'Implement the National Plan of Action to prevent human trafficking'
The NPA calls for coordination between the government and other stakeholders to combat the problem
Civil Society activists have called for fully implementing National Plan of Action (NPA) 2018-22 on preventing human trafficking in the country; as women and children continue to fall victim to the heinous act.
The NPA stipulates ensuring social, natural and economic safety measures, as well as raising awareness, to combat human trafficking, they observed.
They were addressing an opinion exchange meeting titled "Progress on Implementation of NPA and Presenting a Regular Report" at the YWCA auditorium in Mohammadpur, in the capital, on Sunday.
Community Participation and Development (CPD), a consortium member of Prevention of Child Trafficking through Strengthening Community and Networking (PCTSCN), organised the event, read a press release.
The speakers also said the NPA focuses on the rehabilitation of victims and providing them with the necessary support – after rescuing them through a protective system involving the state.
They also asked that a protective environment be ensured for the victims and their families with the proper application of the relevant laws.
Additionally, the NPA calls for coordination between the government and other stakeholders to combat the problem, they said, adding that implementation of the NPA is required to eliminate trafficking.
As the crisis is going on unabated, the NPA urgently needs to be implemented and a regular report should be presented to the authorities concerned, they observed.
Advocate Rafiqual Islam Khan Alom, coordinator at PCTSCN secretariat, presented the keynote paper. Kamal Uddin Ahmed Chowdhury, associate professor of Dhaka University's Department of Clinical Psychology, presided over the programme.
AKM Masud Ali, executive director of INCIDIN Bangladesh; Prof Dr ASM Amanullah Ferdaws, Department of Sociology, Dhaka University; Moslema Bari, executive director of CPD; Rabiul Islam, deputy director of the National Human Rights Commission Bangladesh, among others, spoke at the meeting.