Dhaka, Bangladesh – UNODC, under the framework of Global Action against Trafficking in Persons and Smuggling of Migrants – Bangladesh (GLO.ACT-Bangladesh), organized a 3-day workshop from 23 to 25 January 2023. The workshop aimed to enhance the technical skills of criminal justice professionals, medical practitioners, and NGOs, enabling them to effectively address cases of Trafficking in Persons (TIP) for organ removal and provide support to the victims. The workshop covered national, regional, and international trends and practices.
The objectives of the workshop included to:
The workshop was opened by Aimée Comrie, GLO.ACT Coordinator who extended a warm welcome to all the participants for the three-day workshop. Ms Comrie stated, "Trafficking in Persons for Organ Removal is a novel and distinctive form of crime, and criminal justice professionals require a specific set of tools and skills to investigate and prosecute cases related to Trafficking in Persons for Organ Removal." Subsequently, Mahdy Hassan, National Programme Coordinator for GLO.ACT Bangladesh, provided a brief overview of the GLO.ACT Bangladesh Project.
Kramul Habib, DIG, Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of Bangladesh, Md. Sayedur Rahman, Additional DIG, Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI), and Dr. Bardan Jung Rana, WHO Representative in Bangladesh, joined the inauguration ceremony of the workshop as special guests. The chief guest of the ceremony, Md. Khairul Alam Shiekh, Additional Secretary, Public Security Division, Ministry of Home Affairs, and Project Director of GLO.ACT-Bangladesh, affirmed, "Bangladesh is fully committed to combatting illegal organ removal, and I hope this workshop will enable criminal justice professionals to better handle cases of Trafficking in Persons for Organ Removal."
The three days of workshop focused on theoretical and practical understanding of Trafficking in Persons for Organ Removal with interactive lectures, real life case studies and group work exercises. The training also included a virtual reality simulation of a hospital to give the participants an understanding of a real-life scenario. The workshop ended with group presentations divided on the basis of professional clusters by the participants on the case studies assigned to them.
The workshop was attended by 22 participants including relevant officials from the Government of Bangladesh, law enforcement agencies including the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the Police, Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI), Police Head Quarter, Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), judges, prosecutors, medical practitioners and relevant staff from NGOs.
The Global Action against Trafficking in Persons and the Smuggling of Migrants - Bangladesh (GLO.ACT - Bangladesh) is a joint initiative by the European Union (EU) and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) being implemented in partnership with the International Organization for Migration (IOM). Through targeted, innovative and demand-driven interventions, the GLO.ACT aims to support the Government of Bangladesh and civil society organizations to more effectively fight the crimes of human trafficking and migrant smuggling across the country. The project works on developing evidence-based information on trafficking and smuggling patterns and trends, legislative review and harmonization, capability development of criminal justice actors, and international cooperation. The project also provides direct assistance to victims of human trafficking and migrants in vulnerable situations through the strengthening of identification, referral, and protection mechanisms.
The project is funded by the European Union.
For more information, please contact:
Mahdy Hassan, National Programme Coordinator
muhammad.hassan@un.org
unodc-glo.act@un.org
X: @glo_act
