Trafficking in persons in and from Bangladesh continues amidst a lack of efforts on part of the authorities. Although the government claims to have taken special measures to stop human trafficking, incidents of internal and transnational trafficking in persons have continued, suggesting the inadequacy of the measures taken. The US state department鈥檚 Trafficking in Persons Report 2024, made public on June 24, has put Bangladesh in Tier 2, suggesting that the government does not fully meet minimum standards of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act but is making efforts. The report mentions that the government does not meet minimum standards in several key areas. The government has not taken adequate steps to address internal trafficking crimes or official complicity, both of which remain pervasive, and the authorities continue to conflate human trafficking with migrant smuggling. The report also alleges that the government has not sufficiently investigated and prosecuted trafficking cases, especially involving the Rohingyas, and victim protection efforts have remained insufficient while shelters, largely concentrated in Dhaka, lack specialised services for trafficking victims and officials often lack a victim-centred, trauma-informed approach in interacting with trafficking survivors.
The report particularly mentions that a lack of sustained political will has stymied efforts to reform abusive sectors and adequately address trafficking compared with the scale of the problem. Besides, the government has failed to acknowledge official complicity in human trafficking. In earlier cases involving many Rohingyas, investigations found the complicity of officials of various public agencies, including the Election Commission, the passport office and the local administration. What also appears to have undercut the government鈥檚 overall anti-trafficking efforts, weakened deterrence and created security and safety concerns for victims is leniency to traffickers, most of whom, when prosecuted, are awarded fines rather than jail time. The report specifically mentions that courts have failed to investigate or prosecute suspected traffickers with political ties. While poverty is the biggest reason for trafficking in persons as the poor are more vulnerable to trafficking, official complicity and fraudulent practices pervasive in recruitment agencies and a lack of oversight are blamed for unabated incidents. What is also concerning is the government鈥檚 underplaying of internal human trafficking. The government tends to be disproportionately focused on international labour trafficking and has dedicated less attention to internal trafficking, including bonded labour, forced domestic labour, sex trafficking and the worst forms of child labour.
The government must, therefore, shore up the issues to effectively eliminate trafficking in persons, which constitutes a human rights violation, in national interests. The government must put a strong oversight mechanism in place and be stringent against official complicity and fraudulent practices of recruitment agencies. The authorities must also stop internal trafficking and step up victim support programmes.