SHILLONG: A one-day Judicial Colloquium on the role of Law Enforcement in combating human trafficking was organised on Saturday by the Meghalaya State Judicial Academy in collaboration with the International Justice Mission and supported by the Ministry of Home Affairs at Yojana Bhavan Auditorium, Shillong.
Justice H.S. Thangkhiew and Justice W. Diengdoh, Judges of the High Court of Meghalaya attended the programme.The objective of the colloquium was to strengthen the technical capacities of law enforcement agencies and judicial officers towards prosecution of crimes of human trafficking, sharing information and promoting best practices and to evolve mutually acceptable strategies in ensuring expeditious disposal of human trafficking crimes and protection of the rights of victims. Speaking at the programme, Justice Thangkhiew said that human trafficking is confined not only to women but also to men and children. He said that as responsible citizens of the society, we have a social responsibility and have an important role to play in tackling human trafficking crimes. He also said that colloquium such as these offer a platform for discussing, sharing and exchanging ideas amongst all the stakeholders to come up with concrete solution to curb this menace.
Justice Diengdoh in his address said that human trafficking is an age old problem and it happens not only in the international borders but across the nations. He hoped that through this colloquium, resource persons will deliberate on the measures to prevent and protect innocent children and people who are caught up in human trafficking. A short video on bonded labour and sex trafficking were screened during the programme.
The inaugural programme was followed by a technical session where resource persons Saptarshi Biswas, Director, Legal, IJM, Kolkata and Rosanna Lyngdoh, IMPULSE NGO Network deliberated on the topics, ‘The role of law enforcement in combating human trafficking’ and ‘Combating human trafficking through IMPULSE model’ respectively.
