Fighting Human Trafficking

Human trafficking is a crime against humanity. In the past, only women and girls used to be trafficked, mostly to sell in the brothels in the southern neighbour. But in recent years, even men and boys are being trafficked not only to India but also to Gulf countries, as well as Africa, as bonded labourers. Although laws have been formulated criminalising human trafficking, and government agencies as well as non-governmental organisations have been working relentlessly to control this crime, incidents of human trafficking have been on the rise. It is evident from the fact that 2,121 individuals, including women, children, young men, and boys, were trafficked in a period of four years from mid-August 2021 to 2025. 

According to a news report published by this daily the other day, referring to police records, among the trafficked individuals, 731 were women and 394 were children. Similarly, authorities detained 1,181 individuals for their alleged involvement in trafficking, and 907 cases were filed against the individuals involved in human trafficking. This data clearly shows that despite arrests of individuals involved in human trafficking and filing cases against more individuals, the crime has not come under control. Police rescued 2,153 victims from across the country during the same period. Based on the officially registered cases, 400 persons on average fall prey to human trafficking in Nepal annually. 

Considering the increasing incidents of human trafficking and extended networks of traffickers, the ministers, police officers, and the representatives of organisations engaged in the fight against human trafficking have stressed the need for intensifying the fight against the crime and eliminating it. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Urban Development Prakash Man Singh, while addressing a function organised by the Ministry for Women, Children and Senior Citizens on the occasion of the 19th National Anti-Human Trafficking the other day, stressed the need for unity among all state mechanisms to fight this social evil. 

Likewise, Minister for Women, Children and Senior Citizens Nawal Kishor Sah suggested an amendment to the law related to human trafficking introduced in 2007. Minister Sah rightly pointed out the need to amend the law, as human trafficking has been thriving in Nepal under the pretext of foreign employment. Although official labour approval is mandatory for working abroad, numerous women are still trafficked without authorisation, particularly to Gulf countries, where they are exploited as domestic workers. 

Moreover, most women fall prey to traffickers through their relatives working as local agents of human traffickers. A study by the Anti-Human Trafficking Bureau of Nepal Police has concluded that most victims were lured with false promises, often by acquaintances or relatives. What is more worrying is that the local agents, motivated by money, often traffic their own relatives, neighbours, and even family members abroad illegally, acting as collaborators for organised traffickers. When relatives are involved in trafficking, it is difficult for many innocent women to realise that they are being trafficked. 

Nepal's open border with India has also served as a boon for the traffickers, as the trafficked women are taken to the Gulf, taking advantage of the open border. Some of the women trafficked thus return home with their children, as they are often sexually exploited by employers abroad. As such, an integrated approach of all government agencies, formulation of more practical laws and generation of massive awareness in public is essential to curb the crime of human trafficking.