India Tops In South Asia's Human Trafficking: UN Official


NEW DELHI: India has emerged as the top destination for human trafficking in South Asia, a top UN official has said.

South Asia representative of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Cristina Albertine, said that a majority of the victims are from Bangladesh and Nepal.

"India is a top destination for human trafficking in South Asia. People are trafficked from Nepal, the Gulf, Bangladesh and so on." Albertine told IANS in an interview at the UNODC office.

Albertine said that there is no exact figure on human trafficking in India as only a few studies have been done.

"Even within India, there are a lot of human trafficking victims. They stay within India. Not everybody is trafficked in Gulf state and across international border," she said.

As per the UNODC, hundreds of Bengali-speaking Muslim women are being trafficked from Bangladesh.

"Usually what we use for South Asia is that every year at least 150,000 (0.15 million) people are trafficked across the international borders,"

Of the 150,000, Albertine said, 75 percent are women.

"Fifty percent trafficking are done for forced labour," said Albertine.

Almost in all South Asian countries, she said, the majority of the victims are from rural areas.

Asked about the comparison of the continent with other ones, Albertine said: "It is very big region because one-sixth of the world's population lives here. It ranks quit high."

Source: PTI