Annual Report - National Human Rights Commission

Rights of Women and Children
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3] Role of National Human Rights Institutions in the Prevention of Trafficking
in Women and Children
8.11 It was reported in the preceding annual report that the Advisory Council of Jurists of the Asia
Pacific Forum of National Human Rights Institutions, that met in New Delhi in the year 2002, had
deliberated on the issue of trafficking at its Seventh Annual Meeting. The Advisory Council of Jurists
later forwarded its Final Report on the issue of trafficking to the Commission. In this report, it made a
number of recommendations for preventing and combating trafficking that was adopted by the
Commission. The Commission desired that the report be forwarded to the Department of Women
and Child Development, the nodal Department in the Government of India (Ministry of Human
Resource Development) dealing with issues pertaining to women and children, and the Ministry of
Home Affairs for appropriate action. Accordingly, the report was sent to the concerned Ministries
with the request that action taken on the recommendations be reported to the Commission.
8.12 At the time of writing this report, the Commission had not received any response from the
Ministry of Home Affairs. However, the Department of Women and Child Development vide
their letter dated 4-10-2004 informed the Commission about the initiatives taken by them to
combat trafficking in women and children. These were as follows:
(i)
(ii)
Ratification of the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons,
Especially Women and Children, supplementing the United Nations Convention
Against Transnational Organised Crime (the UN Trafficking Protocol) was under
process in consultation with the Ministry of External Affairs.
The Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956 was being amended to make it more
stringent for traffickers and humane to victims.
(iii) The State Governments had been requested for effective implementation of the Plan
of Action and regularly reviewing State action.
(iv) The officers of the level of Inspector and above in the Central Bureau of Investigation
have been notified as Trafficking Police Officers for investigation of inter-state
trafficking cases.
(v)
A scheme called SWADHAR had been started for women in difficult situation. The
same was made applicable to victims of trafficking also. The scheme provides for
shelter, counselling, medical assistance and vocational training to the rescued victims.
(vi) The Department had formulated a model grant-in-aid scheme for assistance to NGOs
to combat trafficking in source areas, transit areas and destination areas through
prevention, rescue and rehabilitation. Emphasis was being placed on awareness
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