Context
Employment opportunities should be created in Nepal to prevent cross-border trafficking between Nepal and India
What
- Following the 2015 Nepal earthquake, the Ministry of Home Affairs said that human trafficking from Nepal to India witnessed “a three-fold jump”
- The SashastraSeemaBal (SSB) reported that most of the victims were minors, with girls and boys in equal numbers, and many were from the earthquake-affected districts of Nepal
Women gone to other countries
A large number of women from this district left the country after the earthquake to find employment abroad, either through Rasuwagadhi or some other transit point along the India-Nepal border, said Asha from an NGO.
Open Border
The Indo-Nepal Treaty of Peace and Friendship, 1950 provides for an open border between Nepal and India
Easy to cross
At the Gauriphanta border in LakhimpurKheri district and Sanuali border in Maharajganj district of U.P. bordering Nepal, was easy to cross over to Nepal
People not stopped from entering India
- An official from SSB at Gauriphanta, which guards the Indian side of the border, said that those entering India are not stopped, but “those with luggage or any suspicion are stopped and questioned.”
Closing the borders not a solution
Closing the border may prevent cross-border trafficking, but it could also engender or accentuate economic vulnerabilities for those who have jobs or own businesses along the border
The way forward
It is imperative to create economic opportunities, particularly for the youth, within the country. Further, the Nepal-India border needs to be equipped with enhanced intelligence networks and effective monitoring mechanisms.
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