KARACHI, April 16: Speakers at a meeting on Tuesday, pointing out that trafficking in women and children was a trans-national issue, suggested that regional strategies be formulated so that the menace could be effectively checked.

They were speaking on the second day of the three-day regional conference on trafficking in women and children, organized jointly by the Canadian International Development Agency and the Lawyers for the Human Rights and Legal Aid.

Former judge of the Supreme Court Justice Nasir Aslam Zahid suggested that training programmes for officials of judiciary and law-enforcement agencies be arranged so that they are sensitised on the issue and were clear that women and children were victims and pimps and traffickers were the real culprits.

He said due to limited knowledge on the issue the LEA officials usually mistreat women and children as they are caught during raids. The victims are treated as accused, although they had been illegally trafficked into the country.

He suggested that learning was a process that continues throughout life, so officials of judiciary and the LEA should not feel offended when they were asked to undertake trainings relating to gender sensitisation, trafficking etc.

He demanded that the government should provide free legal aid to victims who were not only the poor but were in an alien land. He said only a few urban-based non-governmental organizations were providing some aid, but it was not sufficient and a lot needed to be done, particularly in rural areas, where the majority of the people lived and issue was bigger in magnitude.

He said that very little work had been done to implement the recommendations that he had presented to the government after a thorough study of the many issues being faced by the women.

Nandita Baruha (UNIFEM, India) said though no specific laws were present on the issue of trafficking of women, the few laws that were present were not being implemented strictly. She said trafficking was a heinous crime and the criminals be punished sternly, so that it could work as a deterrent to others.

She said that role of the LEA officials was negative towards women and children and due to this approach the victims do not like going to the LEA personnel. She said it was high time that they were sensitised regarding the issue so that their approach became sympathetic and victims felt safe and secure.

She said since the issue of trafficking was a regional one, the strategies that involved entire regions — the recipient and the exporting countries etc — be formulated. Strategies regarding the improving the life standards and incomes of the poor people be also be formulated so that poverty, which was one of the main cause, was lowered.

Punjab Social Welfare and Women Development Minister Shaheen Atiq ur Rehman said over 40,000 women councillors had been elected and they could be sensitised and provided training. They could be used as a resource to create and spread awareness among masses regarding the issue as they work at the grassroots level.

Amir Murtaza of LHRLA gave a detailed presentation on the camel jockeys and said the kids, many a times, were sold by their parents to the traffickers who took them to the Gulf regions. Many of the kids die or become crippled for life in the process.

He said that a majority of the kids belong to Seraiki-belt in the southern region of Punjab. Though the LEAs were taking steps, the menace was growing with a passage of time.

According to Zia Awan, though the UAE government, through a law had banned the use of children as jockeys, it was not allegedly being implemented.

He suggested that the issue be raised at the OIC level.

Roma Debharta (India), Deepa Dhital (Nepal), Vipla Kadri (India), Khalida Saleemi, and others also spoke.

The conference delegates were taken to the SOS Children’s Village. Adviser to the SOS Village Sarwar Zamani took the delegates around the village, its school and explained its working and informed them that over 100 children, girls and boys, orphans, shelterless, were housed there and provided everything including education, skill training, etc so that they were fully equipped to enter the practical field when they left the village.