Bangladesh: UNODC convenes regional consultation on countering Trafficking in Persons and Smuggling of Migrants in Cox’s Bazar

Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh/21 July 2022: Under the framework of GLO.ACT-Bangladesh, UNODC organized a regional consultation on countering Trafficking in Persons and Smuggling of Migrants in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. One of the objectives of the GLO.ACT-Bangladesh project is to enhance the capacity of criminal justice practitioners and relevant officials.

Since the Rohingya influx in 2017, the trafficking situation in the Cox’s Bazar district has exacerbated. Therefore, Cox’s Bazar needs a special attention on addressing human trafficking and migrant smuggling. 

The day long consultation included representatives from the Ministry of Home Affairs, local government officials, office of the Refugee, Relief and Repatriation Commissioner, judiciary, prosecutors, police, Bangladesh Border Guard, Ansar-VDP and civil society operating in Cox’s Bazar.

During the discussions, UNODC collected feedback from participants on the trends of human trafficking and migrant smuggling in Cox’s Bazar and scope of targeted interventions to support the efforts of the criminal justice actors, judiciary and protection service providers. The consultation concluded with the stakeholders expressing their support to UNODC GLO.ACT-Bangladesh’s efforts in Cox’s Bazar.

This activity contributes to SDG 16: https://sdg-tracker.org/

(Supported by the European Union)