Bangladesh on Tier 2 Watch List for failure to curb trafficking-in-persons

Bangladesh has been put on Tier 2 Watch List for the third consecutive year in the wake of the government not meeting the minimum standards of trafficking elimination, according to the US State Department’s Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report 2019, released on Thursday.

But it said that Bangladesh was making significant efforts to improve the situation.

‘These efforts included adopting a national action plan to combat trafficking, convicting traffickers, initiating an investigation into a police officer accused of child sex trafficking, and continuing to investigate some potential trafficking crimes against Rohingya refugees.’

The TIP report said that Bangladesh government did not demonstrate overall increasing efforts compared to the previous reporting period as the government identified significantly fewer trafficking victims and did not consistently refer victims to care.

The report says: ‘Victim care remained insufficient; Rohingya and foreign trafficking victims could not access protective services, and the government did not have shelter for adult male victims.’

Despite at least 100 credible reports of forced labour and sex trafficking of Rohingya within Bangladesh, the government did not report investigating or prosecuting these potential crimes, and the Bangladesh High Court did not entertain anti-trafficking cases filed by Rohingyas.

However, the government allowed significant humanitarian access to the Rohingya camps and cooperated closely with the UN and the NGOs in counter-trafficking efforts.

Official complicity in trafficking crimes remained a serious problem, and the government did not take any action against some high-profile allegations.

‘The government continued to allow employers to charge high recruitment fees to migrant workers and did not consistently address illegally operating recruitment sub-agents, which left workers vulnerable to trafficking.’

The TIP report recommended with priority asking Bangladesh government to significantly increase prosecutions and convictions for trafficking offenses, particularly of labor traffickers and complicit government officials, while strictly respecting due process.

It also recommended taking steps to eliminate recruitment fees charged to workers by licensed labor recruiters and ensure recruitment fees are paid by employers.

Bangladesh was also recommended to establish guidelines for provision of adequate victim care and standard operating procedures (SOPs) for the referral of victims to such services, expand services for trafficking victims, including adult male victims, foreign victims, and victims exploited abroad.

It also recommended to Bangladesh to allow Rohingyas’ freedom of movement and access to education and employment to reduce their risk of trafficking, enhance training for officials, including law enforcement, labor inspectors, and immigration officers, on identification of trafficking cases and victim referrals to services.

It said that the Ministry of Expatriate Welfare and Overseas Employment should be mandated to regulate sub-agents, improve quality of pre-departure trainings, including sessions on labour rights, labour laws, and access to justice and assistance.

Migration expert and WARBE Development Foundation Chairman Syed Saiful Haque told New Age that Bangladesh government should  take steps to improve the situation, otherwise it would be black listed.

‘Bangladesh government can forge international partnership to stop visa trading at the destinations,’ he said, adding that visa trading increase recruitment cost for migrant workers.

He also said that Bangladesh government should take steps to bring the middlemen under legal framework and send the workers under Bilateral Agreements.

Rights Jessore executive director Binoy Krishna Mallick, who extends supports to the trafficking victims told New Age that the traffickers were not punished properly as the investigation officers (IO) and Public Prosecutors (PP) were often biased toward traffickers. 

News Courtesy: www.newagebd.net