Date: 10th September 2012
Press Release
Interaction Program on ‘Legislation and Trafficking in Person and its Effect on Aspirant Women Migrant Worker’
On the occasion of the 15th National Anti-Trafficking Day, the Women’s Rehabilitation Centre (WOREC) in coordination with International Labour Organization (ILO) organized an interaction program on the 10th of September 2021 on ‘Legislation and Trafficking in Person and its Effect on Aspirant Women Migrant Worker.’ The main objective of the program was to discuss the issues related to trafficking in/from Nepal, including legislation and policies on trafficking, which is strongly rooted in a criminal approach. The program also focused on the discussion related to the proposed Trafficking in Persons Bill (TIP Bill), 2021 of India.
The event was officially opened by Lubha Raj Neupane, Executive Director of WOREC, and Sandhya Sitaula, the Project Coordinator at ILO Nepal, facilitated the program.
In the program, Binita Pandey, an advocate from WOREC, gave a presentation that covered the topics on how effective the government of Nepal’s criminal law is in providing justice to victims and in preventing trafficking. Pandey also focused her presentation on deconstructing the concepts of ‘migration’ and ‘trafficking’ referring to the proposed TIP bill of India.
According to Pandey, Migration, and trafficking can be confusing topics. Migration, or movement, is an element of trafficking, as are coercion and exploitation. Because of this connection, many people working on anti-trafficking have been concerned with larger migration issues for a long time. While the connection exists in practice and some advocates have been working at this intersection, migration, and trafficking are often kept separate – as separate concepts, as separate policies, and as separate social movements. Still, there is a thin nexus between these two phenomena.
“A punitive approach often leads to the confusion of trafficking with migration and of trafficking for sex work. However, it is pertinent to recognize migration as an important livelihood strategy that occurs in varied work sectors, including construction, domestic work, the textiles and garment industries and such,” said Pandey.
Pandey also stated that since legislation and policies related to trafficking in Nepal and the TIP bill of India remain strongly rooted in a criminal approach with little attention paid to the human rights dimension, the government and the stakeholders need to make a discussion on this issue, particularly considering the COVID-19 pandemic, which in Nepal and India has shown cases of increase in trafficking in person.
Speaking at the program, Harishchandra Ghimire, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, emphasized the sensitivity of the issue. Further, his focus was on bringing the aiders of the offense of trafficking in the ambit of the law.
“I believe the main reason behind the trafficking and unsafe migration is the lack of awareness on the negative consequences among the people who seek foreign employment via illegal route. Thus, it is important for concerned stakeholders to emphasize creating the awareness,” said Ghimire. Ghimire further said that the issues of illegal trafficking during the course of foreign employment can be controlled if the public officers involved work effectively.
Anjana Shrestha, Deputy Superintendent of Police, Anti-Human Trafficking Bureau, said that not only female but male is also the victim of the unsafe migration. “In the course of traveling through illegal route for foreign employment, the agents compel both men and females to stay on hold in India for a long time in the belief that they will be traveling via India to the destination country because of which they had to face ample of difficulties,” said Shrestha.
In such a situation, Shrestha stated that the proposed TIP bill this bill may help in rescuing the migrants who are going to foreign countries via illegal routes, but it also has a huge potential of stigmatizing the people who are not the victim of trafficking but are using the route via India to travel their destination countries for foreign employment.
Drawing the attention to the proposed TIP bill of India, Benu Maya Gurung, Executive Director of Alliance Against Trafficking In Women and Children in Nepal (AATWIN), expressed that since India and Nepal share an open border and India is both the destination and the transit country for foreign migration the proposed bill may have a lot of implication in our country as well. “Thus, it is important to discuss on the said bill not only limiting to the stakeholders in Nepal but also with the Stakeholders in India. And most importantly, it is crucial to bridge the gaps and harmonize the national laws with that of International Instruments related to the trafficking,” said Gurung.
In the closing remark, Richard Howard, Country Director, ILO Office, Nepal, focused on how the Nepal government’s restrictive policies on female migration have forced and compelled women to travel to countries of destination through informal channels. Thus, Howard stated that the restrictions on female migration have created greater vulnerabilities for women, who have faced increased exploitation and trafficking since they are compelled to travel those countries through informal channels.
Lubha Raj Neupane
Executive Director
WOREC