03 January 2004	Saturday	10 Ziqa'ad 1424

ISLAMABAD, Jan 2: The representatives of the civil society organizations have urged the heads of the Saarc member countries gathering here to ratify the Convention on Human Trafficking.

The representatives of non-governmental organizations from Nepal, Pakistan and Bangladesh were speaking at a press conference here on Friday. The press conference was organised by Lawyers for Human Rights & Legal Aid (LHRLA), an NGO.

Referring to the Convention on Human Trafficking that was signed by the heads of the Saarc members countries back in January 2002 in Nepal, they said, so far, only Bangladesh had ratified the Convention, while the rest of the countries were still to address this issue.

They said human trafficking was increasing in South Asia, as it was considered a luring business and needed to be addressed immediately. The speakers said South Asia was an exceptional geographical location from many points of view. "It is one of the world's most populous regions with one quarter of the planets's population.

Due to geographical proximity and relatively open borders, trafficking in children and women is more pronounced in South Asian countries than the countries of other regions. Major routes are known to exist between Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and different parts of India from where women are trafficked.

The media persons were also told that though there were no independent and accurate statistics of how many people were involved in the inhuman business, it was estimated that in the last 30 years, trafficking in children and women in Asia for sexual exploitation alone had victimised over 30 million people.