Attachments: SAARC Convention on Trafficking &
Prostitution.pdf
WUNRN
SAARC - South
Asian Association for Regional Cooperation
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South Asia - Preventing
Trafficking of Women By Rita Bhowmick Fri, 28 Jul
2006
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Women and child trafficking is not only for
prostitution but also for pornography which wasn't included in the SAARC
Convention, according to the theme presenter Prof. Ishrat Shamim, President,
Centre for Women and Children Studies, Bangladesh and she also highlighted that
according to ILO Convention no.182 and Second Optional Protocol CRC Article
No.3- child pornography is an offence, but it was not also
included.
Centre for Social Research of New Delhi and Community Action
Centre of Nepal jointly arranged a Regional Consultation on "Effective
Implementation of the SAARC Convention on Trafficking" on 5 July 2006 in
Kathmandu. Nepal with the financial support of South Asia Regional lnitiativel
Equity Support Programme, AED.
Prof. Ishrat Shamim further said that in
the Ninth SAARC Summit, held in Male, the capital of Maldives in 2002, the
member countries expressed a combined commitment against the trafficking in
women and children and the Member States signed a Convention on Preventing and
Combating Trafficking in Women and Children for Prostitution. In 2005, the
Member countries ratified and agreed to fulfil the assigned
commitment.
In her paper titled "Trafficking of Women and Children in
Bangladesh : Prevention and Protection", the Deputy Secretary, Ministry of Women
and Children Affairs, Government of Bangladesh Dr. Yeameen Akbory said her
Ministry is doing a lot of work to combat trafficking of women and children. She
said that a task force has been created to tackle the problemme of trafficking
under the project 'Coordinated Programme to Combat Child Trafficking' to combat
child trafficking, followed by the Counter Trafficking Framework Report:
Bangladesh Perspective, a training module has been developed and training has
been arranged for the law enforcement officers such as Police, BDR, Ansar, etc.
She also said that to reduce trafficking of young girls, a training module named
'Life Skill Management' has been developed and girls are being trained.
Underprivileged and poor women are also included in the training programme to
increase their level of consciousness. Through the Information Ministry, TV
spots, drama and folk songs these are transmitted regularly. Besides these, the
elected members of the local govt. are helping community leaders and Imams to
increase consciousness against trafficking and implementing similar projects.
Posters and leaflets are also been circulated to make people
conscious.
President of the Centre for Social Research of India, Dr.
Ranjana Kumari said that in all countries, gender imbalance is the main cause of
women depression, such as torture, rape, family quarrel, sex victims, etc.
Trafficking is also a matter like this. A victim of trafficking is more
vulnerable to HIV/AIDS. These women are being forced to become prostitutes.
Media is also helping to make women a sex object and as a result young boys and
girls are easily attracted to indulge in sexual relationships. Now-a-days
tourism is also helping the sex business.
South Asia Network Against
Trafficking (SANAT) is working in the member countries to combat trafficking,
but time has come to work in the very interior regions of these countries.
Discussions and dialogues should be done on a regular basis within Bangladesh,
India, Nepal and Sri Lanka. On the other hand, media should step forward with
all its resources to increase massconsciousness. Law making and its
implementation is also a very important work to combat
trafficking.
Deputy Secretary of the Ministry of Women and Child of India
Nandita Misra said, trafficking violates the basic human rights. So, we must
take trafficking as a serious matter. The main objective of this meeting is to
combat trafficking, reducing it, compensating it, giving the victims their life
back and identifying regional task force. Every year 5 to 7 thousand girls are
being trafficked to India because India is the transit, as well as a destination
country, she said.
Police Super of Delhi, India Mr. Sankar Sen said,
girls of 12 to 20 years are being trafficked from Bangladesh and Nepal by
alluring them a dream of better life. But ultimately they are being sold to the
brothels. Because of the beauty, the Nepali girls have more demand than others.
He said that the traffickers have good connections, but the police have no
coordination. As a result, to combat trafficking we have to work jointly. He
suggests to build coordination among law enforcers working in the border areas,
as well as to involve people to combat trafficking by making them conscious. It
can be done by a joint venture between government and the civil society, instead
of blaming each other for the failures. Mr. Sen also said that the law
enforcers, the prosecutors and the court are not giving importance to this
matter which must be changed. To eradicate this, a social revolution is
needed.
The President of Community Action Centre (CAC) of Nepal Mr.
Tulasa Lata Amatya said, now-a-days trafficking in South Asian countries is
increasing. Research shows the grave reality in Nepal which is very tragic. In
all the SAARC Summits, the traffciking agenda has been discussed, but no joint
step has been taken yet. Though a national action plan and a road map have been
developed in all SAARC countries, but the implementation has never been
undertaken. It is necessary to act jointly by the law makers, planners and
ministries.
A SAARC Convention on Trafficking of Women and Children in
the South Asian region recently has been held in the capital of Nepal,
Kathmandu. Different problems of trafficking, possibilities and what to do in
the SAARC countries (Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan and
Maldives) were the main topics of this regional consultation. The
representatives of SAARC countries promised to work together to solve the
problem on the basis of the existing issues in their own countries.
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