The Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE) has initiated islandwide awareness programmes with the objective of protecting Sri Lankans from foreign employment fraud and human trafficking.
Accordingly, an awareness programme was successfully conducted recently at the auditorium of the Anuradhapura District Secretariat to educate police officers of the Anuradhapura District on the legal framework related to human trafficking, the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment Act, and investigation procedures.
At present, a large number of Sri Lankans are showing keen interest in seeking foreign employment. As a result, incidents of foreign employment seekers falling victim to human trafficking and various fraudulent activities through social media and other channels have significantly increased. In this context, the primary objective of the programme was to prevent foreign employment seekers from being deceived by fraudulent individuals and to clearly explain the legal provisions that can be enforced against such offenders.
The SLBFE expects that enhancing the awareness of police officers—who are the law enforcement officers closest to the public at the regional level—will enable the delivery of more accurate and efficient services to the community.
With the primary aim of safeguarding foreign employment seekers from fraud, these awareness programmes are being implemented islandwide by the Legal Division of the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment in collaboration with the Anti-Human Trafficking Unit of the Bureau. This programme marks the first awareness initiative organised in this regard for the year.
The programme was attended by Anuradhapura District Secretary Ranjith Vimalasuriya, Deputy Inspector General of Police in charge of the North Central Province I.T.B. Sugathapala, Assistant Superintendent of Police – Thantirimale A.D. Seneviratne, Deputy General Manager (Legal) of the SLBFE Nelum Samarasekara, along with several other officials.
