Japan to help Sri Lanka fight human trafficking

Japan is to help Sri Lanka fight human trafficking through public awareness programs, the Defence Ministry said.

The Defence Ministry said that human trafficking has been identified as the fastest growing organized crime in the world, which has become a challenge not only for Sri Lanka but also for the entire international community.

In such cases, adult women and men, female and male minors, as well as children, are sold for personal gain without age or gender discrimination.

Victims of such deceptions are exploited through prostitution, other forms of sexual exploitation, slavery, organ harvesting, forced labor, labor exploitation, conscription as mercenaries, involvement in cybercrime, and other organized criminal activities.

In order to successfully and systematically address these international challenges, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the National Anti-Human Trafficking Task Force (NAHTTF) in collaboration with the Government of Japan have decided to implement a comprehensive media awareness campaign to raise public awareness of the serious crime and protect Sri Lankan citizens, with the aim of preventing them from becoming victims of such crimes.

Accordingly, it has been decided to disseminate a series of educational short videos and audio clips, created to illustrate the nature of this crime and the unfortunate experiences faced by victims, through television, radio, social media and other electronic audio and visual media.

Commenting on this innovative initiative, Defence Secretary and Head of the National Anti-Human Trafficking Task Force (NAHTTF) Air Vice Marshal Sampath Thuyacontha, emphasized that prevention is a very important aspect in the process of eliminating this crime, and that the objectives of this process are to ensure the safety and security of citizens and foreigners by raising public awareness.

Another important objective of this program is to empower victims who have become victims of organized criminals involved in human trafficking or individuals who have uncovered information about such crimes to stand up and raise their voices fearlessly against these crimes.