Deputy Controller Abdulla Waheed took part in a regional seminar held in Dhaka on the 27th and 28th of January 2010.
Organized by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the seminar stressed the need for expanding the scope of definition of trafficked persons in the SAARC convention. It identified that the "SAARC Convention on Preventing and Combating Trafficking in Women and Children for Prostitution" did not include male as trafficked persons. Hence, the participants proposed that the SAARC Convention on Trafficking be revised to make it an effective instrument for combating trafficking in persons in the region, and agreed that the scope of the convention needs to be expanded to include trafficking of men and trafficking for other exploitative purposes, such as forced labour or labour trafficking.
Foreign secretary Mohamed Mijarul Quayes attended the workshop as chief guest at the concluding session reiterated his commitment to take forward some of the recommendations identified by the study as well as the meeting, during the preparation for the upcoming 16th SAARC Summit at Thimpu, Bhutan.
