KATHMANDU, JULY 24

Minister of Women, Children and Senior Citizen Nawal Kishore Sah Sudi tabled the Human Trafficking and Transportation (Control) (First Amendment) Bill in the House of Representatives today.

The much-awaited bill offers comprehensive definition of human trafficking which includes forced service in line with UN Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons Especially Women and Children, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organised Crime also known as Palermo protocol.

The bill includes human smuggling in the definition of human trafficking which rights activists say ultimately will have to be separated from human trafficking. The bill defines child trafficking for the first time.

Provisions of the Human Trafficking and Transportation Act that imposes jail term of 15 to 20 years remain unchanged.

The bill clearly defines human trafficking and child trafficking.

The bill proposes a jail sentence of 15 to 20 years for trafficking a minor victim out of the country. If the minor victim is trafficked within Nepal, the bill proposes to impose a jail sentence of 10 to 12 years. The bill proposes to increase fine in human trafficking case from Rs 200,000.00 to 500,000.00. It also says that the compensation to be awarded to human trafficking victim will not be less than half of the fine imposed on the offender.

The bill give responsibility to National Committee to rescue a Nepali victim if she has been trafficked to a foreign country.

It also says that the amount to be spent for the rescue of trafficking victims will have to be borne by Rehabilitation Fund.

The bill establishes extra-territorial jurisdiction in human trafficking offence. It stipulates that its provisions will also apply to any an individual living outside Nepal commits human trafficking offence against Nepali citizen or if a Nepali national commits human trafficking offence against any individual outside Nepal. The bill defines exploitation including the definition of forced labour or service.

The bill also stipulates that the court can order seizing of the passport or property of human trafficking accused who has been absconding. But if the accused is arrested, then his/her passport or property which has been seized by order of the court, will be release.

The bill stipulates that in the human trafficking case the government attorneys can claim that the offence is an offence of moral turpitude.

Executive Director of Forum for Women, law and Development Advocate Sabin Shrestha told THT that all human trafficking crimes were offences of moral turpitude and hence lawmakers should revise this definition making it an offence of moral turpitude. He said the bill was still not enough because it does not separate human smuggling from human trafficking. Human smuggling is a separate offence which should be dealt with separately, he argued.

He also said that the bill vaguely recognized the fact that Nepal could also be a transit country for human trafficking but it still did not recgonsie the fact that Nepal could also be a destination country. The government has proceeded to amend the anti-human trafficking laws after UN agencies especially CEDAW Committee and Human Rights Council in their reports urged the government of Nepal to amend anti-human trafficking laws in line with the Palermo protocol.

Spokesperson for the Parliament Secretariat Ekram Giri said that as the Lower House passed the motion to consider the bill, lawmakers will have three days to register amendment motions and after that the House could decide whether it should send it to the relevant panel or it should pass directly discussing the bill.