What is Bangladesh's country policy on human trafficking?

Answer 1

Bangladesh is a source and transit country for men, women, and children subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically forced labor and forced prostitution. A significant share of Bangladesh's trafficking victims are men recruited for work overseas with fraudulent employment offers who are subsequently exploited under conditions of forced labor or debt bondage.

-

Bangladesh is a major country of origin and transit for men, women and children subjected to trafficking in persons, especially forced labor and forced prostitution. There is internal trafficking within the country, but a large proportion of trafficking is cross border. Such illegal transactions are on the rise between persons in India and Bangladesh. Often, such transactions are carried out with ease. After India's partition in 1947, there were many 'enclaves' between the borders of India and Bangladesh. There are 111 Indian enclaves in Bangladesh and 51 enclaves of Bangladesh in India. Research carried out by the Bangladesh National Women Lawyers Association (BNWLA) has shown that these enclaves have been used as recruitment and collection sites by traffickers. Many border areas are frequently used as land routes for trafficking.

-

Bangladesh has had laws specifically on trafficking right from 1933. There are action plans to protect children, including plans to specifically protect children against sexual abuse and exploitation. In order to strengthen protection and prosecution, a number of steps were taken including a new legislation in 2000 and the setting up of the Police Monitoring Cell for Combating Trafficking in Women and Children in the Bangladesh Police Headquarters. The latter is a 15 member strong team of police officers. There is also a 12 member police anti-trafficking investigative unit to support this cell and an inter-Ministerial committee on human trafficking chaired by the Home Minister.

-