‘Flawed police reports save human traffickers’

Human traffickers often dodge punishment, taking shelter of flawed police reports, said National Human Rights Commission chairman Kazi Reazul Hoque.

The NHRC chairman on Saturday said, “Many times the court does not have anything to do against the perpetrators because police give flawed reports.”

He was a addressing a consultation ‘situation analysis of illegal trafficking and irregular migration’ at BRAC Centre Inn in the city.

BRAC, a development organisation, arranged it on the occasion of World Day against Trafficking in Persons, according to a press release of the BRAC.

Speaking as the chief guest, NHRC chairman said, “It is true that we have an excellent law formulated in 2012. But certainly there is a question of the proper implementation of the law.”

According to the police, only 30 convicts have been given life imprisonment so far out of 3,500 human trafficking cases. 

Reazul Hoque said there are a number of weaknesses in the present manner of dealing with such cases.

“No matter how the incidents took place it is our responsibility to protect human rights,” the NHRC chief said adding ‘the state must take responsibility’.

Reazul Hoque said the government may make a shortlist of 25 top ‘godfathers’ of human traffickers to chase and nab them.

Professor of International Relations at Dhaka University CR Abrar said, “We must keep in mind that the human traffickers at home and abroad are a highly powerful gang. We have to have sufficient preparation to bring them to book.”

Senior director of BRAC strategy, communication and empowerment Asif Saleh chaired and moderated the consultation.

Head of BRAC migration programme Shariful Hasan presented the keynote paper.

Shariful Hasan in his keynote paper said that there is no definite statistics about the exact number of Bangladeshis currently staying illegally in Europe.

However, a European Union delegation during their Dhaka visit this April stated that around 80 thousand illegal Bangladeshi migrants are currently stating in Europe.

The European Commission statistics office Eurostat says that in 2008-2015 period 93,435 Bangladeshis were staying illegally in the European countries.

This number should cross 100 thousand if the account of the first six years of current year is added to 2008-2015 account.

Source: Prothom Alo