5 countries pledge joint fight against TIP

DUSHANBE (Pajhwok): Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) from five regional countries, including Afghanistan, have pledged to fight against trafficking in persons (TIP).

The promise has been held during a meeting among non-government organizations, civil society institutes and journalists from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan in Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan.

On behalf of Pakistan’s NGOs, Ziaullah Awan, while addressing the meeting said civil society institutes and journalists should all share information about human trafficking with each other.

“We can fully eradicate this phenomenon from the region if we jointly fight against it,” he said.

Shoaib Naseri, representing Afghanistan’s NGOs, said an organized network aimed at preventing human trafficking would be created consisting of Afghanistan-based NGOs, which would hold regular meetings for sharing experiences and information in this regard.

“The NGOs would also make programs for building capacity of government officers in terms of eradicating TIP,” he said.

He stressed establishment of an effective network from among the relevant countries was essential for jointly fighting the phenomenon. He suggested Iran should also be included in the network.

Aleksoski Dragan, head of the International Organization of Migration (IOM) for Tajikistan, said his office was ready for any type of support to prevent human trafficking.

He said that the five countries had common Islamic and cultural relations enabling them to better fight human trafficking.

A representative from Tajikistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Faridun Davronov said Afghanistan and Tajikistan should tighten control on their borders for prevention of human trafficking.

“If we secure our borders then human traffickers will not be able to transfer people across the border,” he said.

Davronov said that his country was ready to share their experiences regarding human trafficking prevention with other countries.

Talking on behalf of the Afghan government, Abdul Waheed Hedayat, a member of the High Commission for Combating Trafficking in Persons, said Afghanistan and Tajikistan would soon develop a joint strategy for controlling their borders.

He said human trafficking had turned into a great challenge and it needed decisive action to be stopped.

Hedayat asked NGOs to share their expertise and information about prevention of human trafficking with the Afghan government.

The Afghan government would also task tribal elders, religious scholars and influential figures for spreading public awareness with regard to prevention of human trafficking, he added.

At the end of the meeting, representatives of the five countries promised to create a joint network for combating the phenomenon.

They said they would also encourage their governments to contribute to their plan.

The next meeting of the NGOs and civil society institutes is expected to take place in Ashgabat, the capital of Turkmenistan.

mds