India Country Report - United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime

West Bengal and Maharashtra. In a recent Indo-Bangladesh Home Secretary level
talks, it has been decided that the Joint Secretary would be the nodal officer for
the Government of <strong>India</strong> for dealing with matters related to trafficking in women
and children vis-à-vis Bangladesh.
SAARC Convention on ‘Preventing and Combating Trafficking of Women
and Children in Prostitution’ (SAARC Convention) – The Ministry of External
Affairs was requested by the SAARC Secretariat to organize Regional Task
Force Meetings for operationalizing the provisions of the SAARC Convention on
‘Preventing and Combating Trafficking of Women and Children in Prostitution.’
The first regional task force meeting of the SAARC countries was held in
July 2007 where <strong>India</strong> offered to undertake an exercise on dissemination
of best practices, development of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for
implementing the provisions of the SAARC Convention, and training and
capacity building programmes for stakeholders from SAARC countries. NIPCCD
was identified as a nodal agency for training and capacity building of SAARC
functionaries to combat trafficking. Since then, NIPCCD has held two training
workshops so far. The second regional task force meeting was held in May 2008. 9
The deliberations led to the setting up of a common helpline number, adoption
of SOPs and enhancing and up-gradation of regional training and capacity
building programmes.
The first regional task
force meeting of the
SAARC countries offered
to undertake an exercise
on dissemination of best
practices, development
of Standard Operating
Procedures (SOPs)
for implementing
the provisions of the
SAARC Convention, and
training and capacity
building programmes for
stakeholders from SAARC
countries.
9
<strong>India</strong> has taken a leadership role amongst the SAARC countries with regard to the SAARC Convention on
‘Preventing and Combating Trafficking of Women and Children in Prostitution’.
<strong>India</strong> <strong>Country</strong> <strong>Report</strong>
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