Jul 15, 2014 - to trafficking, especially with regards to 'hard to reach' children such as those from marginalised ....
Child trafficking in Nepal: Causes, consequences and education as prevention Roisin Stallard
Acronyms AGC
Adolescent Group for Creative Awareness
BISAP
Bangladesh Integrated Social Advancement Programme
CBS
Central Bureau of Statistics (Nepal)
CEDAW
(United Nations) Convention to Eliminate All Forms of Discrimination Against Women
CRC
(United Nations) Convention on the Rights of the Child
CWIN
Child Workers in Nepal (NGO)
DEO
District Education Office
DFID
Department for International Development
DOE
Department of Education
ECPAT
End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography and Trafficking of Children for Sexual Purposes
HTTCA
Human Trafficking and Transportation (Control) Act
ILO
International Labour Organisation
ILO-IPEC
ILO International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour
MoWCSW
Ministry of Women, Children and Social Welfare
NHRC
National Human Rights Commission
OHCHR
Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
ONRTWC
Office of the National Rapporteur on Trafficking in Women and Children
OP
Optional Protocol
RHEST
Rural Health and Education Service Trust
SAARC
South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation
SMC
School Management Committee
TIP
Trafficking in Persons
UN
United Nations
UNESCO
United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organisation
UNODC
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
UNTOC
United Nations Convention against Transnational Organised Crime
UN.GIFT
United Nations Global Initiative to Fight Human Trafficking
VDC
Village Development Committee
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Executive Summary "The fight against human trafficking is a battle for justice, equality and dignity. It is a battle for human rights and for human decency" Jan Eliasson, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations. 25 June 2013. Child trafficking in Nepal is on the rise, with up to 20,000 children trafficked from Nepal each year, where many are forced to work in the commercial sex industry. In 2010 Childreach International, Childreach Nepal and Child to Child conducted a major research project into the causes of increased trafficking rates in two districts of central Nepal – Nuwakot and Sindhupalchok. The study revealed four main reasons behind the increased levels of child trafficking high school dropout rate for girls, the ease at which fake documentation such as birth certificates can be obtained, families sending their children abroad for employment and children choosing to leave their homes of their own accord to escape ill treatment and poverty. This paper investigates Nepal’s current climate of child trafficking, and examines the domestic and international mechanisms that seek to eradicate trafficking in Nepal and around the world. Our research will be presented and then used as a basis for our response, an education project that will reduce trafficking in Nuwakot through promoting and improving the quality of education, and increasing awareness of the dangers of sending children away to work. Keeping children in school, by improving the quality of education, is the best way to prevent trafficking, because a child in school is at a far lower risk of being trafficked than a child who has dropped out. Getting girls and boys into school and keeping them there is a vital step in reducing their vulnerability to trafficking, especially with regards to ‘hard to reach’ children such as those from marginalised communities1. Lack of access to education robs girls of the very real gains that decrease their vulnerability to trafficking: improved health, smaller family size, improved community status, and continued educational gains in future generations2. Those with the lowest levels of education and outof-school children are the easiest for traffickers to manipulate because they are more likely to accept unskilled or lower-skilled employment, such as domestic service or factory work3. Education increases standards of living that help keep women and girls out of the reach of traffickers4. When girls can go to school, they are physically protected in classrooms and psychologically building a sense of agency through their academic achievements – making them more self-sufficient. They are empowered to make decisions and exert control over their own lives. Every day, children in Nepal are at risk of being trafficked; a problem that is getting worse. Trafficked children face daily abuse and exploitation – harm that no child should ever have to face. It is our duty
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ILO/UNICEF/UN.GIFT. (2009). Training manual to fight trafficking in children for labour, sexual and other forms of exploitation. Textbook 2: Action against child trafficking at policy and outreach levels. Available at: http://www.unicef.org/protection/Textbook_2.pdf 2 U.S. State Department. (2010). Trafficking in Persons Report. Available at: http://www.state.gov/j/tip/rls/tiprpt/2010/ 3 UNICEF. (2009). Child Trafficking in East and South-East Asia: Reversing the Trend. Available at: http://www.unicef.org/eapro/Unicef_EA_SEA_Trafficking_Report_Aug_2009_low_res.pdf 4 Human Rights Advocate/Leone E. et. Al. Promoting Education and Employment for Women and Girls as Foundations for Effective Human Trafficking Prevention. Available at: http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:http://www.humanrightsadvocates.org/wpcontent/uploads/2010/05/Promoting_Ed_Employment__for_HT_Prevention_-_E_Leone.pdf
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to ensure that children are aware of the dangers of trafficking and to protect them from being subjected to such abuse and exploitation. To support this project, we have launched the #TaughtNotTrafficked campaign in collaboration with Sold, a movie telling the story of a twelve-year old girl trafficked from Nepal to an Indian brothel. An extraordinary tale of survival, the film is directed by Academy Award winning Jeffrey D Brown and based on the best-selling novel of the same name by Patricia McCormick. It shines a light on the fate of many girls who find themselves forced into sex work after being taken out of Nepal by traffickers under false promises of a better life. Gillian Anderson, who stars in Sold, says, “Working on this sensitively told film and with young women who have themselves experienced the unbelievable trauma of abduction and trafficking has opened my eyes to the horrors these young people face on a daily basis as well as the often life threatening danger those working at the charities put themselves in to free these innocent victims from modern day slavery. We also need to work on tackling the causes of trafficking and preventing it from happening in the first place. Education is key, which is why I’m proud to support the #TaughtNotTrafficked campaign with Childreach International.” Jeffrey D Brown, Sold director, says, “I wanted to create a film that could foster change and serve as a vehicle to raise funds for children that would make a substantial difference in their lives. When I picked up Sold, I felt McCormick’s words were the call to action I had been waiting for and optioned the book that day. Working closely with Childreach Nepal during the production of the film, it became clear that education was the key to making a real difference, so we jumped at the chance to help with Childreach International’s #TaughtNotTrafficked campaign to keep Nepali children in school.”
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Table of contents 1
Overview
6
2.1
Child trafficking in Nepal
8
2.2
Causes of child trafficking in Nepal
12
3.1
International mechanisms to combat trafficking in Nepal
14
3.2
Domestic mechanisms to combat trafficking in Nepal
19
4.1
Findings from 2012 consultations in Nuwakot district
21
4.2
Childreach International and Childreach Nepal’s proposed response
25
5
Recommendations to the Nepal and UK Governments
28
Acknowledgements
32
References
33
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1 Overview The United Nations (UN) considers trafficking to be the third largest international criminal industry, with traffickers making an estimated $32 billion annually5. It is a major human rights violation which denies children of their ability to exercise and realise a wide range of rights including the right to belong and have an identity; the right to freedom, education and healthcare; and the right to not be subjected to torture, or cruel and inhuman or degrading treatment. Child trafficking is therefore both a cause and an outcome of the non-fulfilment of rights. According to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), ‘a child means every human being below the age of 18 years unless, under the law applicable to the child, majority is attained earlier’6. The International Labour Organisation’s Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention and Trafficking Protocol respect the same definition7, therefore child trafficking is the trafficking of any individuals below the age of 18. The International Labour Organisation (ILO) estimates that 1.2 million children around the world are trafficked every year, with approximately 5.5 million children currently working in slave labour8. Fortythree percent of these trafficked children are forced into commercial sexual exploitation, 32% into involuntary servitude and 25% into a mixture of both9. The 2012 Global Report on Trafficking in Persons released by UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) revealed that 27% of all detected victims of human trafficking between 2007 and 2010 were children, an increase of 7% from the previous period (2003 to 2006)10. There has also been a corresponding increase in the number of female victims, who now constitute at least two-thirds of all trafficked children and 17% of all detected victims, in comparison with boys who make up 10%11. This is predominantly believed to be due to the increased demand for children in the sex tourism industry. Child trafficking is defined in Article 3 of the UN Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children (2000) as: 'The recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation. Exploitation shall include, at a minimum, the exploitation or the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual
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ILO. (2008). ILO Action Against Trafficking in Human Beings. Available at: http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/@ed_norm/@declaration/documents/publication/wcms_090356.pdf ; Human Security Report Project. (2005). Human Security Report 2005: War and Peace in the 21st Century. Available at: http://www.hsrgroup.org/human-security-reports/2005/text.aspx 6 UN General Assembly. (1989). Convention on the Rights of the Child, Article 1. Available at: http://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6b38f0.html 7 ILO. 1999. Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, C182. Available at: http://www.refworld.org/docid/3ddb6e0c4.html 8 ILO. (2008). ILO Action Against Trafficking in Human Beings. Available at: http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/@ed_norm/@declaration/documents/publication/wcms_090356.pdf 9ILO. (2005). Forced Labour and Human Trafficking: Estimating the Profits. Available at: http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_norm/---declaration/documents/publication/wcms_081971.pdf 10 UNODC. (2012). Global Report on Trafficking in Persons 2012. Available at: http://www.unodc.org/documents/data-andanalysis/glotip/Trafficking_in_Persons_2012_web.pdf 11 UNODC. (2012). Global Report on Trafficking in Persons 2012. Available at: http://www.unodc.org/documents/data-andanalysis/glotip/Trafficking_in_Persons_2012_web.pdf
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exploitation, forced labour or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs.'12 Child trafficking is therefore the movement of a child from one place to another, either within a country or across a border, by a group or individual into a situation where they face exploitation. Child trafficking is a multi-faceted problem and always involves multiple actors. Initially, children tend to be approached by someone in their local community, and, once recruited, another party is usually involved in transporting the children to their intended destination. A number of individuals are often complicit along the trafficking route, including taxi and bus drivers, train guards, immigration officials, border guards and hotel clerks. Others can be involved in the production and supply of forged identity papers that make the trafficked child more difficult to trace and subsequently leave him or her in a situation of illegal migration, in fear of detection and vulnerable to threats and continued coercion. As discussed by the UN Trafficking Protocol, the methods used by traffickers to recruit children include force, coercion, trickery, familial influence, or sometimes even by persuasion or deceit. In Nepal, trafficking seems to take place through informal networks with the collaboration of local officials, community and family members, and border officials, among others13. Sixty percent of the world’s 250 million child workers are located in Asia, with an estimated 1.6 million children in Nepal falling into the category of child labour14. Six hundred and twenty thousand of those children are employed in hazardous work15. Child trafficking in Nepal has been on the rise in recent years, with children constituting 36% of all trafficking victims from Nepal16. Nepal is classified as a Tier 2 country by the U.S. State Department, which means that while Nepal fails to meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking, it is making significant efforts to do so despite limited resources17. The second section of this report will examine the current situation of child trafficking in Nepal, and will also explore the country-specific factors contributing to the issue. Section three will then assess the international mechanisms, including relevant UN Conventions, and domestic mechanisms available in Nepal to combat child trafficking. The fourth section will look at Childreach International and Childreach Nepal's research into child trafficking in two districts in Nepal (Sindhupalchok and Nuwakot), before discussing our proposed response. Section five will conclude with proposed recommendations to the UK and Nepali governments on how to better combat child trafficking in Nepal.
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UN General Assembly. (2000). Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, Supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime. Available at: http://www.refworld.org/docid/4720706c0.html 13 UN General Assembly. (2007). Implementation of GA resolution 60/251 addendum A/HRC/4/23/Add.1. Available at: http://www2.ohchr.org/english/issues/trafficking/docs/CommunicationReport2007.pdf 14 ILO-IPEC/Tumlin, Karen. (2000). Trafficking in children in Asia; a regional overview. http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---asia/---ro-bangkok/---ilokathmandu/documents/publication/wcms_182988.pdf 15 http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---asia/---ro-bangkok/---ilokathmandu/documents/publication/wcms_182988.pdf 16 Directorate of Women and Children Service Centre, Nepal Police in UNODC. (2012). Global Report on Trafficking in Persons 2012. http://www.unodc.org/documents/data-andanalysis/glotip/Trafficking_in_Persons_2012_web.pdf 17 United States Department of State. (2014). Trafficking in Persons Report 2014. Available at: http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/226848.pdf
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2.1
Child trafficking in Nepal
Nepal is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia with a population of approximately 27.4 million in 2014, 42.3% of which are children under the age of 1418. When ranked by average national income, it is the 16th poorest country in the world with 25.2% of the population living below the national poverty line in 201019. Nepal is considered to be a source, transit and destination country for men, women, and children who are subjected to forced labour and sex trafficking. Nepali women and girls are subjected to sex trafficking within Nepal, particularly in the adult entertainment industry and massage parlours, as well as across borders in India, the Middle East, China, Malaysia, Hong Kong, South Korea, and Sweden. Nepali men, women and children are subjected to forced labour in Nepal, India, the Middle East, China, Malaysia and South Korea in construction, factories, mines, domestic work, begging and the adult entertainment industry20. Nepali and Indian children are subjected to forced labour within the country, especially in domestic work, brick kilns, and the embroidered textile or zari industry. Bonded labour continues to exist in agriculture, brick kilns, the stone-breaking industry, and domestic servitude. Nepal is classified as a Tier 2 country by the U.S. State Department, which means that while it does not meet minimum standards for the elimination of child trafficking, it is making significant efforts to do so despite limited resources. On the Global Slavery Index from 2013, Nepal has the fifth highest prevalence of modern slavery behind Mauritania, Haiti, Pakistan and India21.
Raji’s Story Raji thinks she was beaten five or six times during the seven months she spent in India working on building sites after being trafficked from her village in mid-western Nepal, lured by promises of a well-paid job as a domestic help. She was 16 at the time. “It was very hard,” she says. “We had to carry bricks; not just one or two, lots of bricks… you had to put the basket on your head. After that, they would put more than 20 bricks in it at one time. We carried them up two floors.” The woman who persuaded Raji’s parents to let her go to India said she would get good clothes, and meat to eat every day. “We’d been told we could get 180 rupees (£1.76) a day. But they gave me 100 rupees (£0.98) just one time. Once, we tried to escape at night, but they found us and beat us”. The Guardian. May 8, 2013. Nepal struggles to contain human trafficking problem. Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/poverty-matters/2013/may/08/nepalstruggles-human-trafficking-problem
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UNICEF. (2012) Nepal Statistics. Available at: http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/nepal_nepal_statistics.html World Bank, Global Poverty Working Group. (2010). Poverty headcount ratio at national poverty line (% of population). Available at: http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SI.POV.NAHC 20 U.S. State Department. (2014). Trafficking in Persons Report 2014. Available at: http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/226848.pdf 21 Walk free Foundation. (2013). Global Slavery Index. Available at: http://www.ungift.org/doc/knowledgehub/resourcecentre/2013/GlobalSlaveryIndex_2013_Download_WEB1.pdf 19
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The political situation in Nepal is fairly unstable, with the country currently being run by a coalition government with limited decision-making authority. In such a situation of instable government, dealing with the complexity of human-trafficking related crimes is challenging. The instability and prolonged political transition has created favourable conditions for various forms of modern slavery and trafficking to thrive. Crippled economic growth and high levels of poverty have meant that Nepali men, women and children have been forced to find work overseas in poorly regulated environments. Tied to widespread ethnic and gender inequalities, members of the lower castes, particularly women and children, are frequently denied access to basic rights and infrastructure that might mitigate their risks of enslavement such as education, healthcare, employment and justice.
Figure 1: Breakdown of global trafficking victims by gender (2009)
11% Men Women 33%
53%
Boys Girls
3%
The UNODC Global Report in Trafficking 2012 notes that women constitute 53% of all Nepali trafficking victims, girls 33%, men 11% and boys 3%22. Women and girls therefore make up 86% of the total number of trafficking victims from Nepal. This is because they are especially vulnerable due to limited economic opportunities, illiteracy or low education, and low socioeconomic and cultural status. It is believed that between 12,000 and 20,000 children are trafficked from Nepal every year23. The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) of Nepal estimates that 11,500 people were trafficked or almost trafficked in 2011, up from 5,500 in 201024. The predominant labour sector that trafficked Nepali children are forced to work in is prostitution. It is understood that between 16% and 33% of female workers in the adult entertainment industry in Nepal are under the age of 1825. Nepal’s role as a destination for foreign child sex tourists also appears to be growing. Close to 20% of sex workers in Kathmandu are said to be younger than 17 and the majority originate from rural areas, with 60% of children saying that they entered prostitution under
22
UNODC. (2012). Global Report on Trafficking in Persons 2012. Available at: http://www.unodc.org/documents/data-andanalysis/glotip/Trafficking_in_Persons_2012_web.pdf 23 UNEP. (2011). Women at the frontline of climate change: Gender risks and hopes. Available at http://www.grida.no/publications/rr/women-and-climate-change/ 24 NHRC. (2011). Trafficking in Persons Especially Women and Children in Nepal - National Report 2011. Available at: http://www.nhrcnepal.org/nhrc_new/doc/newsletter/National%20Report%20on%20Traffiking%20in%20Persons%20%20E specially%20%20on%20women%20and%20Children%20in%20Nepal%20-%202012.pdf 25 Shakti Samuha – A Study on the Condition of Slavery among Girls and Women Employed in the Restaurants and Massage Parlours of Kathmandu Valley, cited in ECPAT. (2011). Global monitoring status of action against commercial sexual exploitation of children. Available at: http://www.ecpat.net/sites/default/files/A4A_V2_SA_NEPAL.pdf
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force26. Children, especially girls, are not only trafficked internally to urban centres in Nepal for prostitution, but they are also trafficked to India and Bangladesh to work in brothels. It is believed that approximately 200,000 Nepali girls are currently working in Indian brothels, of whom 20% are under 16 years of age27. Nepali traffickers who sell the girls to brothel owners can sometimes earn a price of 60,000 to 70,000 Indian rupees (£580-£680) for each girl sold in Calcutta and 100,000 to 120,000 (£970-£1,170) for each girl sold in Mumbai28. Young girls working in dhabas (Highway Hotels), dance bars, cabin restaurants and massage parlours in Kathmandu that facilitate sex trafficking is also common29. More than half of commercial sex workers in Nepal and a quarter in India said their families were financially indebted when they were children and they had been forced to work as sex workers to repay their family's debt30. The bordering towns of Tibet are also rapidly becoming a destination for girls trafficked from Nepal for sexual exploitation31. Upon arriving at their new destination, the girls are not taken to the brothels directly but are given time to adjust to their new surroundings in outside homes. They are then informed of the work they will be expected to do, how they have to dress and behave and are then manipulated into thinking that they themselves, or their families, have incurred a debt that they will have to repay by working as prostitutes. When they start working, they are often locked in the brothel. It has been reported that brothel owners often take between 90-95% of earnings, leaving the girls financially unable to look after themselves32. If the girls are ever freed or even manage to escape, it is extremely difficult for them to return to their families in Nepal because of the stigma attached to their previous work in the sex industry, which often means they are rejected by their families and communities. Many of them therefore return to Nepal and, rather than returning home, they take up work in urban centres as prostitutes where they work as "free agents". Nepali girls are also trafficked internally and to India, China and countries in the Gulf to work as domestic servants, beggars and factory workers33. Nepali boys are also trafficked from Nepal, and are exploited in domestic servitude and also forced labour in brick kilns, metal workshops, the zari (embroidered textiles) industry and are often forced to work in mines because they are the only people small enough to manoeuvre within the mines34. Boys from impoverished and poorly educated families are also vulnerable to being trafficked to work as hawkers and camel jockeys in the Gulf, Bangladesh and India35. Bonded labour (the provision of labour or services as repayment for a loan or debt) also exists in agriculture, cattle rearing, brick kilns, the stone-breaking industry and domestic 26
ILO-IPEC. (2003). Internal Trafficking Among Children and Youth Engaged in Prostitution. Available at: http://www.ilo.org/legacy/english/regions/asro/newdelhi/ipec/download/resources/nepal/nppubl02eng7.pdf 27 ECPAT/Pradham-Malia, Sapana. (2004). Report on Laws and Legal Procedures Concerning the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children. 28 UN General Assembly. (2007). Implementation of GA resolution 60/251 addendum A/HRC/4/23/Add.1. Available at: http://www2.ohchr.org/english/issues/trafficking/docs/CommunicationReport2007.pdf 29 U.S. State Department. (2011). Trafficking in Persons Report. http://www.state.gov/j/tip/rls/ tiprpt/2011/ 30 New Era/UNICEF. (1998). A Situation Analysis of Sex Work and Trafficking in Nepal with Reference to Children 31 The Guardian. (30 January 2012). Beirut Death of Nepalese Migrant Worker Lila. www.theguardian.com/news/video/2012/jan/30/beirut-death-nepalese-migrant-video 32 ILO-IPEC. (2001). Nepal Trafficking in Girls with Special Reference to Prostitution: A Rapid Assessment. Available at: http://www.ilo.int/legacy/english/regions/asro/newdelhi/ipec/download/resources/nepal/nppubl01eng9.pdf 33 U.S. Department of State (2013). Trafficking in Persons Report 2013. www.state.gov/j/tip/rls/ tiprpt/2013/index.htm 34 U.S. Department of State (2013). Trafficking in Persons Report 2013. www.state.gov/j/tip/rls/ tiprpt/2013/index.htm; 35 ILO-IPEC. (2002). Trafficking and Sexual Abuse among Street Children in Kathmandu. http://www.ilo.org/ipec/Informationresources/WCMS_IPEC_PUB_773/lang--en/index.htm
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servitude even though it was criminalised in 2008 by the Bonded Labour Act. There have also been reports of Nepali women and girls being trafficked to India where they are forced to marry Indian men36. This is because sex-selective abortion of female foetuses in certain parts in India has been, and is, rife, resulting in a situation where there is an excess of unmarried young men looking for wives. Those children who have willingly sought labour abroad in low-skilled sectors often face conditions indicative of forced labour such as the withholding of passports, restrictions on movement, nonpayment of wages, deprivation of food and sleep, and physical or sexual abuse37. This travel is often facilitated by recruitment fraud and high recruitment fees charged by Nepal-based brokers and agencies, with Nepali migrants paying up to $12,000 to recruiters, which is more than ten times the average GDP per capita in Nepal38. Many are deceived about their destination country, the terms of their contract, or are subjected to debt bondage, which can be facilitated by fraud and high recruitment fees charged by unscrupulous agents. The implications of child trafficking are devastating. Child trafficking has a hugely significant impact on trafficked children and their families. Not only may it result in the death or permanent injury of the trafficked child, but they are also denied access to education, healthcare, subjected to violence, starved, and may become addicted to drugs if the traffickers use drugs as ‘payment’ or to keep the children quiet. Trauma is often prolonged and repeated, leading to severe psychological impacts. The United Nations Global Initiative to Fight Human Trafficking (UN.GIFT) reports that trafficked children often suffer from depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder39. Parents who send their children away for foreign employment are often unaware of the terms and conditions of the work their children will be forced to perform. Many believe their children will become well-treated domestic workers, when in actual fact they will be forced to work in prostitution and are facing regular abuse. Since trafficked children rarely continue their education, the economic development of local communities may be affected as returning children find it harder to secure employment in later life. One of the main problems facing communities is the increase in HIV in the home areas of returning trafficking victims. Recent research with repatriated Nepali women who have worked in the commercial sex market reveals that trafficked women face a much higher risk of contracting HIV than non-trafficked women. A 2007 study of repatriated Nepali sex-trafficked girls and women found that 38% of them tested positive for HIV40. Repatriation of victims is extremely difficult as many families and communities are unwilling to accept trafficked children back, either because of the financial burden or because of the strong stigma associated with sex workers. Even after repatriation, a child who has been previously trafficked in Nepal is at a higher risk of being trafficked and exploited again.
36
The New York Times (October 16 2013). Sex Trafficking in India. Available at: www.nytimes.com/2013/10/16/opinion/sex-trafficking-in-india.html?_r=0 37 U.S. Department of State (2013). Trafficking in Persons Report 2013. www.state.gov/j/tip/rls/ tiprpt/2013/index.htm 38 Ibid. 39 UNODC-UN.GIFT. (2008). Human Trafficking: An Overview. Available at: http://www.ungift.org/doc/knowledgehub/resource-centre/GIFT_Human_Trafficking_An_Overview_2008.pdf 40 Silverman et. al. Department of Society, Human Development and Health, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, USA. (2007). HIV prevalence and predictors of infection in sex-trafficked Nepalese girls and women. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17666674
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2.2
Causes of child trafficking in Nepal
Child trafficking victims are rarely affected or influenced by only one factor; rather, it is the compounding of several social, economic, cultural or familial factors that renders them susceptible to being exploited and this is most certainly the case in Nepal41. Human trafficking is often conceptualised using the economic model of supply and demand, wherein those who are trafficked constitute the 'supply', while the traffickers, those who profit from the exploitation - and those using the trafficked children as a service provide the 'demand'. Trafficking rates are so high in Nepal because of the ease at which victims, especially children, can be recruited because of the extensive push and pull factors that drive the supply side of child trafficking. Child trafficking in Nepal is often carried out through informal networks with the collaboration of local officials, community members, border officials and especially family members, who often play a substantial role in the trafficking of children. There is a strong correlation between a child in poverty and the likelihood of being trafficked. Poverty in Nepal is extremely high, with 25.2% living below the national poverty line in 2011 and a per capita income of only $699 USD (£408.39) in 201242. Poverty can push or pull children and their families into economic migration, lead to economic hardship that incites family breakdown or even leads to the outright sale of children for the purpose of labour exploitation. Debt bondage is also common in Nepal (despite its illegality) and so families are forced to send their children away for work to repay a debt. More than half of commercial sex workers in Nepal and a quarter in India said their families were indebted when they were children which is why they were working in the sex industry43. Families may also send children to work in the hope that they will at least be properly fed and provided with the basic necessities which they may not be able to receive back at home44. The majority of the time parents are misled about the type of work their child will be involved in. A lack of education or viable employment opportunities will also result in families struggling to earn adequate income to support themselves, and often children are forced to drop out of school altogether to go out to work to bring in food or money for their families. This unsurprisingly leaves the children with little education and prevents them from getting well-paid jobs in the future, leaving them vulnerable to exploitation45. The number of children dropping out of education is very high in Nepal. In 2012, 44.09% of girls and 45.39% of boys dropped out of primary school46. In 2012, there were 81,526 children of primary school age out of school in Nepal, and 122,238 adolescents who ought to have enrolled in lower-secondary education47. When children are out of school they are more likely to be trafficked.
41
UNICEF. (2009). Child Trafficking in East and South-East Asia: Reversing the Trend. Available at: http://www.unicef.org/eapro/Unicef_EA_SEA_Trafficking_Report_Aug_2009_low_res.pdf 42 World Data Bank. (2010). Poverty headcount at national poverty line (% population); World Data Bank. (2012). GDP per capita (current US$) 43 New Era/UNICEF. (1998). A Situational Analysis of Sex Work and Trafficking in Nepal with Reference to Children. 44 UNODC/UN Women/UN.Gift. (2011). Responses to Human Trafficking in Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Sri Lanka: Legal and Policy Review. Available at: http://www.unodc.org/documents/humantrafficking/2011/Responses_to_Human_Trafficking_in_Bangladesh_India_Nepal_and_Sri_Lanka.pdf 45 UNICEF. (2009). UNICEF. (2009). Child Trafficking in East and South-East Asia: Reversing the Trend. Available at: http://www.unicef.org/eapro/Unicef_EA_SEA_Trafficking_Report_Aug_2009_low_res.pdf 46 UNESCO Institute of Statistics. (2012). Cumulative drop-out rate to the last grade of primary education. 47 UNESCO Institute of Statistics. (2012). Number of out-of-school children of primary school age & number of out-ofschool adolescents of lower secondary school age.
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Nepal is largely considered to be a patriarchal society, with discrimination against women and girls highly institutionalised48. This is further exacerbated by poverty, lack of awareness and a culture of silence, impunity and poor law enforcement. This means that girls are more affected by push and pull factors than their male counterparts as they face fewer employment and vocational training opportunities49. As girls find it much more difficult to find work, they may also be seen as a greater financial burden on families, as they have to be provided for rather than able to provide. Where domestic violence, alcoholism and even incest are common, it is also likely that a child will choose to leave their domestic environment in order to make a life for themselves elsewhere. A study carried out by UNICEF of 3,960 children in Kathmandu found that 18% of the children had experienced some form of sexual abuse such as fondling over or under clothes and kissing - 22.3% were girls and 13.5% boys50. Nine percent reported experiencing sexual abuse involving having their body kissed, oral sex and penetration51. What the study and numerous other studies have revealed is that the perpetrators are frequently family members, relatives and neighbours. This data goes some way towards explaining why children themselves choose to run away from home and look for employment and opportunity elsewhere. A survey carried out by the ILO International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (ILO-IPEC) into trafficking and sexual abuse among street children in Kathmandu revealed that 49% had run away from home because of ill treatment by their family, including physical abuse52. According to the State of the World's Children Report from 2011, 23% of Nepali women aged between 15 to 49 years old would consider their husband justified in beating or hitting them if they argued with him, burnt the dinner or neglected their children53. What is clear from this is that domestic violence is common in Nepal and child abuse is also rife. These types of abuse can lead to a loss of self-worth and self-esteem, social isolation, feelings of hopelessness and helplessness; factors that would all cause a child to become disenchanted with their home environment and may cause them to seek opportunities elsewhere54. Traffickers also typically target low-caste groups or those that are marginalised in Nepal55. Children from marginalised communities such as those from minority ethnic, tribal and religious communities are often left unprotected by weak legal and policy frameworks, making them much more vulnerable to being trafficked. A lack of awareness about the dangers associated with trafficking may also influence the prevalence of trafficking. Often, recruiters visit villages and approach unwary parents with glamorous stories promising a better life, and tales of incredible job prospects are spun before unsuspecting parents. Recruiters and returnees often fail to mention the fact that the jobs waiting for them are actually in forced prostitution, hard manual labour or domestic servitude, where the children are likely to face abuse. Trust is a huge problem, as many trafficked people are victims of their own relatives, friends
48
Terre des Hommes. (2003). Child Trafficking in Nepal. An Assessment of the Present Situation. Available at: http://www.tdh.ch/en/documents/child-trafficking-in-nepal-an-assessment-of-the-present-situation 49
Ibid. UNICEF. Violence against children in Nepal. Available at: http://www.unicef.org/nepal/Voilence_Against_Children_series_3.pdf 51 UNICEF. Violence against children in Nepal. Available at: http://www.unicef.org/nepal/Voilence_Against_Children_series_3.pdf 52 U.S. State Department. (2013). Trafficking in Persons Report. Available at: http://www.state.gov/j/tip/rls/tiprpt/2013/?utm_source=Subscribers&utm_campaign=35f27bd04cTrafficking_Bulletin_Issue_9_July_20137_22_2013&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_1002a3b355-35f27bd04c92744149 53 UNICEF. (2011). State of the World’s Children. Available at: http://www.unicef.org/sowc2011/ 54 UNICEF. (2009). Child Trafficking in East and South-East Asia: Reversing the Trend. Available at: http://www.unicef.org/eapro/Unicef_EA_SEA_Trafficking_Report_Aug_2009_low_res.pdf 55 U.S. State Department. (2013). Trafficking in Persons Report. Available at: http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/210741.pdf 50
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and partners. Young women and girls especially are often lured by men who promise them marriage, a good life, work or money, and then become duped into prostitution or domestic servitude56. Children are vulnerable to peer pressure and the attraction of the urban lifestyle and modern consumer items are also likely to entice them into going with traffickers of their own accord57. In addition to this, children are unaware of their legal rights or are made to feel as though they cannot exercise their rights, which means that they do not fully understand that forced labour is illegal and that perpetrators can face criminal prosecution. Birth registration in Nepal is extremely low with only 42% of children under the age of five registered in 2013, which means that a number of Nepali children are born without officially being declared on record58. This is not only a violation of their rights, but with no official recognition of their names and nationalities and no official registration of both, they are more difficult to trace if they disappear, making it far easier for traffickers to hide them. According to UNICEF, only 35% of children under the age of five have been registered at birth59. When trafficked between countries a lack of legal identity also impacts on the repatriation process as it complicates country of origin identification and family tracing. A large number of genuine Nepali passports containing false information that officials in India have encountered in trafficking cases may be the result of some Nepali officials working with traffickers to provide them with documents. In fact, in many cases the brothels or cabin bars where children are forced to work in Kathmandu and other Nepali centres are often co-owned by government officials and army officers60. Nine airport officials are currently under investigation for taking bribes to allow workers travelling on falsified visas to pass immigration control, a traffickingrelated offence. The U.S. State Department’s 2014 report into trafficking in Nepal notes that there have been continued incidents of ‘trafficking related complicity’ by government and political party officials. As previously mentioned, a number of factors are responsible for child trafficking in Nepal. The next section will discuss in detail the causes of child trafficking in two districts of Nepal - Nuwakot and Sindhupalchok – revealed during consultations with 512 adults and children.
3.1
International mechanisms
A number of UN and ILO conventions contain provisions criminalising child trafficking, however the foremost convention banning child trafficking is the UN Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children (2000). The Trafficking Protocol gives the most comprehensive legal framework for defining and criminalising trafficking in human beings at the international level, and it provides the first widely accepted, detailed and comprehensive definition of trafficking. The full protection of children within the anti-trafficking context requires the ratification and implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), its two Optional Protocols (OPs) and its Convention to Eliminate All forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). While Nepal has ratified the CRC, its two OPs and CEDAW, it has not ratified the Trafficking Protocol. There 56
Body Shop & ECPAT. (2009). Their Protection is in Our Hands – The State of Global Child Trafficking for Sexual Purposes. Available at: http://www.ecpat.net/sites/default/files/Full_Report_Global_Child_Trafficking_for_Sexual_Purposes.pdf 57 ILO/IPEC. (2002). Trafficking and sexual abuse among street children in Kathmandu. 58 UNICEF. (2014). State of the World’s Children. Available at: http://www.unicef.org/sowc2014/numbers/ 59 UNICEF. (2011). State of the World’s Children. Available at:
http://www.unicef.org/adolescence/files/SOWC_2011_Main_Report_EN_02092011.pdf 60
U.S. State Department. (2013). Trafficking in Persons Report. Available at: http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/210741.pdf
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also exists a number of legal recommendations such as ILO's non-binding principles and guidelines for a rights-based approach to labour migration (2005) and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)'s 'Recommended Principles and Guidelines on Human Rights and Human Trafficking' (2002) to provide extra guidance to countries on how best to combat trafficking. Table 1: Conventions on human trafficking and Nepal’s signing status Name of Convention
Status in Nepal
UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime
Signed 12 December 2002, ratified 23 December 2011
UN Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking Not signed in Persons, Especially Women and Children 2000
Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea Not signed and Air 2000 UN Convention on the Rights of the Child 1989
Signed 26 January 1990, ratified 14 September 1990
Optional Protocol to CRC on Sale of Children, Child Prostitution, Child Pornography 2002
Signed 8 September 2000, Ratified 20 January 2006
UN Convention on the Rights of Migrant Workers and Their Families 1990
Not signed
CEDAW
Signed 5 February 1991, Ratified 22 April 1991
ILO Convention No. 182 on the Worst Forms of Child Labour 1999
Ratified 3 January 2002
ILO Convention No. 138 on Minimum Age 1973
Ratified 30 May 1997 (Minimum age 14)
ILO Forced Labour Convention No.29 1930
3 January 2002
SAARC Convention of Preventing and Combating Signed 5 January 2002 Trafficking in Women and Children for Prostitution 2002 and SAARC Convention on Regional Arrangements for the Promotion of Child Welfare in South Asia
The United Nations Convention against Transnational Organised Crime (UNTOC) is a 2000 UNsponsored multilateral treaty against transnational organised crime. It was adopted by a resolution of the UN General Assembly on 15 November 2000. It is the main international instrument in the fight against transnational organised crime. The Convention makes specific reference to criminalising the complicity of officials in organised crime, of which trafficking is a part. This is directly relevant to Nepal
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due to the continued participation of Nepali government officials in the process of trafficking61. Nepal ratified this Convention on 23 December, 2011. As previously mentioned, the primary international legislation governing child trafficking is the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, supplementing UNTOC. It was adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2000 and entered into force on 25 December, 2003. It is the first global, legally binding instrument with an agreed comprehensive definition on trafficking in persons that criminalises all forms of human trafficking. The intention behind the definition is to facilitate convergence in national approaches with regard to the establishment of domestic criminal offences that would support efficient international cooperation in investigating and prosecuting trafficking cases. An additional objective of the Protocol is to protect and assist the victims of trafficking with full respect for their human rights. It reaffirms the notion that a child is anyone under the age of 18, and covers the following: -
Facilitating the return and acceptance of children who have been victims of cross-border trafficking with due regard for their safety Prohibiting the trafficking of children for purposes of sexual or labour exploitation Suspending parental rights of parents and guardians should they be found to have trafficked a child Ensuring that trafficked children are not punished for offences or activities relating to their being trafficked, including prostitution or immigration violations Providing for proportional criminal penalties to be applied to persons found guilty of trafficking Providing for the physical, social and psychological recovery of victims through rehabilitation, education and employment opportunities and counselling Providing for repatriation of trafficking victims Training officials and promoting community awareness
It also notes that even where a victim has consented to being moved, the act is still classed as trafficking if they have been coerced, have received payment, or have been heavily influenced by a peer. This is particularly relevant in the cases of child trafficking where those under the age of 18 lack the ability to give consent. Nepal however, has failed to ratify this OP and the OP against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air. The latter OP’s specific aim is to protect the rights of migrants, however it is an essential part of a comprehensive international approach to combat people smuggling and trafficking. Signing and ratifying UNTOC and its Protocols would enhance the level of international cooperation among State Parties to the Convention to fight child trafficking. This will help Nepal combat and prevent human trafficking and will assist in the repatriation of trafficking survivors. The CRC is a human rights treaty setting out the civil, political, social, economic, health and cultural rights of children. The Convention was signed by Nepal on 26 January 1990 and ratified on 14 September 1990. The Convention defines a child as any human being under the age of 18. The main provisions of the CRC which explicitly deal with child trafficking are Articles 32, 34, 35 and 36. Article 32 binds State Parties to ensure that children are protected from economic exploitation and to ensure that they are not performing work that could be considered as hazardous or a hindrance to a child's development. It also requests State Parties to provide for a minimum age for admission to employment; to provide for appropriate working hours and conditions and to provide for appropriate penalties for lack of enforcement of the article. Article 34 orders State Parties to undertake necessary measures to protect children from all forms of sexual exploitation and sexual abuse. They must
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undertake specific measures to prevent children from being forced or coerced into unlawful sexual activity; to prevent the use of children in prostitution and other unlawful sexual practices and they must prevent the use of children in pornographic materials and performances. Article 35 requests States Parties to ‘take all appropriate national, bilateral and multilateral measures to prevent the abduction of, the sale of or traffic in children for any purpose in any form’. This article is quite explicit as it is not only criminalising the trafficking of children for sexual purposes, but is criminalising all forms of trafficking. Article 36 requests that State Parties shall protect children from any form of exploitation that may affect a child's welfare. These provisions relate specifically to the child's right to be protected from trafficking, economic exploitation and from hazardous work, and to be protected from sexual abuse and exploitation. Other important Articles in the CRC are Articles 2 (non-discrimination), 3 (primacy of the best interests of the child), 6 (right to life and survival) and 37 (freedom from torture, right to liberty). It may also be worth noting that India has also ratified the CRC. This means that India owes the outlined obligations to all children within their territory, even Nepali children. The OP to the CRC on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Pornography was signed by Nepal on 8 September 2000 and came into effect on 20 January 2006. It requires states to prohibit the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography. Article 1 declares that states must protect the rights and interests of child victims of trafficking, child prostitution and child pornography, child labour and especially the worst forms of child labour. Article 3 calls upon states to ensure that the acts of sexual exploitation of a child, transfer of organs of the child for profit and the engagement of the child in forced labour are covered as a minimum under its criminal or penal law, whether such offences are committed domestically or transnationally or on an individual or organised basis. Article 8 calls upon State Parties to adopt appropriate measures to protect the interests and rights of child victims of the practices prohibited under the Protocol. Article 9 calls upon states to strengthen, implement and disseminate laws, programmes and social policies that will work to prevent the offences outlined in the Protocol. It also calls upon State Parties to promote awareness through means such as education and training, and also to take all measures necessary to ensure repatriation, rehabilitation and compensation of trafficking child victims. However, The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child notes that the State Party has failed to take the necessary measures to ensure the full incorporation of the OP into its domestic legal system. The UN Convention on the Rights of Migrant Workers and their Families also includes some provisions on trafficking. It acknowledges that irregular migrant workers are frequently exploited and face serious human rights violations, and subsequently calls upon states to take appropriate action to prevent and eliminate clandestine movements and trafficking in migrant workers while also protecting their human rights. Article 68 is particularly relevant for the prevention and elimination of trafficking in persons and smuggling of migrants. It invites State Parties to collaborate with a view to preventing and eliminating illegal or clandestine movements and employment of migrant workers in an irregular situation. The measures State Parties should take include: (a) measures against the dissemination of misleading information relating to emigration and immigration; (b) measures to detect and eradicate illegal or clandestine movements of migrant workers and members of their families and to impose effective sanctions on persons, groups or entities that organise, operate and assist in organising or operating such movements; (c) measures to impose effective sanctions on persons, groups or entities that use violence, threats or intimidation against migrant workers or members of their families in an irregular situation. Nepal and India have failed to ratify this Convention and so their citizens are unable to take advantage of the measures outlined within it. The ILO also has relevant conventions in existence that aim to protect children from labour exploitation. The ILO Minimum Age Convention (No. 138) calls upon State Parties to define the age at
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which a child is legally allowed to work which is usually linked to the age for compulsory education. The Convention however specifies that there should be a minimum age of 14 years for employment. For work that may prove harmful to a child as it jeopardises their health, safety or morals, the minimum age should be set to 18. Those children between the ages of 13 and 15 may work so long as it does not disrupt their attendance at school or their participation in vocational training and so long as the work is not harmful to their health or development. The ILO Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention (No. 182) specifies that trafficking is in itself a worst form of child labour. The worst forms of child labour are defined as slavery, the sale and trafficking of children, serfdom, the use of a child in pornography or prostitution and the use of children in the production of illicit materials. It also makes reference to bonded child labour, forced child labour and recruitment into armed conflict. Essentially, it outlaws work which may harm the health, safety or morals of children. Article 7 calls on states to ensure that they take all measures necessary to ensure the effective implementation of the Convention and to provide for penal or other sanctions as necessary. The same article also calls on states to eliminate child labour through preventing the engagement of children in the worst forms of labour; to provide the assistance for the removal of children from the worst forms of labour and their subsequent rehabilitation and social integration; to ensure access to free basic education and vocational training for children removed from the worst forms of child labour and also to identify and reach out to children at risk. The Convention also calls upon states to take into account the special situation of girls. The ILO Forced Labour Convention (No. 29) defines forced labour as 'all work or service which is extracted from any person under the menace of any penalty and for which the said person has not offered himself voluntarily'. This fundamental convention prohibits all forms of forced or compulsory labour. Exceptions are provided for work required by compulsory military service, normal civic obligations, as a consequence of a conviction in a court of law (provided that the work or service in question is carried out under the supervision and control of a public authority and that the person carrying it out is not hired to or placed at the disposal of private individuals, companies or associations), in cases of emergency, and for minor communal services performed by the members of a community in the direct interest of the community. The convention also requires that the illegal extraction of forced or compulsory labour be punishable as a penal offence, and that ratifying states ensure that the relevant penalties imposed by law are adequate and strictly enforced. The main regional Convention to prevent child trafficking is the SAARC Convention on Preventing and Combating Trafficking in Women and Children for Prostitution. It provides for confidentiality of child and female victims during legal processes and will ensure that they are provided with appropriate counselling and legal assistance (Article V). Prevention and rehabilitation measures are also provided for in the Convention (Article IX). It also provides for repatriation, the establishment of homes or shelters for the rehabilitation of victims which will provide legal advice, counselling and training. The Convention also states that State Parties 'shall promote awareness, inter-alia, through the use of media, of the problem of trafficking in women and children and its underlying causes' (Article VIII). However, the definition of trafficking in this Convention is limited exclusively to trafficking for sexual exploitation so victims of forced labour and bonded labour are therefore excluded from being protected by the provisions outlined in this Convention, which is deeply concerning.
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3.2
Domestic mechanisms
A lack of laws combating trafficking in Nepal is not a major issue, in fact there are multiple laws, primarily the Human Trafficking and Transportation (Control) Act (HTTCA), criminalising the practice. However the ineffective implementation of these laws is a core issue impeding an effective ban on trafficking. The U.S. State Department's 2014 report into trafficking in Nepal notes that trafficking laws in the country have not been well-implemented and there have been continued incidents of 'trafficking related complicity' by government and political party officials. Nepal is currently governed under the Interim Constitution of Nepal, brought into force on January 15, 2007. The Interim Constitution was drafted to facilitate and manage the Nepali constitutional transformation process that started with the people's movement against the Monarchy in 2006. Article 29 of the Constitution prohibits trafficking in human beings, slavery and bonded labour. This is a broad prohibition of trafficking so it addresses all forms and is not limited to sexual exploitation, like the previously discussed SAARC Convention. The Article also criminalises all forms of serfdom and slavery. Article 22 of the Constitution states that children cannot be employed in factories, mines or other forms of hazardous labour and that they have the right to be free from physical, mental, or any other form of exploitation. Since 2007, the HTTCA has criminalised slavery, bonded labour and the buying and selling of a person, however it does not criminalise the recruitment, transportation, harbouring or receipt of persons by fraud, force or coercion for the purpose of forced labour or services. It criminalises forced prostitution but, in a departure from the Trafficking Protocol's definition of human trafficking, it does not consider the prostitution of a child to be human trafficking unless there is definite evidence that a child has been forced into prostitution. The Act contains provisions to protect whistle-blowers and their identities (Section 5); to provide rescue and rehabilitation; a positive duty is cast upon the State to rescue victims of cross-border trafficking (Section 13); police protection must be provided when required (Section 26) and compensation is to be provided (Section 17). The HTTCA however contains a number of loopholes and fails to effectively address issues such as prevention, victim protection and repatriation, as dedicated resources are inadequate. There is no compensation fund, despite the provision contained in the HTTCA, or the possibility to file civil suits. In addition to the specific legislation on trafficking, Nepal also has a number of legislation and codes enacted which have provisions that seek to outlaw trafficking. The Children's Act of 1991 is problematic because it still refers to children as those below the age of 16, not 18 as directed by the CRC, UNTOC and the Trafficking Protocol. While the Act restricts the hours and types of work a child can do, the majority of underage children working are employed in the informal sector where the enforcement of this type of legislation is impossible without adequate resources. The Act defines hazardous work and prohibits the employment of children aged less than 16 years old in this form of work. Article 16 prohibits and punishes anyone who involves a child in an immoral profession while Article 18 prohibits the employment of a child in employment which may have an adverse effect on their life or health. Other major provisions include the establishment of child labour inspectors and the establishment of a Child Labour Welfare and Coordination Committee. The Act provides a legal institutional basis to control and regulate child labour. The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act 2000 prohibits the employment of children less than 14 years of age while the Children's Act limits the time that a minor aged 14-16 can work from 6am to 6pm. The Child Labour Act also prohibits the employment of any child in hazardous work (Section 3{2}) and Section 4 prohibits any child labour that is forced or has an adverse impact on the child's life and health.
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However, this Act is also not applicable in the informal sector where the majority of children are employed. The Foreign Employment Act 2007 has provisions which generally prescribe a number of safeguards and requirements to be met before leaving the country on overseas work. Section 7 specifies that anyone under the age of 18 should not be sent abroad for foreign employment and Section 22 specifies that anyone seeking work abroad must leave Nepal via Kathmandu airport. Section 45 specifies that punishment is to be imposed if any person engages in foreign employment or sends a person abroad by giving false assurance or by luring a person to be engaged in foreign employment will be punished. Punishment is also to be imposed in the event of sending minors abroad for foreign employment. If this happens the licensee shall be punished with a fine of 300,000 to 500,000 Nepali rupees (£1,830-£3,050) and imprisonment for a term of three to seven years. The Bonded Labour (Prohibition) Act 2002 prohibits labour or services provided by a person to his creditor without any wages or with nominal wages to pay back a debt. There are, however, no repercussions for violating any of the provisions outlined in the Bonded Labour Act. The U.S. State Department in their 2013 Trafficking Report noted that bonded labourers freed by a government decree in 2000 have been left vulnerable to human trafficking in the absence of sufficient governmentmandated rehabilitation services. The Birth, Death and Other Vital Events (Registration) Act 1976 contains provisions appointing a registrar at the Ministry of Local Development and a local registrar for each VDC to register births however this has been unsuccessful, with only 35% of all children under the age of five being registered, and there are no repercussions for not registering births. This is highly dangerous as it allows for the much easier production of fake documentation and it also leaves children more vulnerable to being trafficked. Muluki Ain prohibits the taking of any person out of the country for the purposes of selling them (Chapter 11{1}) and it declares it an offence to employ someone as a servant slave or as a bonded labourer (Chapter 11{3}). It is possible for Nepali citizens to travel to India legitimately without official papers through 14 legal entry points due to the 1950 Peace and Friendship Treaty. This makes it extremely difficult to differentiate between a legitimate and non-legitimate reason for travel and therefore makes the movement of children from country to country far easier, especially with fake documentation. In 2012, the government re-imposed a ban on the migration of females under 30 to the Gulf States for domestic work. According to a report by the UN Special Rapporteur on Trafficking, bans such as these may drive migration further underground and actually lead to an increase in trafficking. This ban should therefore be revoked and other measures taken to protect migrant women working as domestic workers in Gulf countries. There are also a number of committees in Nepal that govern the issue of trafficking within the country, such as the Office of the National Rapporteur on Trafficking in Women and Children (ONRTWC) positioned within the NHRC. It has the responsibility of monitoring trafficking and co-ordinating national and regional efforts to combat the trafficking of women and children. The establishment by the Ministry of Women, Children and Social Welfare (MoWCSW) of District Committees on Controlling Human Trafficking in 49 districts has also been a positive move. These committees are responsible for controlling human trafficking and rehabilitating victims. However, many NGOs report that the majority of these are either not active, or ineffective in their work62. MoWCSW drafted a National Plan of Action (NPA) 2011-2016 against Trafficking in Persons. The plan aims to trace or map children at risk, trafficking-prone areas, probable border crossing points for child trafficking, and data about children 62
U.S. State Department. (2014). Trafficking in Persons Report. Available at: http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/226848.pdf
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crossing borders and children missing from home. It also aims to provide repatriated children with primary health check-ups, psychosocial counselling and vocational and informal education, and also develop and implement awareness-raising programmes. One of the main objectives of the plan is to provide increased education, both formally and informally, on child rights and trafficking. However, UNICEF have recently noted that 'weak delegation of responsibilities, insufficient allocation of resources, inadequate monitoring and verification of indicators' have all constrained the effectiveness of the plan'. A National Plan of Action for Children 2005-2015 and a National Master Plan for Child Labour 2011-2010 also exist. The Committee on the Rights of the Child notes that these plans of action are overlapping in terms of their target groups and the types of activities to be undertaken which may impede their effectiveness. It recommends incorporating the various plans of action into a single National Plan of Action for Children. According to the office of the Attorney General, at least 189 trafficking offenders were prosecuted under the HTTCA during the Nepali fiscal year. In the previous year, 229 offenders were convicted in 157 district court cases. Training for officials is sporadic, however some training sessions have been held for military troops, police, peacekeeping forces and others with resources and funds sought and received from other governments and NGOs. Some trafficking victims were reportedly arrested during raids and then bailed out by their traffickers, further indebting the girls, and others were charged under 'public offence' provisions in the law. Police officers' lack of awareness of the law and poor investigation techniques impeded prosecution. Licensing of recruitment agencies and their monitoring is unsatisfactory. Generally, there is a lack of awareness of trafficking and applicable laws by law enforcement officials and the general community. However, Nepal does run emergency shelters in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait and the UAE. Most of the funds the government has allocated for protection efforts remain unspent and in practice many trafficking victims, when they have the courage to come forward, do not receive the legally mandated compensation.
4.1
Findings from 2012 Consultations in Nuwakot district
Childreach International has been working in Nepal since 2008 and Childreach Nepal was founded in Kathmandu in 2010. In early 2011, Childreach Nepal identified that their work with schools in Sindhupalchok, which neighbours the targeted district, had been adversely affected by a rise in child trafficking. More teachers were noting missing children and communities seemed to value the ‘salary advances’ offered by traffickers more than their education. These observations led us to reconnect with Child to Child, with whom we had first engaged in July 2011 in Tanzania. In September 2011 Child to Child identified an opportunity to develop a way to prevent child trafficking by integrating the Child to Child approach into schools and developing the first ever set of Child to Child materials and training for teachers to prevent trafficking, increase attendance and improve academic performance and child participation. This process began in 2011 with a desk-based Child Rights and Trafficking Situational Analysis of central Nepal. The situational analysis revealed that child trafficking in the two districts was on the rise with dire consequences. When trafficking victims returned they were often physically and psychologically traumatised, and many were forcibly returned with either HIV or AIDs, which had resulted in an increase in HIV, AIDs and other STDs in the community. The principal of Shree Seti School identified
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600 people in the region who were suffering from HIV or AIDs, which had spread dramatically following the return of trafficking victims. In Icchok, girls who were known to the pupils and their parents were known to have died of AIDs in brothels in India. Unfortunately, when victims returned home they were often not being welcomed back into the community. The increase in trafficking in the districts has also lead to increased insecurity in the communities. What our situational analysis revealed was that little NGO work on child trafficking had previously taken place in Nuwakot or Sindhupalchok, especially in comparison with other districts. Sindhupalchok had for many years been the focus of NGO interventions in child trafficking, hence it was important that gaps in service provisions were identified by Childreach International and Childreach Nepal in order to ensure that services would be useful. Nuwakot was identified as an emerging area for child traffickers which had relatively less attention by NGOs and it was therefore important for Childreach Nepal to identify the extent of the problem and need for intervention. The needs assessment identified that rescue and rehabilitation were the primary focuses of a number of NGOs, and prevention was primarily in terms of rallies and occasional discussions with children's clubs and communities. Little work had previously been done in terms of prevention in schools or long-term with children, families and communities, and there was little integration with government efforts to combat child trafficking. This therefore identified a crucial gap in services that Childreach Nepal could effectively fill. Based on the findings of the situational analysis, and to develop a better understanding of the push and pull factors of child trafficking, a needs assessment was undertaken in Sindhupalchok and Nuwakot from October 1 to October 15 2012 in collaboration with Child to Child. The needs assessment aimed to identify: the push and pull factors that lead to child trafficking; the current strategies used to combat trafficking; challenges faced in implementation; relevant policies, procedures and stakeholder responsibilities; the role of government and civil society in prevention, rescue and rehabilitation of children involved in child trafficking and current gaps not being filled by NGOs in the area. In total, 512 people in 86 discussion groups were interviewed from 22 schools. Respondents included 144 girls (20 aged 5-8, 40 aged 9-12, 56 aged 13-15, 28 aged 16-18) and 88 boys (17 aged 5-8, 25 aged 9-12, 42 aged 13-15, 4 aged 16-18). We also consulted 153 men (56 fathers, 42 teachers, 43 school management committee (SMC) members, 11 government officials, 1 non-governmental organisation (NGO) employee) and 127 women (79 mothers, 26 teachers, 8 SMC members, 14 NGO employees). Research participants were asked a number of questions concerning child trafficking including questions regarding who traffickers are, what the extent of child trafficking in their area is, what the dropout rate at their schools were and how and why children are trafficked, as well as how child trafficking could most effectively be prevented.
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Questions asked: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.
What is the extent of child trafficking in your area? What is child trafficking and child labour? Who are the traffickers? How are children trafficked? Why are they trafficked? How can a child be prevented from being trafficked? What is the dropout rate at your school? To your knowledge, how many children have gone away from your village? Do you know where they have gone and what they have gone to do?
A couple of the discussion groups specifically identified Icchok in Sindhupalchok and Gyangphedi in Nuwakot as two of the main areas for trafficking. The District Education Officer in Gyangphedi not only identified the district as a major trafficking centre but actually stated that it was almost impossible to find any adolescent girls in the area, which was reaffirmed by staff from Child to Child and Childreach International, who also noticed a distinct lack of adolescent girls during the visit. Further inquiry revealed that the girls were trafficked to Kathmandu and India as soon as they reached adolescence. A number of the groups stated that they were unaware of child trafficking in their districts, but did acknowledge the prevalence of foreign employment which often goes hand-in-hand with trafficking. A teacher in Rauthbesi, Nuwakot stated that 24 girls had disappeared from his school in the past year and their whereabouts were unknown. Of the 32 discussions groups that responded to question 3 regarding who the traffickers working in their area are, 65.6% identified professional recruiters (pimps), 53.1% identified family members or husbands, 25% believed that the children went of their own accord while 6.25% were completely unaware. One of the children at the Shree Bacchala School in Shikharbesi, Nuwakot, was the brother of two girls who he firmly believed had been trafficked to India from Nepal, and he was gravely concerned that at least one, if not both, of his sisters were being sexually abused while abroad. The needs assessment identified four main causes of child trafficking in the two districts: 1. High school dropout rate of girls from school 2. The ease at which fake documentation, including travel documents and birth registration documents, can be obtained 3. Parents sending their children away for foreign employment 4. Children choosing to go abroad of their own accord due to personal circumstances, either because they have become disenchanted with their own way of life or to escape abuse or maltreatment Teachers and pupils were especially aware of the use of fake documentation (e.g. increasing the age on the passport). In Shree Narayan pupils were aware of a 13-year-old girl who flew to the Gulf on a fake passport and has not been heard of since. The ease at which fake documentation can be obtained is primarily due to the complicity of relevant individuals in the production of documentation and also the low rate of birth registrations, which makes creating fake documentation far easier. In Nepal the dropout rate for girls is extremely high at 36.26% (32). The discussion groups identified a number of reasons for this in addition to parents pulling their children out of school for employment purposes. Schools were identified as being of poor quality with rundown school buildings that often
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lack separate and adequate toilet facilities for girls. Schools rarely have midday meals which places a financial burden on children’s parents as they have to provide them with food. Girls are also often teased on their way to school and schools tend to be at quite a distance from their homes, increasing the chances that they will be verbally and physically abused. Teachers are also not considered to be particularly child-friendly, which creates a hostile environment in which the children are unwilling to work. Children at Shree Mangala Bhavat cited bullying, the irregular attendance of teachers and no toilets as being reasons why young female children were dropping out of school. Teachers are often not teaching pupils in the local language because local language teachers are unavailable, leading to substantial barriers and confusion in the classroom. Monitoring of local schools in Nuwakot and Sindhupalchok is also inadequate as there is a distinct lack of resources being injected into the education systems in both regions. All groups were familiar with a high school dropout rate. Erkhu School in Sindhupalchok acknowledged the importance of free uniform, stationary and lunch to ensure that children stay at school, as this reduces the financial burden on parents. A number of local schools also only teach up to a certain grade, which means that to get further education children will often have to travel quite a distance to get to school, which many of them are unwilling or unable to do. Another of the causes identified in the districts is that parents are willing to send their children abroad to work for financial gain, unaware of what could happen to them. Families may also be quite large and subsequently not possess the resources needed to send all their children to school and therefore often send the eldest out to work as sending a child to school in Nepal is expensive as stationary, lunches and uniforms all have to be provided by the families themselves. Teachers are not treating child trafficking as a priority for teaching, and when it is being taught at schools it is often poorly structured and uninformative. Girls are also under-valued in Nepali society and educating females is not seen as a priority. Sending them abroad for foreign employment is seen as much more lucrative than offering them an education. In contrast to the reasons outlined above, in a number of cases the girls themselves choose to leave their families of their own accord because they are neglected or unhappy with their family situation, or because the peer has substantial influence over them and is therefore able to convince them that there are 'bigger and better' things waiting for them outside of their family environment. Polygamy, extra-marital affairs, domestic violence, alcoholism and incest plague some families in Nepal, and so it is not surprising that some children become disenchanted with their family situation and subsequently choose to move away from home for employment. With regards to question 6 concerning how to prevent trafficking, the majority of responses fell into two main categories - awareness and opportunity. The majority of the 51 groups which responded to this question all mentioned the need to increase community's awareness of trafficking, with 27 directly mentioning increasing awareness on the importance of education, especially for girls; 19 mentioned the need to increase awareness of the dangers of trafficking and foreign employment such as sexual abuse, and four groups mentioned the need to increase awareness of child rights so that children were more aware of what they are entitled to. The discussion groups provided a number of ideas as to how to increase awareness, including rallies, issuing pamphlets, films, community discussion groups and the children themselves discussed how drama performances by NGOs in their region had increased their own awareness of the dangers associated with trafficking. Increasing the frequency of child clubs and parent-teacher association meetings with local NGOs were also recommended by parents. A number also mentioned the need to increase opportunities available for young children in both the districts. Vocational training and lifeskills training were referenced 11 times and increasing employment opportunities in the districts was mentioned 10 times. Providing young girls especially with some kind of vocational training will provide childreach.org.uk
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them with the skills necessary to enter employment and to be able to financially support their family without having to go abroad. A number also cited the importance of investing in schools in the two districts, and demonstrated that where local NGOs had provided stationary, lunches and uniform, students were more likely to attend school as it eased the financial burden on the families. Children at the Shree Nawajyoti Primary School in Rauthbesi, Nuwakot, were adamant that if their friends received stationary and other resources, they were much more likely to attend school. What also became clear from the discussion groups was that where external involvement from local NGOs had been present in the children’s clubs, the children were far more aware of the risks associated with foreign employment and the dangers of being trafficked and were subsequently far more aware of how to protect themselves than children at schools where there had been no external involvement. Parents were also more aware of the dangers of sending their child abroad for foreign employment from feedback they had received from the children themselves. The implementation of a holistic programme which is driven by the community relevant to their needs and implemented in partnership with local, district and national stakeholders with special focus on addressing the root of trafficking through education and school-based initiatives is therefore essential, with special focus on increasing awareness of both pupils, parents and academic staff on the risks of foreign employment and the importance of education for all, especially girls who are most at risk of being trafficked, in order to reduce child trafficking in Nuwakot and Sindhupalchok.
4.2 Our response In order to combat the high levels of trafficking in Nuwakot, Childreach International and Childreach Nepal, in partnership Child to Child, ECPAT and Shakti Samuha, will work to keep 2,323 children between the ages of five and 15 from being trafficked by ensuring they complete both primary and lower-secondary school through improving teaching within 11 schools using the Child to Child approach and sensitising communities on the importance of education through messages spread by local champions and 149 Child to Child clubs. 2,323 children from marginalised backgrounds will complete both primary and lower secondary education, allowing generational poverty to be broken as more education children go on to get higher income jobs. Over one hundred adolescent girls will participate in life skills education and will subsequently be able to recognise trafficking traps, make better risk assessments and decisions, will not have their human rights threatened by trafficking and will return to school to complete their education. These girls will become advocates for girls’ education and will be trained to spread these messages to other girls and their families. 86 teachers will be using active teaching methods to improve children’s classroom experiences and increase primary school completion rates through increasing school retention. Getting girls and boys into school and keeping them there is a vital step in reducing their vulnerability to trafficking, especially with regards to ‘hard to reach’ children such as those from marginalised communities63. Being unable to go to school robs girls of the very real gains that decrease their
63
ILO/UNICEF/UN.Gift. (2009). Training manual to fight trafficking in children for labour, sexual and other forms of exploitation. Textbook 2: Action against child trafficking at policy and outreach levels. Available at: http://www.unicef.org/protection/Textbook_2.pdf
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vulnerability to trafficking: improved health, smaller family size, improved community status, and continued educational gains in future generations64. Those with the lowest levels of education and out-of-school children are the easiest for traffickers to manipulate because they are more likely to accept unskilled or lower-skilled employment, such as domestic service or factory work65. Education increases standards of living that help keep women and girls out of the reach of traffickers66. When girls can go to school, they are physically protected in classrooms and able to build a sense of agency through their academic achievements. They become more self-sufficient and empowered to make decisions, taking control of their own lives. Children in Nepal are at risk of being trafficked every day, and this risk is getting increasingly likely. It is our duty to prevent this from happening, ensuring that children are aware of the dangers of trafficking and protecting them from being subjected abuse and exploitation. The project will use two main approaches to keep children in school: 1. Improve the quality of education by using the Child to Child methodology to improve teaching 2. Improve demand for education by sensitising children and communities on the value of education by creating, strengthening and training 3 types of community-based groups: 1) Child Clubs; 2) Adolescent Girls Groups (ADGs) and 3) Parents’ Groups (PGs) (split into Mothers’ Groups (MGs), Fathers’ Groups (FGs), and representative PGs), who then spread key messages to the wider community To address the poor quality of teaching and the fact that children do not enjoy school: In Year 1 we will conduct a desk review to analyse the existing curriculum and teaching materials and consult with the Ministry of Education and other stakeholders to determine gaps. Based on findings, contextually appropriate teaching materials using the Child to Child approach will be developed (including materials on child protection, trafficking, life-skills education and gender issues). Materials will include a children’s activity pack, a training manual for Master Trainers (MTs), a teachers’ guide, and a guide to sensitise parents and the community about the impact of trafficking. The Child to Child Trust will run a Training of Trainers (ToT) workshop for every teacher in all 11 schools, as well as partner staff. MTs will review the project materials during the training and feedback used to revise them. In Years 2 and 3, Child to Child will run refresher training for MTs and undertake monitoring visits to assess progress. School quality will also be improved through building the capacity of the District Education Office (DEO) and each school’s School Management Committee (SMC). DEO staff will be trained by Childreach Nepal on increasing girls’ attendance, engaging with central government on budgetary issues, and child rights. SMCs will be trained on their rights and responsibilities, lobbying and advocacy, mobilising parents and teachers, monitoring teacher performance, and child participation. There will be on-going support through mentoring, performance monitoring, exchange visits to stronger DEOs or schools and refresher training over the three years.
64
U.S. State Department. (2010). Trafficking in Persons Report. Available at: http://www.state.gov/j/tip/rls/tiprpt/2010/ UNICEF. (2009). Child Trafficking in East and South-East Asia: Reversing the Trend. Available at: http://www.unicef.org/eapro/Unicef_EA_SEA_Trafficking_Report_Aug_2009_low_res.pdf 66 Human Rights Advocate/Leone E. et. Al. Promoting Education and Employment for Women and Girls as Foundations for Effective Human Trafficking Prevention. Available at: http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:http://www.humanrightsadvocates.org/wpcontent/uploads/2010/05/Promoting_Ed_Employment__for_HT_Prevention_-_E_Leone.pdf 65
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To increase demand for education and highlight its importance as well as increasing awareness of the realities of trafficking: Child to Child clubs will be set up in every school in Year 1, each comprised of 15 children of similar age, to the extent every pupil is a club member. By the end of Year 1 these clubs will be active and functioning and, guided by the MTs, members will spread what they learn using the Child to Child 6step approach. This programme uses a series of linked activities in which children think about education and trafficking issues, make decisions, develop their life-skills and take action to promote education. The 6 steps involve children: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.
Identifying their problems and priorities Researching how these issues affect them and their communities Planning action they can take based on their findings Taking action with support from adults as needed Evaluating their actions for successes, challenges and impact Finding ways of maintaining action or improving it based on their evaluation
Children will also be trained to mobilise and coordinate in-school anti-trafficking activities and campaigns. By Year 2, 5 schools will have integrated the Child to Child approach. Quarterly reviews will identify lessons learned so that changes to the project materials and structures can be incorporated before rolling out to the remaining six schools in Year 3. Shakti Samuha will form one Adolescent Group for Creative Awareness (AGC) per Village Development Committee (VDC), comprised of 30 girls who have dropped out of school. Girls will be trained on strategies to resist trafficking, and Child to Child techniques for spreading messages to their communities. Trafficking survivors will visit AGCs and the 11 schools every month to advise children on the dangers of trafficking with descriptions of their experiences. Community watch committees will be formed and members trained on child rights and trafficking prevention. Childreach Nepal will conduct door-to-door visits on trafficking and the importance of education to every household alongside key community members such as faith leaders, to add legitimacy to our message. Parent Groups (PGs) and AGCs will organise street dramas on the link between birth registration and preventing trafficking. Childreach Nepal will train parent groups on how to identify key decisionmakers, lobbying, and monitoring policy implementation. To address the fact that parents have limited options for increasing their income, the project will carry out the following: Childreach Nepal will form an MG (20 mothers), FG (20 fathers), and PG (10 mothers/10 fathers representing MG/PG) in each of the 4 VDCs through which to deliver livelihood training and support. 40 households per VDC will be involved with the livelihoods programme. In collaboration with the livelihood partner, we will carry out a skills audit and needs assessment to support parents with any preparatory market research and help them to write business plans. In conjunction with the existing micro industries group (Lahu Udyog) we will train group members on 4 areas identified in the consultation as having greatest potential for market expansion: setting up and managing effective herb plantation, trout farming, goat rearing and small tea shop management. We will link up with the local branch of the Nepal Chamber of Commerce (Udyog Banijya) to provide members with Small Business Training. Antarparti and Srijanshil will support Group Leaders to access microfinance loans from the local government microfinance association. Year 2 will see these activities take off, with refresher training and individual support continuing. In addition, Childreach Nepal will train the groups
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on lobbying duty-bearers for irrigation and electricity infrastructure. In Year 3, we will conduct structured ToT workshops for members so that they can train others in their communities. To sustain project benefits and build the capacity of government officials to advocate for improved education and prevent trafficking, the following will be conducted: Childreach Nepal will train 52 VDC-level officials on child rights, the importance of education, lobbying DEOs and central government, and how to reduce the risks of corruption. Childreach Nepal will train and mentor officials so they are able to withstand traffickers’ demands for falsified documents. Childreach Nepal will lobby for a VDC-level counsellor to be installed in each office on the VDC payroll and will assist with the recruitment and training of that person. ECPAT, acting as an advisory, will identify prospective trainers on trafficking and victim identification at district-level (e.g. border officials, police, teachers), and deliver a ToT to 20 participants who will then train 30 front-line staff in each VDC. Modules will cover early victim identification, signposting to resources and referral points, national/international obligations and recourse to justice. Accompanying resources and toolkits in local dialects will be developed and given to all training participants. For six months after the workshop, ECPAT will be available 1 day a week for support. In Years 2 and 3, ECPAT Nepal will conduct a review followed by refresher training. Use of the Child to Child approach: The paucity of data on child trafficking, the isolated location of targeted villages, and the stigmatising nature of the problem led us to select a Child to Child approach as the most effective way to keep children in school. This approach has a track record of improving retention and teacher performance. We know it works in the context of stigma as it has been effective in improving awareness of and prevention of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Our consultations found that children would be the best advocates and implementers of this project as they can influence each other, and are unafraid of communicating sensitive issues. The Child to Child approach also maximises the number of children who benefit, as a core component is that children go on to spread project concepts to other children outside of project scope. This is ideal given the geographical challenges of this project. We will better understand what prevents trafficking in rural areas of Nepal, allowing for the project to be replicated elsewhere, thus significantly multiplying the positive impact of this project.
5
Recommendations to the Nepal and UK Governments
As previously mentioned, a lack of laws governing child trafficking in Nepal is not a significant problem. The problem lies with the fact that these legal provisions are inadequately enforced and a low risk of arrest and prosecution fails to discourage traffickers. According to the U.S. State Department in their 2013 report, anti-trafficking structures are not fully effective and trafficking victims have not received sufficient support from the government, while laws have been inconsistently implemented. In 2013 the Government did not demonstrate increased progress in protecting victims. Authorities were not tracking the number of victims identified and in some raids of cabin restaurants, dance bars, and massage parlours, trafficking victims, including girls, were reportedly arrested and imprisoned for up
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to 24 days after which they were released to their abusers67. Many sources cite the same recurring problems within the legal framework that must be addressed. One of these problems is the complicity of public officials in child trafficking. The U.S. State Department notes that dance bars, cabin restaurants and massage parlours which facilitate sex trafficking are actually co-owned by senior police and army officials. This is critical as it results in the absence of necessary and effective prosecution of responsible traffickers despite adequate domestic legislation. Another key problem is the lack of cases being reported to the police and subsequently to the courts, assumedly because of the known complicity of officials and the prejudice against victims. There is evidently a need to increase law enforcement efforts against all forms of trafficking, including internal trafficking, and against Nepali officials who are complicit in trafficking related crimes and ensuring that trafficking victims are not punished; raise awareness and revise the HTTCA. There is generally a lack of awareness of trafficking and anti-trafficking laws amongst law enforcements officials and the general community. A conducive atmosphere to make it safe for victims of trafficking to testify has not been created, and there is a definite need for a witness protection programme. There are evident discrepancies in domestic legislation regarding the age a child becomes an adult and stops being a minor as the domestic legislation in Nepal continually cites the age of a child to be those below the age of 16, which directly conflicts with applicable international legislation. There is therefore a need to amend domestic legislation to ensure that the term ‘child’ applies to all those under the age of 18 and to also ensure that the prostitution of those under the age of 18 is still seen as trafficking. The definition of child trafficking outlined in domestic legislation and in the SAARC Convention is not comprehensive enough as it only covers trafficking for sexual exploitation and ignores the prospects of forced labour. The lack of effective enforcement of legislation remains one of the greatest hurdles to combatting child trafficking in Nepal. Intimidation and harassment of survivors and witnesses during case proceedings and the lack of protection mechanisms for survivors are reported as the main reasons for low registration of trafficking cases in the courts. Childreach International's recommendations to the Nepal Government are therefore: 1. Ensure that the process of acquiring citizenship is freely accessible to all people in Nepal as laid out in the 2006 Citizenship Act and the 2007 Interim Constitution. 2. Set out in law reasonable means by which children who cannot identify their parents can establish their citizenship and access documents. 3. Amend all citizenship laws and policies to explicitly provide for mothers to convey citizenship on their children without requiring involvement of the father or any other relatives. 4. Awareness raising campaigns to ensure the registration of all children at birth ensure that all children of refugees and asylum-seekers born in the State party are issued with birth certificates. 5. Primary education needs to be made compulsory to ensure children are attending school and are therefore not as vulnerable to the worst forms of child labour, as well as to minimise the chances of children being trafficked in the first place. Simultaneously, minimise extra costs including school uniform and school lunch to minimise financial pressures placed on families. 6. Ban the use of corporal punishment in schools to prevent any drop-outs that may be due to violence in schools. 67
U.S. State Department. (2014). Trafficking in Persons Report. Available at: http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/226848.pdf
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7. Improve facilities such as toilets and sanitation in schools to reduce the number of girls dropping out because toilets are mixed, or non-existent, which would mean them going to the toilet and changing menstruation materials outside in the open. 8. The Government must adopt inclusive and gender-friendly policies to ensure that education remains free of any discrimination against girls and children from ethnic minorities. Ending sexual harassment and all forms of gender-based violence in the education sector needs to be given high priority as well as eliminating caste-based discrimination. 9. Ratify UNTOC and its additional Protocols. Non-ratification is a major stumbling block as many enabling provisions of the treaties cannot be availed of. 10. Revise the Human Trafficking and Transportation (Control) Act (HTTCA) or finalise a new law which brings the definition of human trafficking in line with international standards to ensure that all forms of trafficking are penalised. As previously mentioned the HTTCA criminalises slavery, bonded labour and the buying and selling of a person, but it fails to criminalise the recruitment, transportation, harbouring, or receipt of persons by force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of forced labour. Introduce a definition of "child" which complies with the definition under the CRC and international standards i.e. ensure that all those under the age of 18 are legally classified as children. 11. Cases must be taken up in designated courts e.g. courts dealing with violence against women; and judges, police officers and government officials must be trained and sensitised to handle matters on trafficking. Witness protection efforts must be taken more seriously and an atmosphere free from fear within which victims can testify must be established. 12. Raise awareness among government officials and the public of the existence of forced prostitution of Nepali girls within Nepal through increased training. 13. The Government must ensure that trafficking victims are not punished for their involvement in prostitution or forgery of official documents, and child victims must not be arrested but must be put straight into protective services, rather than allowing them to be bailed by, and further indebted to, their traffickers and abusers. 14. Retract the law which bans women under the age of 30 from travelling to the Gulf for work and subsequently publicise this policy change to discourage migration through illegal channels. 15. Increase law enforcement efforts against government officials complicit in trafficking-related crimes and ensure that punishments are proportional to the crime. 16. Improve links between India and Nepal especially along the border to ensure that the free movement of individuals between the two countries does not include trafficked children. Cooperation is taking place but this has not been made official or incorporated into domestic legislation; it is being done sporadically and bilaterally through individual initiatives of governmental or non-governmental organisations. While the UK Government and Department for International Development (DFID) have previous experience in encouraging girls to stay at school and have provided vocational training to young males and females in the hope that they will remain in Nepal rather than go abroad for work, there is much more that could be done to prevent child trafficking. The recent announcement of the "Work in Freedom" Project however is encouraging. Childreach International's recommendations to the UK Government are therefore: -
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Continue to work with the Nepali government on this issue but also increase partnerships with local NGOs who are well placed to provide support locally as they understand and can respond to community issues. The focus of the Justice Project (DFID), which is due to start in 2014, should be predominantly
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-
-
-
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oriented towards assisting women and children obtain justice, especially for trafficking victims who tend to be excluded by the justice system. Focus on improving gender equality as this will have a dramatic effect on the effectiveness of other projects such as increasing girls’ school attendance and encouraging women to work in less stereotyped roles. Invest in further participatory action research of the causes of child trafficking and make funding decisions according to findings. Work collaboratively with other countries to influence global donor policy that relates to child trafficking. Use influence within global structures to pressurise the Government of Nepal to adhere to the above recommendations. Strengthen mechanisms for knowledge within the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Department for International Development so that learnings from anti-trafficking efforts around the world are effectively documented, disseminated, and reflected in present and future initiatives. Replicate the success of the 2014 Global Summit to end Sexual Violence in Conflict and host the world’s first global summit to end child trafficking, raising awareness of the issue and enabling greater coordination. Follow policy discussions up, ensuring that verbal commitments turn into results at local level.
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Acknowledgements We would like to extend our thanks to the following organisations for working with us to prevent child trafficking in Nepal.
Antarparti
Child to Child
Department of Education, Nepal
ECPAT UK
Family Planning Association, Nepal
Shakti Samuha
Srijanshil
Red Panda
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References Birth, Death and Other Vital Events (Registration) Act of 1976 Body Shop & ECPAT. (2009). Their Protection is in Our Hands – The State of Global Child Trafficking for Sexual Purposes. Available at: http://www.ecpat.net/sites/default/files/Full_Report_Global_Child_Trafficking_for_Sexual_Purpose s.pdf Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act (2002), available at: http://www.ilo.org/dyn/natlex/natlex_browse.details?p_lang=en&p_isn=71670 Children's Act 2048 (1991), available at: http://www.ilo.org/dyn/natlex/natlex_browse.details?p_lang=en&p_isn=30034 Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act (2000), available at: http://www.ilo.org/dyn/natlex/natlex_browse.details?p_lang=en&p_isn=57354 Directorate of Women and Children Service Centre, Nepal Police in UNODC. (2012). Global Report on Trafficking in Persons 2012. http://www.unodc.org/documents/data-andanalysis/glotip/Trafficking_in_Persons_2012_web.pdf ECPAT/Pradham-Malia, Sapana. (2004). Report on Laws and Legal Procedures Concerning the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children. Foreign Employment Act 2064 (2007), available at: http://www.ilo.org/dyn/natlex/natlex_browse.details?p_lang=en&p_isn=78258 The Guardian. (30 January 2012). Beirut Death of Nepali Migrant Worker Lila. http:// www.theguardian.com/news/video/2012/jan/30/beirut-death-Nepali-migrant-video Human Rights Advocate/Leone E. et. Al. Promoting Education and Employment for Women and Girls as Foundations for Effective Human Trafficking Prevention. Available at: http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:http://www.humanrightsadvocates.org/ wp-content/uploads/2010/05/Promoting_Ed_Employment__for_HT_Prevention_-_E_Leone.pdf Human Security Report Project. (2005). Human Security Report 2005: War and Peace in the 21st Century. Available at: http://www.hsrgroup.org/human-security-reports/2005/text.aspx Human Trafficking and Transportation (Control) Act 2064 (2007), available at: http://www.ilo.org/dyn/natlex/natlex_browse.details?p_lang=en&p_isn=87492 ILO/UNICEF/UN.Gift. (2009). Training manual to fight trafficking in children for labour, sexual and other forms of exploitation. Textbook 2: Action against child trafficking at policy and outreach levels. Available at: http://www.unicef.org/protection/Textbook_2.pdf ILO/IPEC. (2003). Internal Trafficking Among Children and Youth Engaged in Prostitution. Available at: http://www.ilo.org/legacy/english/regions/asro/newdelhi/ipec/download/resources/nepal/nppubl0 2eng7.pdf
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Version 2.0. Amended on 15/07/2014
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