The United States will host a three-day conference in Colombo which is due to start on Friday for criminal justice officers on ways to combat human trafficking and child exploitation, the US embassy here said in a statement on Thursday.

A total of 45 Sri Lankan judges, prosecutors and investigators will participate in the conference which will also be attended by a US juvenile court judge and assistant attorney as well as a special agent of Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Sri Lanka has become a transit point for illegal foreign migrants, most of them from South Asian countries, who want to travel to Europe to seek job opportunities.

Some Sri Lankans also pay considerable amount to get them smuggled into European countries to find jobs there.

Source: Xinhua