Enroll in anti-human trafficking course: P Chidambaram to cops

New Delhi : Union Home Minister P Chidambaram has asked police officers to enroll themselves in anti-human trafficking course.

?It is important that all officers in the government, especially those in the police force mandatorily enroll in the certificate course in Anti-Human Trafficking from the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU),? said Chidambaram on Friday, while launching the initiative.

He asked the police force to include more women officers, who can sometime in their careers be ?good? anti-human trafficking officers.

Stating the importance of the course in curbing the menace, Chidambaram said, ?All of them must have a certain knowledge base without which it is not possible to be an effective officer. This cause should reach to all so that at every level, there is a certain direction towards which this problem could be addressed.?

He announced sporadic government efforts in curbing the threat with an anti-human trafficking cell established in the Ministry of Home Affairs, a project of law enforcement carried out in the country, selected states benefitting the initiatives with the United Nations curbing drugs and crime, books, resource material and programmes being conducted, police officers being trained for the cause by the Bureau of Police Training Research by setting up a module of training.

?Human trafficking in India is a bare cold fact. India is a signatory to the UNO on transnational plans and one of its protocols is addressing the suppression. Ratified in SAARC convention, India is a major activist in combating trafficking in women and children,? said the minister.

He said the problem has to be controlled with a ?more humane, intelligent and modern approach?.

This certificate program is substantially aimed to complement and further MHA?s efforts on training and competence building in the area. The scheme has two components, firstly, establishing integrated anti-human trafficking units and secondly, training of trainers.