Speakers at a seminar at the University of Chittagong on Wednesday emphasized fostering a victim-centered, trauma-informed, and gender-responsive approach among law students to strengthen Bangladesh’s legal framework against human trafficking and enhance access to justice and the rule of law.
They stressed the need to equip future legal professionals with both foundational knowledge and practical understanding to effectively address trafficking-related crimes.
Alongside legal theory, the seminar highlighted practical challenges commonly encountered in the justice process, including investigation, evidence collection, prosecution, and institutional coordination. Speakers also drew attention to emerging trends such as digital exploitation.
The issues were discussed at a seminar titled “Educating for Justice: Empowering Law Graduates to Fight Human Trafficking,” held at the AK Khan Auditorium of the Faculty of Law, University of Chittagong. The event brought together senior academics, government officials, and legal practitioners to examine gaps in legal education and challenges in implementing anti-trafficking laws.
The seminar was jointly organized by the University of Chittagong (CU) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM). It also featured student engagement through a quiz competition, prize distribution, and the handover of reference books from IOM to the CU Department of Law.
The event is part of IOM’s broader approach to actively engage youth and academics in its programming to combat human trafficking, recognizing their critical role and providing platforms for participation. This includes initiatives such as the recently concluded national-level university debate tournament, “Safeguarding Lives – Human Trafficking Prevention.”
The program concluded with the inauguration of a book corner equipped with IT facilities at the Law Seminar Hall, donated by IOM with support from the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), to promote continued academic engagement on anti-human trafficking issues.
Professor Dr. M. Jafar Ullah Talukder, Dean of the Faculty of Law at CU, and Pooja Bhalla, Head of Protection at IOM, delivered the opening remarks, highlighting the importance of collaboration between academic institutions and justice sector actors in preparing future legal professionals.
In his keynote address, Professor ABM Abu Noman of CU’s Department of Law stressed the need to integrate human trafficking law into undergraduate curricula to equip students with both conceptual knowledge and practical skills for effective justice delivery.
An interactive session with Md. Aminul Islam, Deputy Secretary (Political-3) of the Ministry of Home Affairs, focused on challenges related to investigation, evidence collection, and institutional coordination.
M. Jashim Uddin Khan, Joint Secretary (Political-1) of the Ministry of Home Affairs, attended as the chief guest and underscored the ethical responsibility of future lawyers in protecting survivors’ rights. He noted that knowledge of laws, rules, and regulations alone is insufficient, emphasizing that professionals must also possess analytical insight, technical competence, and strong ethical standards to make decisions based on systematic assessments of data, evidence, and operational context.
The initiative is part of a nationwide seminar series across public and private universities aimed at strengthening long-term engagement between universities and justice sector actors. The series seeks to build academic interest and institutional readiness for integrating the Human Trafficking Law module developed by IOM into undergraduate curricula.
Through these efforts, the seminars aim to inspire students to pursue careers in human rights, criminal justice, and counter-trafficking work, ultimately contributing to a more capable and victim-centered national justice system.