Speakers at a seminar on Wednesday said the changing geopolitical context of the world has put the prevention of human trafficking at greater risk.
They made the remarks at a seminar on ‘Promoting Multilateral Cooperation to Prevent Human Trafficking and Migrant Smuggling’ organised by Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies (BIISS).
European Union (EU) Ambassador to Bangladesh Charles Whiteley was the chief guest at the seminar.
Speakers at the seminar said that the prevention of human trafficking or irregular migration is not a matter for any single country. Countries need to cooperate in this regard.
However, the continuous change in the geopolitical situation has put the prevention of human trafficking at risk, they said.
In addition to the Rohingya crisis in Myanmar, the military coup in that country has made the situation volatile. Besides, the Taliban’s takeover in Afghanistan and the deteriorated situation in Sri Lanka have added to the Russia-Ukraine war. And all these are hampering the way for countries to cooperate in preventing human trafficking.
BIISS Chairman Kazi Imtiaz Hossain presided over the first part of the seminar and Director General Major General Mohammad Maksudur Rahman delivered the welcome address.
Head of the Human Trafficking and Immigration Unit of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in Dhaka Medehi Hasan and head of BRAC migration programme Shariful Hasan, among others, addressed the programme.
The second part of the seminar was conducted by Professor Tasnim Siddiqui of Dhaka University.
