National dialogue calls for dedicated budgets for anti-trafficking committees

A national conference in Dhaka has urged the institutionalisation of Counter Trafficking Committees within local government structures, calling for dedicated budgets and enhanced coordination across district, upazila and union levels.

The Ashshash project, supported by the Embassy of Switzerland in Bangladesh and implemented by Winrock International, organised the National Conference of Counter Trafficking Committees at the Bangladesh-China Friendship Conference Centre on 16 July.

Senior officials from the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment, and the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives attended the conference.

Representatives of local government institutions, the judiciary, international and local non-governmental organisations, civil society, trafficking survivors, and local communities also participated.

The conference sought to strengthen Bangladesh's local counter-trafficking infrastructure amid changes to the country's legal and institutional framework, including the Human Trafficking and Migrant Smuggling Prevention and Suppression Ordinance 2026.

Counter Trafficking Committees are government-mandated bodies operating at district, upazila and union levels. Their responsibilities include raising awareness, identifying potential trafficking cases, coordinating responses, and referring survivors to support services.

Ashshash brought together representatives from nine districts where the project has worked directly with the committees.

"Human trafficking cannot be addressed by any single tier of government acting alone. Counter Trafficking Committees are at the frontline of our national response, and their effectiveness depends on collaboration, functionalisation, and institutionalisation," said Dr Ziauddin Ahmed, Additional Secretary at the Ministry of Home Affairs.

"This is how national policy becomes local protection for our citizens," he added.

Participants reviewed the achievements, challenges, and working practices of committees at different administrative levels. Union committees were identified as playing a key role in awareness-building and early identification, while upazila committees coordinate case documentation with the police. District committees oversee case follow-up and reporting.

During a panel discussion, participants proposed three areas of action.

First, they called for committees at district, upazila and union levels to be made fully functional under the oversight and directives of the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Second, they recommended institutionalising the committees through local government structures. Proposals included recognising union-level committees as standing committees of union parishads and introducing dedicated budget allocations for trafficking prevention and survivor protection.

Third, participants stressed the need for stronger collaboration and information sharing among committees at all three levels.

Organisers said the discussions also drew on the National Plan of Action for the Prevention and Suppression of Human Trafficking 2018–2022, which was subsequently updated for the 2023–2025 period.

The conference concluded with a commitment to preserve the progress made through Ashshash and to promote stronger government-led counter-trafficking mechanisms across all districts.

Among those attending were Joint Secretary Rebeka Khan at the Ministry of Home Affairs, Joint Secretary Md Anwar Imam at the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives, Regional Adviser for Migration and Protection Lisa Greminger at the Embassy of Switzerland in Bangladesh, Deputy Secretary Md Saiful Islam at the Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment, and Country Representative for Bangladesh and Project Director of Ashshash Dipta Rakshit at Winrock International.