Bangladesh Sex Com
V. Country Narratives -- Countries A through G
Cyprus is a destination country for women trafficked from Eastern and Central Europe for the purpose of sexual exploitation. Traffickers who forced women into prostitution continued to fraudulently recruit victims for work as dancers in cabarets and nightclubs on short-term "artiste" visas, for work in pubs and bars on employment visas, or for illegal work on tourist or student visas. There was increasing evidence of Chinese women being trafficked for sexual exploitation in Cyprus. The Government of Cyprus does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so. Cyprus made some progress in its anti-trafficking efforts over the past year. The new police anti-trafficking unit produced successful results and showed vigilance in combating the problem. Government recognition of the problem improve ... [Read More]
Bangladesh
Police corruption remained a problem, and there were credible reports that police facilitated or were involved in trafficking in women and children (see Section 6.f.). In 2002, the Law Commission, an independent body, recommended amendments to Section 54 to curb police abuse. None of the recommendations had been adopted by the end of the year. In an effort to curb police abuses, the High Court April 7 issued a 15-point directive to amend the CrPC by mid-October. At year's end, this had not happened (see Section 1.d.). Extortion from businesses and individuals by law enforcement personnel and persons with political backing was common, and businessmen on several occasions went on strikes to protest the extortion. ... [Read More]
Bangladesh
The Government owns and controls radio and television stations. The activities of the Prime Minister occupy the bulk of prime time news bulletins on both television and radio, followed by the activities of members of the Cabinet. Opposition party news gets little coverage. In its 1996 election manifesto, the Awami League called for autonomy for the state-controlled electronic media. A government committee subsequently recommended measures for authorizing autonomy for radio and television broadcasts, but the Government has yet to implement this recommendation. However, the Prime Minister on September 20 reiterated her earlier commitment to grant autonomy whereby the responsibility for funding still would come from the Government but the stations would be run by independent bodies without government interference. The Ministry of Information has authorized one private radio station and one private television station. That private television statio ... [Read More]
Bangladesh
In May the Awami League Government stopped the Grameen Mobile Phone Company from sending news bulletins to its subscribers. The company had started a 24-hour phone news service in partnership with two independent newspapers in January. The ban was imposed nearly 4 months after GrameenPhone, the country's largest mobile phone company, flashed news to its nearly 365,000 subscribers about the killing of four persons during an antigovernment protest. The company started receiving warnings from the Ministry of Information soon after it sent out news flashes in January. The Ministry sent a written order in June to stop the news service on the ground that the company had not obtained government approval to broadcast news. The caretaker Government lifted the ban on September 1. ... [Read More]
Bangladesh
On July 24, male and female police officers entered a female student dormitory at Dhaka University (DU), dragged female students out of the dormitories, and beat them. Some of the victims alleged sexual harassment by male police officers. The police detained 18 students overnight. Thirty students were injured in the raid. A one-member judicial commission investigated the incident and found DU administrators and police officers responsible for the incident. The commission report recommended banning teacher participation in politics on campus. On October 13, the inquiry committee formed by DU authorities submitted its report October 13 to the university Vice Chancellor with nine recommendations, including transfer of all officers and employees of the hall and taking action against Zannatul Kanon, the individual who filed the charges, for filing cases against students. Police and BDR personnel conducted raids at DU dormitories several times throughout the year and recovered some weapons. ... [Read More]
2003
1111--06/25/03 Trafficking in Persons Report; John R. Miller, Director of the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons; Testimony Before the House International Relations Committee Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation and Human Rights; Washington, DC ... 1111--03/04/03 Swearing-in of John R. Miller as Director of the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons; John R. Miller, Senior Advisor and Director of the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons; The Capitol; Washington, DC ... [Read More]
Department of State Washington File: Text: UNICEF Condemns Child Sex Trafficking
UNICEF's experience in these and other countries in Asia has shown that the effects of sexual exploitation on children are profound and may be permanent. Normal sexual, physical and emotional development is stunted. Self-esteem and confidence are undermined. Sexually exploited children are especially vulnerable to the effects of physical and verbal violence, drugs and sexually transmitted diseases. ... "Trafficking -- especially for commercial sexual exploitation -- has become a worldwide, multi-billion-dollar industry," Bellamy told representatives of governments and civil society gathered to consider strategies for dealing with the issue. "Boys and girls are favoured targets for sexual exploitation and groups with low social standing are often the most vulnerable, such as minorities and refugees." ... [Read More]
Miscellaneous Publications
111111--01/23/04 First Iraqi Fulbright Students and Scholars in 14 Years Come to the United States [ PDF] ... 111111--09/22/04 Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty: A Crisis of Compliance [ PDF] ... 111111--09/16/03 U.S. Participation in the United Nations: Promoting Progress and Positive Outcomes [ PDF] ... [Read More]
Department of State Washington File: Fact Sheet: Asia Home to Some of Fastest-Growing AIDS Epidemics, U.N. Says
-- In many parts of India, HIV transmission through sex between men is also a major concern. Research shows some men who have sex with men may also have sex with women. In 2002, behavioural surveillance in five cities among men who have sex with men found 27% reported being married, or living with a female sexual partner. HIV knowledge is still scant and incomplete in India. In a 2001 national behavioural study of nearly 85 000 people, only 75% of respondents had heard of AIDS, and rural women's AIDS awareness was particularly low. ... [Read More]
IV. Country Narratives: South Asia
Sri Lanka is a source country for women who are trafficked to Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Qatar for the purposes of coerced labor and sexual exploitation. A smaller number of Thai, Chinese, and Russian women were trafficked to Sri Lanka for commercial sexual exploitation. Women and children are trafficked internally for domestic and sexual servitude. Boys and girls are victims of commercial sexual exploitation by pedophiles in the sex tourism industry. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) forcibly conscript children for purposes of forced labor and military conscription. Although a formal cease-fire has been in place since February 2002, the LTTE continued to forcibly conscript children, abducting at least 75 children in the September-October 2003 period alone. ... [Read More]
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