Unifying anti-trafficking efforts in Nepal
A highly coordinated initiative will enforce anti-trafficking laws
Human trafficking is serious and widespread in Nepal. The poor are especially vulnerable, including young people traveling to urban centers or abroad to find work; experts estimate as many as 15,000 Nepali girls alone are trafficked within the nation's borders. Our extensive network throughout Asia consistently positions us as a recognized leader in the fight against human trafficking, and in August, our Nepal office began a five-year program, awarded by USAID, to undertake a strategic, multifaceted counter trafficking initiative in six high-volume trafficking districts. A primary goal is to enforce new anti-trafficking laws by bringing an unprecedented level of coordination and cohesion among central and local level government actors and civil society organizations. Further, the program is establishing special cadres of trafficking-in-persons experts within the police and justice sectors to help enhance the rate of prosecutions and convictions of perpetrators of trafficking.