Comprehensive legislation required to deal with human trafficking

Islamabad

Human trafficking through land routes, identification of the victims, lack of authentic data and absence of any referral mechanism for victims and their families are some of the biggest challenges faced by Pakistan with regards to trafficking in human beings.

The conclusion was reached at a ‘Consultative Workshop on Identification and Referral of Trafficked Persons in Pakistan’ organised by the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD) where the issue of human trafficking and the gaps in identification and rehabilitation of victims was discussed at length.

The workshop was attended by the representatives of the Ministry of Human Rights and Federal Investigative Agency (FIA), members of the civil society organisations from Kyber Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit Baltistan, Azad Jammu Kashmir and Islamabad and media persons from the capital city.

The activity was aimed at identifying the current operational gaps and challenges in working practices on victim referral, assistance and rehabilitation in addition to highlighting the good practices and standards already in place. After day-long sessions on different aspects of trafficking in Pakistan and the role of different stakeholders in controlling the menace, the participants gave recommendations, aimed at NGOs, international organisations and federal and provincial ministries, on action to take to enhance the identification, referral and assistance to victims of trafficking in the country.

The participants stressed the need for collaborative effort to tackle the ever increasing issue of human trafficking in Pakistan. It was highlighted that the human trafficking is a complex issue and a comprehensive legislation is required to deal with its different forms in Pakistan. The participants were of the opinion that human trafficking for organ transplant especially child trafficking towards conflict and war zones require immediate attention of authorities and other relevant stakeholders including civil society and media.

The participants also pointed out gaps in the advocacy strategies of government and civil society and urged to adopt innovative ideas, appropriate funding, involvement of communications experts, effective utilisation of maximum communications tools and community based initiatives for enhanced awareness around the issue in the general populations especially in areas most affected by the human trafficking.

Director International Commitments for Ministry of Human Rights Shahzad Ahmed highlighted the steps taken by the government to ensure human rights in the country. He said that Pakistan has signed seven international commitments on human rights and changes have been made in the constitutions accordingly. 

FIA Representative Pervaiz Khan said that poverty and unemployment is the root cause of forms of human trafficking and smuggling. He said that Ministry of Interior is taking all possible measures to check human trafficking. “FIA has completely controlled air travel on fake documents. Our real challenge is to manage the land routes due to porous borders,” he added. He agreed that children are trafficked to war and conflict ridden countries.  

In his introductory remarks, key expert from ICMPD Madis Vainomaa said that development and implementation of a comprehensive framework to control trafficking of human beings while taking care of the rights of victims is a long process. “There is no them and us in this effort. All stakeholders have to work together to make a difference,” he said.