Bangladesh – Human trafficking experts from IOM, the UN Migration Agency, are this week working with police in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh to help them tackle the threat of human trafficking facing thousands of vulnerable Rohingya refugees living in local settlements.

Tomorrow (17/01), 55 police and other law enforcement officers will attend a workshop run by IOM counter trafficking specialists aimed at raising awareness of different forms of trafficking and identifying ways in which the authorities and IOM can work together to prevent trafficking, identify victims and provide victim support. The training is one of several IOM counter trafficking initiatives in Cox’s Bazar.

“Rohingya children, women and men are targeted by traffickers who seek to exploit them in various situations including the sex industry, as unpaid domestic help, and in other forms of bonded labour. There is no single solution to ending trafficking and it is vital that aid agencies and the authorities work together to build skills and share information about this extremely serious issue,” said IOM counter trafficking specialist Emmy  Nurmila Sjarijono.

This week’s workshop follows a pilot IOM counter trafficking workshop with Bangladeshi police organized in December 2017. "These trainings are useful for our country and the Bangladeshi people. We work at the grassroots level with vulnerable people, so [we would like] more of our staff to receive trainings like these,” said Mazharul Islam, Assistant Adjutant with the Ansar law enforcement agency, who took part in the December workshop.

“I particularly appreciated the clarification of the difference between trafficking in persons and smuggling of migrants and how they are connected. It was interesting to learn that trafficking not only happens across international borders, but also inside the country, and takes different forms, not just forced prostitution," he said.

As lead agency on trafficking in the Rohingya refugee camps -  where over 656,000 people have settled after fleeing violence in Myanmar in the past four months - IOM is rolling out a series of awareness raising initiatives among the refugee population, as well as working with the authorities. It has also created safe spaces for women in the settlements.

Hundreds of majis, community leaders within the camps, are among those currently receiving IOM information in verbal and picture form about how to identify possible trafficking attempts involving men, women and children, and what to do if they suspect that people are being targeted.

IOM also offers counselling and support services to survivors of trafficking and shelter facilities for those who have escaped or been rescued from trafficking situations.

“Trafficking was already a problem in Cox’s Bazar before the most recent influx of refugees from last August,” said Sjarijono. “With so many more people now at risk, it is vitally important to work together with the police and other authorities to prevent an increase in trafficking victims over the coming months.”

For more information please contact Fiona MaGregor at IOM Cox’s Bazar, Email: fmacgregor@iom.int, Tel. +8801733335221.