Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed has said the new law — the Prevention and Suppression of Human Trafficking and Migrant Smuggling Act, 2026 — will play a very strict and effective role in curbing organised crime networks’ misuse of digital platforms and technology and in suppressing human trafficking and migrant smuggling.
Keeping pace with the constantly changing tactics of criminal networks, he said, the country’s legal and institutional capacity had also been raised to international standards.
He made the remarks as chief guest at a national awareness meeting on the “Prevention and Suppression of Human Trafficking and Migrant Smuggling Act, 2026,” held on Wednesday morning at the Ruposhi Bangla Grand Ballroom of the capital’s Hotel InterContinental. The Home Ministry and Justice and Care Bangladesh jointly organised the event to strengthen Bangladesh’s commitment to tackling human trafficking and migrant smuggling through a modern legal and institutional framework.
The event was presided over by Home Ministry Senior Secretary Manjur Morshed Chowdhury, with special guests including Foreign Secretary Asad Alam Siam, British High Commissioner to Bangladesh Sarah Cooke, US Ambassador to Bangladesh Brent T. Christensen, Inspector General of Police Md Ali Hossain Fakir, Coast Guard Director General Rear Admiral Md Ziaul Haque, BGB Director General Major General Md Ashrafuzzaman Siddiqui and Home Ministry Additional Secretary Dr Ziauddin Ahmed.
In his speech, the minister reaffirmed the government’s firm and steadfast commitment to suppressing human trafficking and migrant smuggling through strong laws, effective institutional coordination and a victim-centred criminal justice system. The newly enacted act, he said, was an important milestone in Bangladesh’s efforts to tackle these serious cross-border crimes, and its successful implementation would require close cooperation among government institutions, law-enforcement agencies, the judiciary, development partners and civil society.
The minister said the new law clearly defined human trafficking and migrant smuggling as separate offences; established an integrated legal framework to suppress and try migrant smuggling as a crime; strengthened investigation and prosecution powers; bolstered protection for victims and witnesses; and expanded scope for international cooperation in line with international standards. The law also upheld the internationally recognised principle of not punishing victims, so that their dignity, rights and safety were ensured at every stage of the criminal justice process.
The national awareness event created an important opportunity to build a common, clear understanding of the new law among the institutions responsible for implementing it, with participants exchanging views on its key provisions and implementation framework. Priorities for effective enforcement — including strengthening coordination at every stage from investigation to trial — were also discussed. Human trafficking and migrant smuggling are among the gravest forms of transnational organised crime, exploiting vulnerable people, weakening the rule of law and threatening national and regional security.
Participants stressed the need for sustained national and international cooperation to prevent these crimes, protect victims and survivors, break up organised criminal networks and bring offenders to justice. Justice and Care Bangladesh country director Mohammad Tariqul Islam presented the context, rationale and main provisions of the new law, followed by a high-level discussion on implementation priorities and inter-agency coordination. Senior representatives of Bangladesh Police, Border Guard Bangladesh, the Bangladesh Coast Guard, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), the police Special Branch (SB), the National Security Intelligence (NSI), the judiciary, the prosecution, relevant ministries and government offices, diplomatic missions, UN agencies, international organisations, development partners, national and international NGOs and civil society took part.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report