Bangladesh lacks measures to protect labour trafficking victims: UN

The UN rights body finds 'lack of effective measures' in Bangladesh to protect labour trafficking victims and provide them with effective remedies, including compensation and rehabilitation.

"Despite the recent increase, the rates of prosecution remain low and there is insufficient punishment of perpetrators," said the committee on the protection of the rights of all migrant workers and members of their families while giving its concluding observations on Bangladesh.

The committee under the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), however, welcomed the increase in the number of labour trafficking investigations and prosecutions as well as provision of funding for nine multipurpose shelters, drop-in centers, and safe homes.

The committee considered the initial report of Bangladesh at its 343rd and 344th meetings held on April 3 and 4, and adopted at its 359th meeting, held on April 13, according to the 13-page concluding observations, a copy of which UNB obtained.

The committee suggested Bangladesh to continue its efforts to prevent, suppress and punish trafficking in persons, including at the regional level and in cooperation with neighbouring countries, and through enhanced inter-agency cooperation on human trafficking, in line with target 5.2 of the Sustainable Development Goals.

Bangladesh has also been recommended to increase its efforts to identify and provide protection and assistance to all victims of human trafficking, including undocumented Myanmar nationals working in the State party, in particular by providing gender-sensitive shelters, medical care and psychosocial and other support to assist in their reintegration into society.

Strengthening gender-responsive training for law enforcement officials, judges, prosecutors, labour inspectors, teachers, healthcare workers and the staff of its embassies and consulates and disseminate more widely information on trafficking in persons and on assistance to victims have also been recommended.

The committee welcomed that according to the regulations of the Wage Earners Welfare Board the family of every deceased Bangladeshi migrant worker irrespective of his/her legal status is entitled to compensation and repatriation of the body.

It, however, said the committee 'seriously concerned' at reports that over 5,000 Bangladeshi migrant workers die every year, of which at least one-third are reportedly buried abroad.

Nearly one-third of the families of deceased migrant workers do not receive the minimum compensation that they are entitled to and cost of bringing back the dead body is to a large extent borne by the migrant workers' family, the committee said quoting information they received.

There is a lack of proper and independent autopsies on bodies of deceased migrant workers in unexplained cases of death, which would allow to establish cause of death, submit claim for compensation and also develop policies to prevent or minimise further such deaths, the rights body observed.

The families of deceased workers face challenges to receive legal support to secure unpaid wages, compensation from employers and to hold the recruiter or recruiting agencies accountable in the destination countries.

The committee recommended Bangladesh that the State party needs to ensure implementation of the regulation that all bodies of deceased migrants are repatriated free of charge, with full respect to the wishes of the next of kin, and that families of deceased migrants can benefit from compensation.

It recognised that Bangladesh, predominantly a country of origin, has made progress in protecting the rights of its migrant workers abroad, although 'numerous challenges' remain.

The committee noted that the State party is also becoming a country of destination and transit and efforts are thus needed to ensure the protection of migrant workers accordingly.

It mentioned that many countries in which Bangladeshi workers are employed are not parties to the Convention, which may constitute an obstacle to migrant workers' enjoyment of their rights under the Convention.

The committee recommended the government to ensure implementation of the regulation that all bodies of deceased migrants are repatriated free of charge, with full respect to the wishes of the next of kin, and that families of deceased migrants can benefit from compensation.

It also suggested to conduct independent autopsies on the bodies of all migrant workers from the State party who die abroad, and give family members prompt access to the results and analyze the causes of death of Bangladeshi migrant workers and develop policies to prevent or reduce further such deaths.

The government needs to strengthen its support to families of deceased migrant workers to ensure that all those in need receive free legal aid to secure unpaid wages and compensation from employers and to hold the recruiter or recruiting agencies accountable in the destination countries, said the committee.

The committee recommended that the State party can avail itself of technical cooperation from the international community for the implementation of these recommendations in line with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

It requested the State party to provide, within two years, that is, by May 1, 2019, written information on the implementation of the recommendations and to submit its second periodic report by May 1, 2022.