Nepal-Human Trafficking

Nepal, The Federal Republic of Nepal, is located in South Asia with a population of about 27 million people. It is the world’s 93^rd largest country by land mass. 81.3 percent of their religion practiced is Hinduism. Buddhism is linked with Nepal and is practiced by about 24 percent of a mixed population of people. Some of their population attributes their religion to both Hinduism and Buddhism. Their country has been run by a monarchy and is unified with small kingdoms until the communist party stood up against the government and agreed on an interim government.

            Their government is divided up into three powers: the executive, legislative, and executive branches. The country is also divided up into fourteen zones and seventy-five districts. Each district is headed by a chief. The government is headed by socialists with right wing parties.

            Nepal’s government is dealing with a big issue of human trafficking. Human trafficking has become a big issue in the country including sex trafficking and forced labor. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) defines human trafficking as "the recruitment, transport, transfer, harbouring or receipt of a person by such means as threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud or deception for the purpose of exploitation." Mainly women and young girls are forced into these forms of labor but not limited to.

            The right against exploitation specifically prohibits the trafficking of persons. Nepal also has three domestic laws in place that address girl trafficking and forced child labor, including the Labor Act of 1992, the Human Trafficking Control Act of Nepal of 1986, and the National Human Rights Commission Act of 1993. This defines what human trafficking is within the country and allows for strict laws. However, they have a hard time enforcing them. First, governments and society tend to judge the woman guilty of prostitution and minimize the trafficker's role in this crime. Secondly, government police officials are often corrupt; pimps maintain close relations with police and politicians in connection with their trafficking activities. Thirdly, few survivors press charges, reflecting that survivors have little trust towards law enforcement mechanisms or mechanisms are ineffective to bring the survivors to report.

            In India, many people are still trafficked despite the laws and are hard to enforce. People are put into positions where they are forced into many situations: sex, labor, marriage. Children are forced into these situations also. Being sold into many situations and ar subjected to forced labour as factory workers, domestic servants, beggars, and agriculture workers, and have been used as armed combatants by some terrorist and insurgent groups.