Though India continues to be most favoured country for human trafficking in S.Asia, most states are still not combating the crime as a priority.
Renuka Chowdhury says she would resort to arm-twisting if they don't do so
NEW DELHI: Even as India continues to be the most favoured origin and destination for human trafficking in South Asia, most states in the country are still not combating the crime as a priority.
Despite claims of consolidated steps being taken by the union government to combat the menace, only three states in the country, Andhra Pradesh, Goa and West Bengal, have set up Anti-Human Trafficking Units (AHTU) till date.
Conviction rate in human trafficking cases remain low with states not prioritising the issue of trafficking, despite India being a signatory of the UN Protocol on Human Trafficking. The central government remains helpless on the case as law and order is a state subject.
However, at the inaugural session of the United Nations South Asia Regional Conference on Human Trafficking that commenced here on Wednesday, Union Minister for Women and Child Development (WCD), Renuka Chowdhury said that states could no longer treat tackling human trafficking as a matter of choice.
Chowdhury threatened to resort to “arm-twisting measures” to make states act stringently against flesh trade. However, the minister declined to comment on what these “arm-twisting measures” would be.
As per WCD estimates, three million women in India fall prey to trafficking annually in the country and 40 percent of these are minors. “Children as young as nine years of age are trafficked in India,” said Chowdhury, calling for an urgent need to initiate a national plan of action to combat trafficking across all states.
Chowdhury conceded that not enough was being done to combat the menace and said that while all states identified with the problem in principle, not many were doing much to tackle it.
Reiterating her stand on getting the proposed amendments in the Immoral Trafficking Prevention Act cleared soon, Chowdhury said she would not concede to a soft action against the ‘clients’.
Incidentally, the proposed amendments are languishing for consideration with a committee of Group of Ministers (GoMs) and the most contentious suggestion has been on a stern action against the clients of trafficking, with ministers Mani Shankar Aiyer and Kapil Sibal strongly objecting to the proposal.
As regards cross-border trafficking from neighbouring countries like Bangladesh, Chowdhury said: “We are working on a joint plan of action and a roadmap with Bangladeshi counterparts for quick and safe repatriation of cross border trafficking victims.”
The meet also witnessed the launch of the United Nations Global Initiative to Fight Human Trafficking and at the end of the two day convention, the participating SAARC countries would also sign a ‘Delhi Declaration’ outlining ways to combat human trafficking.
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