Bangladesh: National consultation workshop identifies opportunities to strengthen data collection on Trafficking in Persons

Dhaka, Bangladesh/08 June 2023: Data collection is a crucial element in responding effectively to trafficking in persons and the smuggling of migrants. Collecting accurate and comprehensive data enables governments, international organizations, and civil society to understand the scope and nature of these criminal activities, identify trends, and develop evidence-based policies and interventions. This also helps in designing targeted prevention strategies, improving victim identification and assistance mechanisms, enhancing law enforcement efforts, and facilitating international cooperation. 

Recognising the importance of such efforts, UNODC and the Government of Bangladesh jointly produced the First National Study on Trafficking in Persons in 2022. This ground-breaking study, conducted under the Global Action against Trafficking in Persons and the Smuggling of Migrants (GLO.ACT-Bangladesh) Project, also shed light on opportunities for improving data collection and analysis on TIP in the country.

In collaboration with the Public Security Division of the Ministry of Home Affairs Bangladesh, a national consultation workshop on data collection for the annual country report on human trafficking was organised in Dhaka. The workshop aimed to gather inputs from relevant stakeholders to develop a web-based data collection mechanism and an analytical country report.

The workshop was attended by 32 representatives from government, UN agencies, and civil society organizations. Mr. Khairul Alam Shiekh, Additional Secretary of the Public Security Division and Project Director of GLO.ACT-Bangladesh, and Ms. Ishita Rony, Deputy Secretary of the Public Security Division and Deputy Project Director of GLO.ACT-Bangladesh, chaired the discussions.

UNODC Regional Representative for South Asia, Mr. Marco Teixeira, commended the Government of Bangladesh for the ongoing efforts in developing a comprehensive reporting mechanism on TIP. Mr. Teixeira also reflected on UNODC's research papers, policy briefs, and the 2022 UNODC Global Report on TIP (GLOTIP report) as important knowledge tools.

The workshop delved into the findings of the GLOTIP report and the First National Study on TIP in Bangladesh. It also introduced a proposed national database on human trafficking and a draft template for data collection. During dedicated group discussions, participants actively shared their insights on policy guidelines, content, data sources and needs, and tools for the proposed national database.

Participants recommended that the annual country report should encompass the national plan of action on human trafficking and include a year-on-year comparative analysis, aligning with global data to identify trends and guide policymakers. Establishment of a data collection committee was also suggested to provide ongoing support, determine procedures for data preservation, dissemination, and validation. The workshop also highlighted the need for more capacity building initiatives and orientation trainings for reporting officers on the data collection tools.

The collaborative efforts of UNODC and the Government of Bangladesh in conducting the First National Study on Trafficking in Persons demonstrates their shared commitment to combating TIP.

This activity contributed to SDG 4, SDG 8, SDG 13, SDG 16 and SDG 17: https://sdg-tracker.org/

(Supported by the European Union)