of which 496 remained under investigation at the end of the year. Of the 282 completed investigations, 86 cases were unsubstantiated and 196 cases resulted in charges against the accused, although the government did not report the number of prosecutions initiated during the year nor did it categorize the cases between sex and labor trafficking as it had in the past.
In 2016, the government investigated 290 cases-122 sex and 168 labor trafficking cases, 31 of which were specifically investigated for bonded labor-and prosecuted 302 alleged traffickers under the PSHTA. In 2017, the courts reached verdicts in nine cases and convicted one trafficker, compared with three convictions in 2016. The other eight cases resulted in acquittal. The courts sentenced the convicted trafficker to life imprisonment.
TIP Report noted, “Observers stated convictions remained rare because the government did not dedicate sufficient resources to pre-trial investigations in all types of cases and prosecutors persisted with trials to meet the statutorily required timeline of 180 working days for the disposal of cases even if they were inadequately prepared.” “The government also had not established the antihuman trafficking tribunal, stipulated in the PSHTA to specialize in human trafficking cases. The Women and Children Violence Protection Tribunal continued to hear trafficking cases in the interim; however, observers commented the prosecutors were overburdened and lacked expertise in trafficking cases.”
Since Bangladesh passed the Prevention and Suppression of Human Trafficking Act (PSHTA) in 2012, as many as 4,152 trafficking cases have been recorded in the country over the last six years.
But, when it comes to meting out justice, the rate of convictions remained very low. Bangladesh reported just 10 to 15 convictions a year in human trafficking cases in comparison to 50 to 80 convictions a year in neighbouring Nepal, stated the ‘Global Report on Trafficking in Persons, 2016’, prepared by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). Though PSHTA has a provision for a tribunal that will exclusively handle trafficking cases, the tribunal has not been set up yet. With governments, non-government organisations and right bodies across the globe observing the ‘World Day against Trafficking in Persons’ on Monday (July 30), the UN body said it will come up with its latest Global Report on Trafficking in Persons at the end of 2018.
“According to preliminary data, children make up almost 30 per cent of all human trafficking victims worldwide. However, in some parts of the world, like West Africa and Central America, children account for the majority of victims detected. In addition, preliminary results also show that one third of the victims of trafficking for sexual exploitation are children,” said UNODC.
On the 2018 World Day against Trafficking in Persons, UNODC focuses on ‘responding to the trafficking of children and young people’. This year’s campaign highlights the fact that almost a third of trafficking victims are children. Hence, the theme draws attention to the issues faced by trafficked children and to possible action initiatives
linked to safeguarding and ensuring justice for child victims.
Today, there are millions of people whose liberty, dignity and essential human rights have been stolen. They are coerced into sexual exploitation, forced labour, domestic servitude, forced begging and stealing, and even compelled to “sell” skin and organs. Low rate of convictions in trafficking cases can be one possible reason why Bangladesh has been bracketed for two years on the trot in the ‘Tier 2 Watch List’ of the US State Department’s annual ‘Trafficking in Persons’ (TIP) report. Before 2017, Bangladesh had been in a better category for five years since 2011. This year’s TIP report that that the United States published late last month, stated that the “Government of Bangladesh does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so.”
It said, the Bangladesh government did not demonstrate increasing efforts compared to the previous reporting period. “Courts convicted only one trafficker in 2017-a decrease from 2016 and a low number compared with the scale of the trafficking problem.” In TIP Report, ‘Tier 1’ refers to the governments of countries that fully meet the Trafficking Victims Protection Act’s (TVPA) minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking, ‘Tier 2’ refers to the governments of countries that do not fully meet the TVPA’s minimum standards, but are making significant efforts to bring themselves into compliance with those standards. However, ‘Tier 2 Watch List’ refers to the government of countries that fail to provide evidence of increasing efforts to combat severe forms of trafficking in persons from the previous year, including increased investigations, prosecution, and convictions of trafficking crimes. And last but not the least, ‘Tier 3’ refers to the governments of countries that do not fully meet the TVPA’s minimum standards and are not making significant efforts to do so.
Since 2011 Bangladesh was in ‘Tier 2’ but in last year the country relegated to ‘Tier 2 Watch List’ and couldn’t bounce back this year too. US State Department report recommended Bangladesh to take steps to eliminate recruitment fees charged to workers by licensed labor recruiters and ensure they are paid by employers; increase prosecutions and convictions, particularly of labor traffickers, fraudulent labor recruiters, and complicit government officials, while strictly respecting due process; proactively incorporate forced labor and sex trafficking prevention measures into the response to the Rohingya refugee crisis; increase investigations and prosecutions of credible allegations of trafficking of Rohingya; establish guidelines for provision of adequate victim care and standard operating procedures for the referral of victims to such services.
It also recommended Bangladesh, among other things, to enhance the training provided to officials, including law enforcement, labor inspectors, and immigration officers, on methods to identify trafficking cases and refer victims to protection services; expand the support services available to victims, including adult male victims, within Bangladesh and at Bangladesh’s embassies abroad; expand the Ministry of Expatriate Welfare and Overseas Employment’s (MEWOE) mandate to include the regulation of sub-agents; improve quality of pre-departure trainings, including sessions on labor rights, labor laws, and methods to access justice and assistance in destination countries and Bangladesh; and complete the draft 2018-2022 National Plan of Action (NPA).
According to this year’s TIP Report, in 2017, the government reported 778 cases were recorded with police under the PSHTA, of which 496 remained under investigation at the end of the year. Of the 282 completed investigations, 86 cases were unsubstantiated and 196 cases resulted in charges against the accused, although the government did not report the number of prosecutions initiated during the year nor did it categorize the cases between sex and labor trafficking as it had in the past.
In 2016, the government investigated 290 cases-122 sex and 168 labor trafficking cases, 31 of which were specifically investigated for bonded labor-and prosecuted 302 alleged traffickers under the PSHTA. In 2017, the courts reached verdicts in nine cases and convicted one trafficker, compared with three convictions in 2016. The other eight cases resulted in acquittal. The courts sentenced the convicted trafficker to life imprisonment.
TIP Report noted, “Observers stated convictions remained rare because the government did not dedicate sufficient resources to pre-trial investigations in all types of cases and prosecutors persisted with trials to meet the statutorily required timeline of 180 working days for the disposal of cases even if they were inadequately prepared.” “The government also had not established the antihuman trafficking tribunal, stipulated in the PSHTA to specialize in human trafficking cases. The Women and Children Violence Protection Tribunal continued to hear trafficking cases in the interim; however, observers commented the prosecutors were overburdened and lacked expertise in trafficking cases.”
