Press Release: Stressing on proper evaluation of National Plan of Action (NPA) 2018-22 on prevention of human trafficking and regular submission of its report, Civil Society activists said it can help prevent trafficking.

The NPA stipulated that programmes, projects and strategies must be taken up for tackling all kinds of internal and cross-border trafficking.

The NPA also underscored on building a coordinated protective system for combating the crime and making an effective system for its supervision and evaluation and regular submission of report on its implementation to the Home Ministry, they said.    

They remarked while addressing an opinion exchange meeting titled ‘progress of NPA’s implementation and submission of regular report’ at YWCA auditorium at Mohammadpur in the capital on Wednesday.

Md. Rafiqual Islam Khan Alom, coordinator, PCTSCN Secretariat, INCIDIN Bangladesh, while presenting the key-note paper, said NPA’s evaluation and submission of its report are not being held regularly, hampering anti-trafficking activities in the country. 

Overall situation of trafficking can be known and necessary steps can be taken up to address the problem through the evaluation. Hence, the evaluation is important relating to combating the crime, said Alom.      

Terming trafficking as a national problem, he called for steps for proper evaluation of NPA and regular submission of its report to the ministry in the interest of eradicating the problem.

Community Participation and Development (CPD), a consortium member of Prevention of Child Trafficking through Strengthening Community and Networking (PCTSCN), organized the meeting on behalf of PCTSCN.

Md. Shahidul Islam, additional director (Institution), Department of Social Services, attended as the chief guest, while Shahidul Islam, executive director of Bangladesh Rural Economic Development (BRED), chaired it.

Moslema Bari, executive director of CPD; AKM Masud Ali, executive director of INCIDIN Bangladesh and chair of PCTSCN consortium; M. Rabiul Islam, deputy director of National Human Rights Commission Bangladesh, among others, spoke at the event.