National Consultation marks the establishment of GLU.Act South Asia in Bangladesh

Dhaka, Bangladesh – According to the global UNODC report of 2024 on human trafficking, human trafficking continues to be a major concern in South Asia. In 2022, over 8,000 victims of traffic were detected, predominantly women and boys. In addition, 2,200 victims from South Asia countries were detected in other regions of the world, including Europe and the Middle East. Given the complex, organized and clandestine nature of human trafficking and migrant smuggling, these interconnected offenses continue to present challenges in Bangladesh. Despite the current national efforts, the involvement of organized networks prevents the effort of eradication and criminal prosecution.

Recognition of this pressing problem, UNODC and the European Union (EU), within their common initiative Prevention and approach of trafficking in human beings and smuggling migrants in South Asia .

During the opening session, Dr. Suruchi Pant, deputy representative of the UNODC Regional Office for South Asia, stressed the importance of a coordinated response to human trafficking and smuggling. She mentioned that “UNODC has a key role and responsibility in promoting a consistent policy and coordinated actions, centered on victims, to counteract human trafficking and smuggling.”

M. Jashim Uddin Khan, common secretary (political branch-1), the Public Security Division at the Ministry of Internal Affairs, acknowledged the strong collaboration between UNODC and the Ministry of Internal Affairs within the GLO.ACT funded by the EU. He stressed that this partnership has significantly contributed to Bangladesh’s progress in combating human trafficking, especially helping the country in obtaining level 2 status in the traffic report of the US State Department.

Next, Tasneem Binta Karim, the UNODC Associate program offered an overview of the initiative, presenting national priorities and key intervention areas. This presentation laid the foundations for involving the discussions between the participants regarding the implementation of the project and the strategic focus areas. The event facilitated significant discussions regarding the path to be followed for the implementation of the project in Bangladesh, under the leadership of the Public Security Division of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

The national consultation marked a significant stage, bringing together 32 participants (26 men, 6 women) from various government ministries, law enforcement agencies, UN agencies and civil society organizations.

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The United Nations Drug and Crime Office (UNODC) implements the initiative financed by the European Union (EU), which also prevents the trafficking in human beings and smuggling with migrants from South Asia (Glo.cto-South Asia) in Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka, with SRI-CROSS-CRUK. in India. The project works to enhance the effectiveness of responses to trafficking in human beings and smuggling with migrants, focusing on criminal justice, international law and human rights protection and integration of prevention and protection approaches. It is designed to benefit the government authorities, law enforcement officers and legal practitioners, as well as civil society and real or potential victims of migrants and vulnerable migrants, with a certain emphasis on women, children, people living with disabilities and indigenous populations.

The project is funded by the European Union.

For more information about GL.Cight-South Asia, please contact:

Martin Reeve (Mr.), project coordinator
[email protected]
[email protected]
Web page: Glo.act South Asia
X: @glo.act