The United Nations has declared July 30 World Day against Trafficking in Persons, calling for measures to end the crime.

The first World Day against Trafficking in Persons was observed in Nepal also today. Marking the day, Shakti Samuha — the first organisation in Nepal established and run by survivors of trafficking — demanded that the government address internal trafficking which is rampant in various parts of the country.

Sunita Danuwar, Chairperson, Shakti Samuha, said the government should act immediately to stop internal trafficking, especially women and children as they are the most detected victims. 

There are no actual numbers of persons fallen victim to trafficking in Nepal. According to Shakti Samuha, a report published by the International Labour Organisation in 2002 had put the numbers of Nepalis trafficked to other countries between 8,000 and 12,000. The number could have gone largely up in the past few years, she said. Estimates show, at any given time, an estimated 2.5 million people globally are trapped in modern-day slavery, targeted by traffickers for the purpose of sexual slavery, forced labour or commercial sexual exploitation.



“Currently, women and girls are brought to Thamel, the tourist hub in the capital city, which has been made a transit point by human traffickers,” she said. “The victims are flown to various countries like China and South Africa, among others, in tourist visa. This is one way of human trafficking that has cropped up of late and this crime needs to be brought to an end immediately,” she said. 

Utilising the platform of World Day against Trafficking in Persons, Danuwar urged government and non-government bodies, civil society and other concerned to join hands and to collectively fight the scourge of human trafficking. 

According to United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, globally more than a quarter of all human trafficking victims detected are children, but in some region this percentage is far higher — 68 per cent in Africa and the Middle East, 39 per cent in South Asia, East Asia and the Pacific, 27 per cent in America and 16 per cent in Europe and Central Asia.



Infographic courtesy: UNDOC

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called on people around the world to open their eyes to the crime of human trafficking and their hearts to the victims. “This first World Day against Trafficking in Persons is a call to action to end this crime and give hope to the victims, who often live unrecognised among us. To stop the traffickers, we must sever funding pipelines and seize assets. I urge all countries to ratify and fully implement the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organised Crime and its Protocol on Trafficking in Persons,” Ban said in a message on the occasion of first World Day against Trafficking in Persons. 

Ban also asked people to donate to the UN campaign: Have a Heart for Victims of Human Trafficking. Marking the first World Day against Trafficking in Persons, the staff of Shakti Samuha today exchanged the symbol of blue heart to express solidarity to the UN Campaign.

Published on: 31 July 2014 | The Himalayan Times