National referral mechanism launched to protect human trafficking victims

The Public Security Division of the Ministry of Home Affairs has launched a framework titled Bangladesh National Referral Mechanism (NRM) to protect and assist the victims of human trafficking in Bangladesh

Md Mostafizur Rahman, senior secretary of the Public Security Division, Ministry of Home Affairs, today (21 May) launched the framework as the chief guest at an event at a city hotel. AKM Tipu Sultan, additional secretary of the Public Security Division, chaired the event.

Winrock International, a non-government organisation, developed the framework under the project "Ashshash". It took four years to develop the framework with the support of the Swiss Embassy.

Addressing the event, participants acknowledged the government's efforts to combat human trafficking through numerous initiatives. These include establishing specialised tribunals and fostering partnerships with various Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) to develop the framework of the NRM.

Furthermore, they commended the National Referral Mechanism as a significant step towards achieving the global goal of eradicating forced labour and human trafficking.

These initiatives underscore the importance of social and economic reintegration, as well as survivor empowerment, they added.

Corinne Henchoz Pignani, head of Cooperation and deputy head of Mission, Embassy of Switzerland in Bangladesh, Saiful Haque Chowdhury, additional secretary of Ministry of Expatriates Welfare Overseas Employment; Alena J Tansey, director of Office of Democracy, Human Rights, and Governance; and Dipta Rakshit, country representative of Winrock International, also spoke at the programme.