Friday Afternoon Talks | Countering Human Trafficking: Strengthening cross-border cooperation between India, Bangladesh, and Nepal

The migration and trafficking of tens of thousands of children and women from Bangladesh and Nepal into India has long been a serious concern. Even though the three countries are signatories to international conventions and bound by domestic laws to combat trafficking, the problem persists. While prevention and rescue are crucial in the battle against one of the most heinous crimes against humanity with significant social and economic undertones, it is the repatriation of rescued victims that has emerged as the biggest challenge. For most of the rescued victims, relocation to their country of origin is the ultimate rehabilitation.

Against this backdrop, the discussion will look into the following points:

• The situation on the ground of trafficking of women and children in India, Bangladesh, and Nepal
• How trafficking is related to forced migration. What makes women and children fall prey to trafficking?
• What are the cross-border legal mechanisms between and amongst these countries?
• What is the process of repatriation and the SOPs present?