Desk Putting emphasis on strong political will to find an effective solution to stopping all forms of irregular movements and human trafficking in the region, Bangladesh today expressed its commitment to join any regional or global effort to address the issue. "There appears to be strong political will to find an effective, comprehensive and sustainable solution to address all forms of irregular movements and human trafficking in the region," Foreign Secretary Md Shahidul Haque told a crucial meeting on human trafficking in Bangkok today. While delivering his opening statement at the Special Meeting on Irregular Migration in the Thai capital, the foreign secretary said the human trafficking victims deserve compassion of all. "Our collective endeavor should be to protect their lives, alleviate their sufferings and uphold their dignity. To this end, Bangladesh stands ready to join any regional or global effort to address human trafficking by sea in the Indian Ocean region in an integrated and comprehensive manner," he said. Pointing out the UN Secretary General's call on the regional countries to address the root causes of the current exodus in the region, Haque said: "If we read through the international headlines, the message seems to be writ large on the wall. We must demonstrate the courage to deal with the underlying root causes for decisive and long-lasting solutions to the challenge before us. "There is no doubt that we have little time to wait. In fact, we are already late. While we grapple with the root causes, we cannot afford to let the traffickers win over us. As the present case indicates, we are pitted against an organized transnational criminal network that has acquired the capacity to challenge our national efforts. Placing emphasis on intensifying regional cooperation in all sincerity and determination, the foreign secretary said: "We shall succeed in dismantling this network only when we coordinate our efforts across the entire spectrum at sources, during transit and at destinations." The foreign secretary said Bangladesh is deeply concerned over the unfolding humanitarian tragedy in the Indian Ocean. "Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's government considers this to be a direct challenge to our 'zero tolerance' approach to human trafficking," he said. Haque said Bangladesh is determined to go all the way to stop and reverse this trend. "It is perhaps time for us to say 'enough is enough'," he said. The foreign secretary said some of the trafficking victims rescued this month are reportedly Bangladeshi nationals. "We thank Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Myanmar for bringing the victims to safety and providing them necessary humanitarian assistance," he said. Haque said Bangladesh is taking the responsibility to repatriate Bangladeshi citizens in irregular situations abroad with utmost seriousness. "We are maintaining heightened surveillance, including through our law enforcement agencies and local governments, to prevent further victimization or deception of our people by the traffickers," he said. The foreign secretary said Bangladesh mobilized all its concerned law enforcement and border security agencies for patrol across maritime borders. "Since May 1, 2015, our Coast Guard has intercepted a number of boats in our waters and rescued 132 people and our naval forces remain on alert to go up to the high seas to rescue victims and bring the culprits to justice," he said. In this connection, the foreign secretary highlighted the policies and the laws framed by the government in combating human trafficking. These are complying the Palermo Convention in 2010, enactment of the Human Trafficking Deterrence and Suppression Act in 2012, adoption of strong anti-money laundering and mutual legal assistance laws in 2012, finalization of a set of rules for implementing the laws, initiating a process to set up separate tribunals as stipulated in the counter-trafficking law, formation of an inter-ministerial committee at the Ministry of Home Affairs to follow a number of important trafficking cases under trial. Haque also elaborated administrative measures to prevent human trafficking. The measures include setting up Counter-Trafficking Committees (CTC) up to the Union level, the lowest tier of the local government; ensuring participation of relevant NGOs and CSOs in the CTCs at all administrative levels; operationalzing a Monitoring Cell at the Police Headquarters to collect and analyze data on trafficking; setting up a seamless intelligence network across concerned law enforcement and border security agencies; drawing up a time-bound plan to invest in capacity building of Bangladesh Coast Guard and other relevant agencies; introduction of counter-trafficking issues in training curricula for judicial, law enforcement and investigation agencies; and development of an effective mechanism for victim protection and rehabilitation through GO-NGO partnership. The foreign secretary said Bangladesh's multi-pronged national efforts have been matched by its visible, contributing and responsible engagements at the international level. "As a country of origin, transit and destination, Bangladesh has positioned herself at the forefront of global and regional counter-trafficking initiatives," he said. At the United Nations, he said, Bangladesh actively promotes the implementation of the Global Plan of Action to Combat Trafficking in Persons. The foreign secretary said at the regional level, Bangladesh remains committed to implementing the SAARC Convention on Prevention and Combating Trafficking in Women and Children for Prostitution and further enhancing its scope; actively engages with the Bali Process to benefit from its information sharing and capacity building support. At the bilateral level, he said, Bangladesh has been engaging with her neighbours. With India, Bangladesh has been successfully implementing joint anti-trafficking programs through multilayered institutional cooperation, including under the Joint Committee on Rescue, Recovery, Repatriation and Integration (RRRI). "With Myanmar we have initiated a process for setting up a Border Liaison Office across our borders. We also proposed an MoU on security cooperation and dialogue that includes countering trafficking in persons, drug and arms smuggling," he said. The foreign secretary said Bangladesh's persistent efforts to combat human trafficking have been reflected in its graduation to Tier II in the US State Department's Trafficking in Persons Report in 2012 that we have maintained since then. "We, however, realize that despite our enabling legal and administrative systems, there remain some implementation challenges, such as resource and capacity constraints that need to be addressed through long term concerted efforts," he said. Haque said Bangladesh needs to focus on creating further deterrence and awareness to counter the false allure being peddled by traffickers. "Within our government, along with our civil society and NGO partners, we have embarked on serious introspection to identify and address the weak links in our counter-trafficking regime," he said.