NHRC reported 8,000 Nepalese citizens were trafficked annually

8,000 Nepalese citizens were trafficked annually in Nepal stated a reported reveled by National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on Tuesday.

The report states that 16,000 citizens, mostly women and children were trafficked in the past two fiscal years – 2013 to 2014 and 2014 to 2015 while a majority of the cases fail to get reported in Nepal Police. As per the report only 185  cases were registered between 2013 and 2014, whereas only 181 cases were registered from 2014 to 2015.

The report highlights that the main reason is under-reporting and under-registration of human trafficking cases, including an overlap in measures of Foreign Employment Act and the Human Trafficking and Transportation Control Act. The report claimed that the number of the interception of the vulnerable persons had increased after the earthquake, an increase by no less than 15 per cent before and after three months of the earthquake.

The study showed that in terms of destination of trafficking, the majority of victims were being trafficked to India, but that there were also cases of internal trafficking and trafficking to the Gulf States.

Trafficking route is reported to be the main official border points with India and China.

It said that trafficking of girls to South Korea and China for the purpose of marriage is also growing in Nepal.

Records showed that most of the trafficking cases were from eastern districts of Jhapa and Morang, whereas most of the victims belonged to indigenous nationalities.