Dr Bilesha Weeraratne Called for Better Mechanisms to Combat Human Trafficking Within Sri Lanka

22 April 2025

“When people leave the country for an overseas employment opportunity they have received from a personal contact or through social media, there is a significant risk of deception as there are less ‘checks’ and ‘balances’ to verify the authenticity of these employment opportunities,” said IPS Head of Migration and Urbanisation Dr Bilesha Weeraratne.

“We need to offer proper channels or mechanisms for cross-checking and verifying if these overseas employment opportunities are authentic,” she emphasised.

Sri Lanka has around 300,000 people leaving annually for overseas employment and more than 50% find employment opportunities through their own channels, not through recruitment or foreign employment agencies, noted Dr Weeraratne.

Those who did not seek overseas employment opportunities through the proper channels were at a higher risk of being deceived and exposed to criminal activities, such as cyber scams and human trafficking, she added.

As responses to combat human trafficking, Dr Weeraratne called for more favourable employment opportunities within Sri Lanka that matched the skills, education levels and professional qualifications of those in the workforce and an improved system to support Sri Lankans seeking employment overseas.

She made these statements while participating in the Thematic Dialogue on Preventing and Responding to Trafficking in Persons into Cyber-Scam Centres. This Thematic Dialogue was organised by the Regional Support Office (RSO) of the Bali Process and the Sri Lanka Anti-Human Trafficking Task Force, and was held at the Saman Kelegama Auditorium, IPS.

Dr Weeraratne also said Sri Lanka’s popular culture of labour migration to other countries, which most often results in positive outcomes, and the mismatch of aspirations, level of education and qualifications and the available employment opportunities in Sri Lanka, were some key ‘push’ factors that drove locals to seek employment overseas.

Dr Weeraratne also said providing clear information on the risks of human trafficking and people smuggling that could arise by pursuing unverified employment opportunities was one of the best practices that could mitigate the risks of Sri Lankans being victimised by such crimes.

“We should provide this information through the Education Ministry to A/L students entering the labour market soon. Sri Lanka’s unemployment rate is around 4.2% at the national level. However, within the 15-24 years age group, unemployment is around 22%, and within the 25-29 years age group unemployment is around 12%,” emphasised Dr Weeraratne, noting that young people would be more likely to pursue overseas employment.

The Bali Process on People Smuggling, Trafficking in Persons and Related Transnational Crime was established in 2002. Its main aim is to focus on long term strategies to address people smuggling, trafficking in persons and other related transnational crime in the Asia-Pacific region.