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The students from the Department of Law at East West University attended the “National Dialogue to Observe World Day Against Trafficking in Persons 2026”, organized jointly by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the Counter-Trafficking Technical Working Group of the United Nations Migration Network, and the Ministry of Home Affairs of Bangladesh. The event was held on Thursday, 30 July 2026, at the Grand Ballroom of the Pan Pacific Sonargaon Hotel in Dhaka.

The theme of the event was “Trapped Behind the Scam: Ending Human Trafficking for Forced Criminality.” Ms. Nadia Rahaman, a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Law at East West University, attended the event accompanied by five students from the Department of Law, namely Talha Jubayer, Koli Akter, Ramisha Nujhat, Khusbat Binte Ashraf and Tahsina Tabassum.

The Honourable Home Minister of Bangladesh, Mr. Salahuddin Ahmed, graced the event with his presence and delivered an address emphasizing the Government’s unwavering commitment to preventing human trafficking and combating online syndicates. The National Dialogue was chaired by Mr. Monjur Morshed Chowdhury, Senior Secretary of the Public Security Division under the Ministry of Home Affairs. The special guests included Mr. Md. Liaquat Ali Molla, Secretary of the Law and Justice Division; Mr. Md. Ali Hossain Fakir, Inspector General of Police (IGP); Ms. Baiba Zarina, Chargée d’Affaires of the European Union, and Dr. Laura Tom Bond, Chief of Mission of IOM Bangladesh and Coordinator of the UN Migration Network. The event was also attended by Rear Admiral Md. Ziaul Haque, Director General of the Bangladesh Coast Guard, and Brigadier General Md. Sohrab Hossain Bhuiyan, ndc, Additional Director General of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB).

The welcome address was delivered by Dr. Ziauddin Ahmed, Additional Secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs. Shah Mohammad Nahian, Head of the UNODC Programme Office in Bangladesh, presented an overview of the theme for this year’s World Day Against Trafficking in Persons. The opening session concluded with the screening of an informative documentary. The proceedings were moderated by Rebecca Khan, Joint Secretary of the Political-1 Branch of the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Following the inaugural session, a working session featured a panel discussion titled, “Trapped Behind the Scam: Addressing Trafficking for Forced Criminality, Deceptive Recruitment and Online Exploitation.” The discussion was moderated by Tasnim Binte Karim, National Programme Coordinator for UNODC South Asia. The panel comprised Ali Akbar Khan, Chief of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and Acting Additional Inspector General of Police; Giuseppe Di Giovanni, Representative of the Italian State Police at the Embassy of Italy in Dhaka; Shariful Hasan, Associate Director of BRAC’s Migration Programme and Youth Platform; and Nahid Arman, a survivor who was rescued from an online scam centre in Cambodia. The working session concluded with an open discussion, followed by a public awareness puppet show titled “Trapped in Pursuit of a Better Life.”