29 December 2022 - In light of the growing evidence of irregular migration from Bangladesh to Libya, UNODC facilitated a bilateral meeting between the People’s Republic of Bangladesh and the State of Libya to foster international cooperation between the two countries to prevent and address trafficking in persons and smuggling of migrants’ cases. The meeting was organized and facilitated within the regional project ‘Dismantling Human Trafficking and Migrant Smuggling Criminal Networks in North Africa’ in partnership with UNODC Glo.ACT Bangladesh funded by the European Union.
The meeting was an example of south-south cooperation exchange and included the participation of officials from the Bangladesh Ministry of Home Affairs, (CID), Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs (MOLJPA) and the Bangladesh Embassy in Libya. Participating Ministries from Libya included Ministry of Justice, Supreme Judicial Council and National Institution on Freedoms and Rights, and Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
During the meeting the two countries discussed their experiences and efforts in addressing trafficking in persons and smuggling of migrants as well as potential cooperation mechanisms on information sharing, joint investigations and judicial cooperation. UNODC supports international, regional, sub-regional and bilateral cooperation, including judicial and law enforcement cooperation on extradition, mutual legal assistance, asset recovery and joint investigations to address trafficking and smuggling and to uphold the UN Convention against Transnational Organised Crime (UNOTC) and its protocols.
