UNODC and Justice & Care raise awareness on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters

 The majority of Trafficking in Persons (TIP) cases in Bangladesh are transnational. However, according to research supported by Justice & Care, conducted by the Ministry of Home Affairs, it was found that the utilization of foreign evidence in the investigation and trial phases of transnational human trafficking cases is nearly non-existent in Bangladesh

The First National Study on Trafficking in Persons in Bangladesh notes that the Prevention and Suppression of Human Trafficking Act, 2012 encourages cooperation with other states and allows the government to enter agreements or sign memorandums of understanding with peer states for the purposes of legal and police cooperation. 

In line with this recommendation, to increase awareness on international cooperation to counter organized crime and the recently adopted ‘Implementation Guideline for Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters’, a specialized workshop on mutual legal assistance in criminal matters was organized at the Ministry of Home Affairs on 14 March 2024. The workshop was jointly organized by UNODC, under the framework of Global Action against Trafficking in Persons and Smuggling of Migrants (GLO.ACT – Bangladesh) project and the Justice & Care in partnership with the Public Security Division of the Ministry of Home Affairs. 

Addressing the participants, Chief Guest of the workshop A K M Tipu Sultan, Additional Secretary of Ministry of Home Affairs and the project director of GLO.ACT-Bangladesh said “Aligning with the standard of the international legal framework, the Bangladesh Government enacted the Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Act in 2012 to enhance mutual legal assistance with other countries based on the principle of reciprocity. The Ministry of Home Affairs of Bangladesh is actively engaging in bilateral and multi-lateral meetings with relevant transit and destination countries for Bangladesh.”

Meanwhile, Marco Teixeira, Regional Representative of UNODC South Asia, highlights the role of UNODC in international cooperation in criminal matters, explaining, “With its many years of experience acting as the guardian of several international treaties that deal extensively with international cooperation, as well as serving as the Secretariat to various relevant inter-governmental bodies, UNODC has firmly established itself as a center of excellence in this area.”

The substantive sessions of the workshop were facilitated by UNODC and Justice & Care. Dimosthenis Chrysikos, UNODC, Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Officer discussed Article 18 of the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC) as a legal basis for cooperation in mutual legal assistance (MLA) cases, operationalizing central authorities for furthering international cooperation, and the MLA writer tool. 

Reza Tariq Ahmed and Md. Hasibul Islam from Justice & Care jointly presented the ‘Implementation Guideline on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters’ adopted by the Government of Bangladesh, along with the Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matter Act, 2012 and its accompanying rules and statutory regulatory orders. The session comprehensively discussed the importance of utilizing mutual legal assistance mechanisms for conducting transnational investigations, especially in cases such as trafficking in persons and smuggling of migrants, delving into the underlying legal foundations and the practical applications of the recently adopted implementation guideline. 

The last session of the workshop focused on the challenges in preparing MLA requests in criminal matters. During this session, Md. Arifur Rahman, Director (UN-HR) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, raised multiple issues including, the feasibility of laws imposing investigation periods for cross-border investigation, translation services for MLA requests and training modules for investigating agencies on MLA. 

During the concluding remarks, Abu Hena Mostofa Zaman, Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs, shared plans to organize further workshops on MLA at the divisional and field level. 

36 (9 female, 27 male) senior officials from ministries and law enforcement agencies joined the workshop.

The Global Action against Trafficking in Persons and the Smuggling of Migrants - Bangladesh (GLO.ACT - Bangladesh) is a joint initiative by the European Union and UNODC, being implemented in partnership with the International Organization for Migration (IOM). Through targeted, innovative, and demand-driven interventions, the GLO.ACT aims to support the Government of Bangladesh and civil society organizations to more effectively fight the crimes of human trafficking and migrant smuggling across the country.

The project works on developing evidence-based information on trafficking and smuggling patterns and trends, legislative review and harmonization, capability development of criminal justice actors, and international cooperation. The project also provides direct assistance to victims of human trafficking and migrants in vulnerable situations through the strengthening of identification, referral, and protection mechanisms. The project is fully committed to mainstreaming Human Rights and Gender Equality considerations across all of its activities.

The project is funded by the European Union.

For more information, please contact:

Mahdy Hassan, GLO.ACT National Programme Coordinator

muhammad.hassan@un.org

unodc-glo.act@un.org

GLO.ACT Bangladesh

X: @glo_act