Fit Saarc Convention to fight trafficking
Speakers tell workshop
The term 'trafficking' should be redefined in the upcoming Saarc Convention to address and combat all forms of this exploitative practice effectively in the region, said speakers at a workshop yesterday.
The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) Convention which was signed eight years ago confined the definition of trafficking to women and children traded for sexual exploitation. However, since then the traffickers have widened their scope and are preying on people seeking jobs and education irrespective of gender, said the participants.
While some countries have already framed laws to combat the issue, the regional convention is still lagging behind and should either be amended or an additional protocol should be adopted.
The speakers also suggested initiation of a comprehensive data collection mechanism on trafficking offences, offenders and victims across the region.
Over 30 representatives of civil society and officials of the home and foreign ministries of Saarc countries attended the workshop organised by International Organisation for Migration (IOM) in collaboration with Asian Development Bank at hotel in the capital.
"Exploitation has moved beyond trafficking of women for sexual purposes and men are also being trafficked for purposes of labour," said Yunusur Rahman, additional secretary of home ministry of Bangladesh.
"The time has come to reflect on the effectiveness of the convention, and review its implementation status by the Saarc member states," he said.
As domestic legal frameworks surpass the provisions of Saarc Convention, it may risk losing its relevance as an effective counter trafficking tool, Rahman said.
IOM Regional Representative for South Asia, Rabab Fatima, said they reviewed the Saarc Convention and found it setting weaker standards, especially on fundamental issues such as legal definition and narrow scope of implementation, compared to other contemporary anti-trafficking instruments.
The recommendations of the review included strengthening rights-based assistance and protection measures for the trafficking victims and creating effective treaty monitoring mechanism, she said.
Fatima emphasized on the importance of strengthening regional ties for mutual legal assistance, extradition and prosecution and care and repatriation of the victims.
The workshop was a sequel to the regional meeting of the home ministers held in Islamabad on June this year.
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