Nepal continues to be a source, transit and destination country for men, women and children who are subjected to force labor, sex trafficking and other forms of trafficking. Trafficking-in-persons (TIP) is recognized as a crime against the state and punishable under the Human Trafficking and Transportation Control Act of 2007 (HTTCA).  It criminalizes human trafficking but it does not provide a wider definition of such trafficking to include all forms, including labor trafficking, in consistent with the 2000 UN TIP Protocol (Palermo Protocol). Similarly, the HTTCA established a comprehensive legal framework to combat trafficking.  However, lack of coordination among government institutions, policy overlap, and inadequate ICT systems allows traffickers to operate with impunity. Despite these challenges, Nepal continues to demonstrate progress annually to maintain its Tier 2 status on the U.S. State Department TIP Report for the last several years.  The upcoming move to a federal system also presents opportunities to mainstream TIP into policies and guidelines at the sub-national level.

PROJECT OVERVIEW

This $8 million, five-year Hamro Samman project works closely with the Government of Nepal (GON), civil society, and private sector to foster collaborative partnerships among these stakeholders to better address human trafficking. Together, these stakeholders will increase attention, information, and efforts to strategically and sustainably combat TIP through a system based approach. The project is being implemented by Winrock International in Kathmandu, Kavre, Rasuwa, Makwanpur, Nuwakot, Sindhupalchwok, Dhading, Dang, Kapilbastu, Banke, Bardiya, and Kailali districts of Nepal. 

PROJECT OBJECTIVES

1. Strengthen national and local Government of Nepal (GON) efforts to combat TIP.
2. Improve Civil Society Organization (CSO) advocacy and engagement to address TIP.
3. Increase private sector partnerships (PSPs) to serve TIP survivors and at-risk populations.

KEY ACTIVITIES

• Support the GON, in particular the National Committee for Combating Human Trafficking and Local Committees for Combating Human Trafficking, and CSOs to effectively collect, analyze, use and share TIP-related data. Improved data management systems will subsequently result in the development of evidence-based national policies and program and implementation of targeted programs in partnership with stakeholders to improve foreign labor recruitment and mitigate TIP incidents.
• Foster information sharing between CSOs and relevant government and law enforcement entities. To do so, the project is building on existing data collection infrastructure and Ministry of Women, Children, and Social Welfare’s (MoWCSW) Case Management Guidelines, to replicate the data systems analysis, methodology refinement, and technology solution development process. This will allow survivor organizations and networks to lead advocacy, oversight, and participation in anti-TIP activities, and strengthen CSO monitoring and reporting of policies related to labor recruitment and TIP prevention, protection, and prosecution.
• Leverage private sector partnerships to expand access to quality services and related referral systems for TIP survivors and at-risk populations. Under this activity, the project will support in consolidating and adding TIP-related services available from private sector and missing public services in the project focus districts to the larger MoWCSW database. Increased partnerships between the GON, CSOs and private sector will assist in consolidating resources to effectively raise public awareness on countering human trafficking and on safe migration and to reduce legal barriers and ensure survivors to access justice and increase prosecution. The project will also support development of shelter accreditation through private sector support.

KEY RESULTS

By the end of the project in July 2022, Hamro Samman aims to achieve the following results:

• Committees to Control Human Traffic at district and national level strengthened to collect and use trafficking data for better policy, enforcement and services
• At-risk individuals reached with TIP information through media campaigns
• Government and CSO partners with improved capacity to deliver TIP services
• Increased number of TIP cases identified and support services by police or service providers improved
• Capacity and engagement of CSOs improved for CTIP advocacy
• Private sector partnerships actively providing services and referrals through TIP networks
• At-risk individuals with increased entrepreneurial skills and employment opportunities