Bangladesh and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) have launched a 24-month project to strengthen efforts to prevent and respond to human trafficking facilitated through digital technologies.

The project, titled “Countering Cyber-Enabled Human Trafficking Through Technology”, was launched through an agreement signed between the IOM and the Economic Relations Division (ERD) of the Ministry of Finance on Sunday.

Funded by the IOM Development Fund, the initiative will be implemented by IOM Bangladesh in partnership with the Ministry of Home Affairs.

The project aims to support Bangladesh’s longer-term efforts to tackle the growing threat of cyber-enabled human trafficking, with a focus on strengthening evidence and knowledge, improving law enforcement capacity and increasing digital literacy among communities.

The initiative comes amid growing concerns over traffickers’ use of social media, online platforms, job portals and other digital technologies to target, recruit, control and exploit victims.

The project’s findings and training resources are expected to contribute to future policy and programme development, while strengthening existing national and inter-agency efforts to combat human trafficking.

The agreement was signed by Economic Relations Division Secretary Md Shahriar Kader Siddiky and IOM Bangladesh Chief of Mission Dr Laura Tomm Bonde.

Additional Secretary and UN Wing Chief of the ERD A K M Sohel, along with representatives from the Ministry of Home Affairs and other relevant government agencies and IOM, were present at the signing ceremony.

“Technology is transforming the way people communicate, seek employment and connect with opportunities, but it can also be exploited by traffickers,” Dr Bonde said.

“This project will help strengthen the evidence, skills and community awareness needed to ensure that technology becomes part of the solution rather than a tool for exploitation,” she added.

Md Shahriar Kader Siddiky said the project would contribute to the government’s efforts to prevent the misuse of technology for human trafficking while promoting technology as a means of countering trafficking.

“Its overall outcome is to enable government stakeholders and communities to take informed action to prevent, respond to and mitigate the risks of cyber-enabled human trafficking,” he said.

Under the initiative, stakeholders will work to build a stronger evidence base on cyber-enabled trafficking, enhance the capacity of law enforcement agencies to respond to technology-facilitated trafficking and improve communities’ ability to identify and mitigate digital risks.

The initiative is expected to provide a foundation for stronger coordination among government agencies and other stakeholders in addressing the evolving methods used by human traffickers online.