ISLAMABAD, Feb 23: A regional conference here on Thursday asked South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation member countries to explore the possibilities of setting up a Saarc police for dealing with human smuggling.

“Exemplary punishment under special courts should be show- cased and shared at country and regional levels by enforcing law against human trafficking,” the participants of the conference demanded.

Experts from South and East Asian countries, including India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Iran, Afghanistan and Turkimenistan, had participated in the three-day conference.

International Organization for Migration (IOM), in collaboration with the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA)’s Programme for the Advancement of Gender Equality (PAGE), had organized the conference on “Development on Conceptual Framework and Strategies to Combat Trafficking”.

Under the Saarc Convention on bilateral and multilateral treaties on legal provisions for extradition and extra territorial jurisdiction, mutual legal assistance should be extended, they said.

Experts said human trafficking was a complex problem with national, regional and global dimensions. It was the dark side of migration as it created exploitative and harmful situations for people on the move. It was a violation of fundamental human rights and must be prevented, they added.

Human trafficking, existing in South Asia in various forms and practised here for centuries, had risen sharply in scale and scope and as an element of transitional crime, they warned.

Along with effective enforcement of law, a code of conduct for the licensed recruiting agencies and travel agents should be developed and monitored at country and regional levels, they proposed. Standards, guidelines and capacities for effective law enforcement and justice should also be in place at country and regional levels.

John J Moore, counsellor development and head of aid, Canadian High Commission, commended Pakistan for its efforts in controlling human trafficking owing to which its name was removed from the watch list of countries where the menace was increasing due to lack of government control.

Federal Minister for Social Welfare and Special Education Zobaida Jalal said without the joint efforts of Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan, smuggling of humans could not be checked in the region. Women and children were the main victims of the abuse that violated human rights and all social and legal norms, she observed.

Human trafficking encouraged prostitution and other social evils, she said and asked the media to help check the menace. She also urged the civil society and private sector to play their role in this regard.

IOM Regional Representative Hassan Abdel Moneim Mostafa appreciated CIDA-PAGE and the participants for contributing towards forming an analytical framework for dealing with the menace of human smuggling.

The participants said Saarc provided a forum for government level collaboration within the context of “Saarc Convention on Preventing and Combating Trafficking in Women and Children for Prostitution”. The scope and coverage of this convention should be expanded to make it more realistic, progressive and effective.

They stressed the need for bilateral and regional MoUs and agreements to address the issue. They also called for developing and adopting national policy and strategy supported by effective legislation and administration to combat the menace.

“Human trafficking is a human rights violation and must be addressed with a human rights-based approach and gender-sensitive framework,” they stressed.

Brain storming sessions were held by experts during the conference to come up with proposals for Saarc countries. They also presented papers on human trafficking in their own countries.