Human trafficking on rise
Human trafficking on rise
Say speakers at closing event of 6yr project
The number of victims of human trafficking is rising day by day, and to combat the crime, awareness at root level is necessary, speakers said at the closing event of a six-year project yesterday.
The closing programme of Actions for Combating Trafficking in Persons (ACT) conducted by Winrock International and USAID was held at Spectra Convention Centre in the capital.
Citing UNFPA and the home ministry's statistics, the speakers said every year around 15,000 people are trafficked from Bangladesh to other countries particularly India and the Middle Eastern countries.
However, the number is much higher according to different NGOs, said an official of Winrock International.
According to the database of police monitoring cell, from January till August this year, 1,554 complaints of trafficking were received and 1,420 people were rescued. Last year, 1,343 complaints were received, and 1,125 people were rescued.
Dr Kamal Uddin Ahmed, additional secretary at the home ministry, Billy Woodward, advisor at USAID, and Sarah Stephens, chief of party of the ACT programme, among others, spoke.
During the project that was launched in 2008, more than 6,800 initiatives were taken to create awareness about human trafficking, and 2,700 victims received assistance for rehabilitation.