What is the issue?
- Following the 2015 Nepal earthquake, there has been threefold increase in human trafficking from Nepal to India.
- Most of the victims were reported to be minors and large number of women left the country to find employment abroad.
- The destination countries for most of them were Kyrgyzstan, Israel, West Asia, and India.
What are the concerns in identifying human trafficking?
- Identifying cases of human trafficking is not easy as no case of human trafficking has been registered since 2015.
- It is often difficult for the police to identify a human trafficking case at the source since the victim may have been lured through the false promise of marriage or a job.
- The Indo-Nepal Treaty of Peace and Friendship, 1950 provides for an open border between Nepal and India and there is a seamless human movement.
- Individuals are stopped only on the basis of suspicion, intelligence or information from family members or relatives.
What measures needs to be taken?
- Closing the border may prevent cross-border trafficking, but it could also engender economic vulnerabilities for those who have jobs or own businesses along the border.
- It is imperative to create economic opportunities, particularly for the youth, within the country.
- Nepal-India border needs to be equipped with enhanced intelligence networks and effective monitoring mechanisms.
Source: The Hindu
