Saarc strategy to eradicate human trafficking
KARACHI (August 01 2007): South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) has decided to chalk out a joint regional strategy to eradicate human trafficking from the region. Talking to Business Recorder on Tuesday, Zia Ahmed Awan, President, Lawyers for Human Rights and Legal Aid (LHRLA) said that Saarc members had constituted a task force to stop this inhuman practice.
A one-day seminar in this regard was organised by Saarc Secretariat in Dehli on July 26 to discuss this sensitive issue, he told. Fake agents recruit the children especially for Middle East countries by alluring their poor parents that they would earn a huge amount of money as a salary. By adopting such tactics these human smugglers run their business across the region.
These children are not only used in camel jockeying but also sexually abused besides being beggared in these countries, he lamented. “Similarly, girls are hired by these fake immigration agents for household jobs but being compelled for prostitution,” he added. He said that increasing poverty was pushing the poor to sale their children against money.
Saarc countries had also stressed their respective governments to take steps for ending the increasing human trafficking in the region, he said. In the meeting, Saarc counties have highlighted the action plan against this threatening problem, he said, adding that this was the first meeting of Saarc task force.
We have also discussed about the welfare of children, he said and adding that human trafficking was a challenge to law enforcement agencies. He said that organisers had invited one government official and one civil society representative from all Saarc countries. “I and Ramzan Channa, Director Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) attended the seminar from Pakistan,” he concluded.
Source: Business Recorder
Date:8/1/2007
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