NEPAL 2006 TIP REPORT

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 11 KATHMANDU 000629

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SUBJECT: NEPAL 2006 TIP REPORT

REF: A. STATE 3836


B. 05 KATHMANDU 2416


1. (U) The following is Embassy Kathmandu's submission for
the 2006 Trafficking in Persons Report.


2. (SBU) OVERVIEW

-- A. Nepal is a country of origin for the trafficking of
women and children, and to a lesser extent boys and men. The
majority of persons are trafficked to India, while others get
trafficked to Southeast Asia or the Persian Gulf to countries
such as Malaysia, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
They are tricked, coerced, sold and in most cases forced to
live and work under slave-like conditions as prostitutes,
domestic workers, sweatshop laborers, or wives. Men are
increasingly being misled by employment agencies and promised
a good job in a hotel for example, then upon arrival are
forced into different work or situations other than expected.
Boys are most often trafficked into exploitative labor
situations such as embroidery factories, circuses and
domestic servitude. Internal trafficking has been on the
rise as the Maoist insurgency has forced many women and
children to leave their rural homes and seek employment in
the urban centers, where they are then trafficked into
prostitution, working in live entertainment clubs, or other
types of forced labor.

There is a lack of accurate and reliable data on trafficking
in Nepal. The International Labor Organization (ILO)
estimates 12,000 women and girls are trafficked from Nepal
each year. A January 2006 report of spot investigations of
brothels conducted by Asmita Women's Publishing House, Media
and Resource Organization (a Nepali NGO) in 2005, reported
that there are no more than 25,000 Nepali girls working in
Indian brothels, significantly less than the previous
standard figure of 200,000 quoted by NGOs in Nepal. Other
NGOs believe that this 25,000 figure is too low.

Young women under 18, mostly from underprivileged groups and
castes such as the damai (tailors),kami (ironsmiths) and
dalit (untouchables),are most at risk of being trafficked.

-- B. The Government of Nepal (GON) continues to sustain its
efforts to combat trafficking in persons. While political
instability caused by the February 1, 2005 royal takeover and
increased Maoist violence have caused difficulties, the GON
commitment to combating trafficking remains strong among the
government line agencies, such as the Nepal Police Women's
Cell and Ministry of Women, Children and Social Welfare
(MWCSW),to maintain the minimum standards to combat
trafficking in persons. The GON made efforts to strengthen
its labor migration policy in 2005. GON officials and
representatives from the United Nations Development Fund for
Women (UNIFEM) visited Saudi Arabia to learn about the
situation of migrant workers there as the GON had lifted a
ban on Nepalis working in Saudi Arabia in 2003. UNIFEM also
assisted the Ministry of Labor in drafting a new labor
migration policy to ensure safer migration; the Ministry of
Labor is working on the draft. A draft trafficking law has
yet to be passed since the lower House of Parliament was
dissolved. Under the current regime, all draft legislation
has to be approved by the King's Cabinet and subsequently
declared an ordinance by the King.

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and the MWCSW
signed an agreement establishing Nepal's Office of the
National Rapporteur (ONRT) in August 2002. Per the
recommendations of the review team, comprised of an
international and a local consultant, the NHRC decided in
December 2005 to integrate the ONRT as part of its
organization. The ONRT will focus on monitoring and
reporting on trafficking-related cases. The ONRT is

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compiling Nepal's first ever trafficking in persons report
about the trafficking situation of women. The report will
map out anti-trafficking initiatives, but not the actual
number of persons trafficked. The ONRT is currently seeking
to develop a systematic trafficking reporting system that
will involve working with Nepal's 26 anti-trafficking
District Task Forces and local NGOs. The creation of the
ONRT was based on recommendations from a program entitled,
"Beyond Trafficking: A Joint Initiative in the Millennium
Against Trafficking in Girls and Women" (JIT),which was a
collaborative effort of the MWCSW, a UN System Task Force
Against Trafficking and other donors, that completed its work
in 2005. The ONRT started operations in January 2003 and
since then has developed relations with the network of NGOs
working to combat trafficking as well as with the relevant
line ministries of the GON.

Nepal ratified the SAARC Convention on Preventing Trafficking
in Women and Children for Prostitution on October 31, 2005.
The MWCSW plans to hold discussion programs with civil
society leaders to update the National Action Plan to ensure
it is compatible with the SAARC Convention. This Convention
may also have implications for Nepal's extradition policy.

Traffickers in Nepal are a loose network of individuals
looking to profit from the movement of persons and are often
introduced to potential victims by friends or family.
Traffickers often trick girls' families into believing their
daughters will be getting good jobs in India and be able to
send money home. Other families knowingly sell their
daughters or coerce their daughters to get married. These
girls live in slave-like conditions working as prostitutes,
domestic workers, sweatshop laborers or wives. While
evidence is hard to come by, it is highly suspected that
traffickers move many girls by paying bribes at the
Indo-Nepal border and also by attaining legitimate
identification documents through bribes or obtaining
fraudulent documents. The Indo-Nepal border is open and very
porous, thus avoiding border checkpoints is not very
difficult.

-- C. The lack of government resources and a stable
government have been ongoing limitations to Nepal's
anti-trafficking efforts. The government acknowledges it
lacks sufficient resources to aid victims, and relies heavily
on NGOs to strengthen its anti-trafficking regime and support
to victims.
However, despite these limitations, the GON has remained
committed to combating trafficking in persons. Projects with
outside funding carried out by NGOs and INGOs have led to
most improvements in the GON's anti-trafficking regime.
Despite the insurgency and political instability, NGO and
INGO assistance is positively impacting Nepal's ability to
combat trafficking. Several policy initiatives remained
stalled in 2005 due to the February 1, 2005 royal takeover,
and government action has moved at a slower pace than 2004.
Overall corruption is rampant in the GON and many NGO workers
suspect that government officials willingly issue marriage
certificates and other necessary identification documents for
the right price, which enable traffickers to move victims
under legitimate pretenses.

-- D. Despite good intentions, the GON is unable to monitor
adequately its anti-trafficking efforts. The Nepal Police
Women's Cell maintains records of trafficking cases filed and
publishes them in an annual report. The Attorney General's
office also keeps records of trafficking prosecutions, and
compiles and publishes them on an annual basis in accordance
with the Nepali fiscal year (approximately July 15 - July
15). The ONRT is preparing Nepal's first annual trafficking
in persons report and preparing common national monitoring
indicators to map anti-trafficking initiatives and track the
status of Government-implemented projects, policies and laws.

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The ONRT also seeks to develop a national database on
trafficking in persons. The ONRT's efforts could be a real
breakthrough in strengthening Nepal's ability to monitor
trafficking activity.


3. (SBU) PREVENTION

-- A. The GON acknowledges publicly that trafficking is a
national problem.

-- B. The Ministry of Women, Children and Social Welfare
(MWCSW) has primary responsibility for the development and
coordination of the government's anti-trafficking efforts.
The MWCSW has instituted a National Task Force Against
Trafficking, which includes personnel from the Ministries of
Labor and Transportation Management, Local Development, Home,
Health, Foreign Affairs, Education and Sports, and Law,
Justice and Parliamentary Affairs; the National Planning
Commission; and the Nepal Police. The ILO, UNICEF and two
anti-trafficking NGOs (ABC Nepal and Maiti Nepal) are also
members.

-- C. The MWCSW, in coordination with NGOs and international
organizations, continues to implement local, regional and
national information campaigns about trafficking in persons.
The GON prepares radio programs, audio-visual presentations,
booklets, pamphlets and signboards aimed at preventing
trafficking among vulnerable groups. According to the
National Plan of Action, district task forces in 26 high-risk
districts are mandated to identify trafficking prone areas,
conduct awareness-raising campaigns, collect data on
trafficking of women and children, disseminate
trafficking-related information and coordinate with all
stakeholders to address the issue of trafficking. Monitoring
is an integral part of their responsibility. The MWCSW, with
support from the Center for Development and Population
Activities (CEDPA),established the Documentation and
Information Center (DIC) that has within it the Management
Information System (MIS). MIS aims to track trafficking
cases and NGO interventions at the district level. The MIS
software is not being fully utilized due to lack of funding.
The MWCSW disseminates information on program activities on a
biannual basis through the Combat Newsletter; through the
annual report of the Joint Initiative Against Trafficking
(JIT) program, a collaborative body of the MWCSW and the UN
Task Force Against Trafficking; and the JIT quarterly
bulletin, entitled "Chelibeti." There are currently no
programs planned to replace JIT.

Efforts by the GON, INGOs and NGOs to raise public awareness
have resulted in the interception of potential trafficking
victims within communities and at the Indo-Nepal border, and
increasingly positive acceptance of victims by the community
and family. It is also believed that increased parental
awareness has made parents less susceptible to releasing
their children to traffickers who make false promises.

-- D. The GON supports other programs to prevent trafficking.
The National Plan of Action to Combat Trafficking, finalized
in 2003, includes income and employment generation and
networking and social mobilization among its eight areas of
focus.

Under a GON initiative started in 2003, all workers traveling
overseas must attend an orientation session organized by the
Ministry of Labor and Transport Management explaining worker
rights, safety issues and relevant regulations. This session
raises awareness and is intended to prevent workers from
falling victim to trafficking. However, the Ministry admits
that this orientation session has not been taken seriously by
many of the approximately 200 private institutions that
conduct the orientation. The Ministry of Labor has drafted
two new laws, a Foreign Employment Regulation Act and Labor

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Migration Policy, which are still being worked on within the
Ministry. The Labor Migration Policy will seek to improve
the orientation and to monitor workers from the
pre-employment stage through their eventual return to Nepal.
The two pieces of legislation are aimed at reducing the
administrative burden on obtaining GON approval to work
abroad. This should result in more workers opting to go
through the government system in lieu of seeking work abroad
through the informal sector, where the risks of trafficking
are higher.

The Nepal Police have established local-level Women and
Children Service Centers as part of their community policing
efforts. The Centers are part of the government's
anti-trafficking efforts and operate with a combined mandate
of law enforcement, counseling and public awareness. There
are currently 20 of these centers in 18 districts.

Encouraging children to stay in school is also a large
component of the government's campaign to eliminate child
labor and prevent trafficking. This issue is being addressed
under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Labor
(DOL)-funded Timebound and Brighter Future projects. The
Ministry of Education and Sports publishes a newsletter
annually and operates a program in all 75 districts to create
awareness among parents about the importance of sending their
children to school. Programs include street dramas and
public service announcements through Radio Nepal.

In March 2004, the GON unveiled its National Plan on Women
designed to bring Nepal into compliance with the United
Nations Convention to Eliminate all forms of Discrimination
Against Women (CEDAW) and eliminate all gender-based
discriminatory laws within three years. The plan mandates
the government to increase women's participation in
elections, civil service and other public activities, and
promote women's health and education. The Supreme Court
issued three decisions in 2005 that improved
gender-discrimination laws and practice:

-- Citizenship rights can be awarded to a child without
parents or with an unidentified father.
-- Women are allowed to obtain passports without the consent
of their husband or male guardian.
-- The practice of Chhaupadi was banned. (Note: Chhaupadi is
a practice by some in remote areas of Nepal whereby
menstruating women are required to live in a secluded
dwelling away from their community; this is also required for
11 days after childbirth. End Note.)

-- F. The relationship between government organizations, NGOs
and INGOs remains cooperative and productive. The MWCSW
fosters a collaborative relationship with donors and NGOs in
joint pursuit of anti-trafficking goals. For example,
"Beyond Trafficking -- A Joint Initiative in the Millennium
Against Trafficking of Girls and Women (JIT)" was a
collaborative effort of the MWCSW, UN System Task Force
Against Trafficking and other donors that completed its
activities in 2005. There are no current activities planned
to fill JIT's role. The Asia Foundation (TAF) organized a
national linkage meeting of the District Task Forces and
National Task Force on July 18, 2005 where the MWCSW
committed to provide legitimacy to the Village Task Forces in
several districts. At the meeting, TAF requested that the
District and Village Task Forces strengthen their reporting
to the National Task Force on identifying achievements and
gaps in efforts to combat trafficking. The ONRT consults
with MWCSW, NGOs, and individuals on the National Task Force
about trafficking activities.

-- G. The GON established a cross-border initiative whereby
Nepali border officials and NGOs develop mechanisms for the
effective interception of potential victims and traffickers

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at Indo-Nepal crossings and the rescue and repatriation of
victims from India. However, Nepal's open land border with
India makes stringent monitoring of trafficking very
difficult. The INGO, Planete Enfant, along with local NGOs
Maiti Nepal and ABC Nepal have opened transit homes for
trafficking victims and potential victims and border
check-posts to intercept potential victims in fourteen
districts. Additionally, Maiti Nepal and Nepali NGO Saathi
employ trafficking survivors to work with law enforcement
along the border to intercept and screen suspected
trafficking victims.

-- H. The International Agencies Coordinating Group on
Trafficking (IACG),which includes bilateral donors, INGOs,
and UN bodies, acts as the mechanism for coordination and
communication on trafficking-related matters. It meets on a
quarterly basis to provide updates on current efforts, avoid
duplication and make proper use of resources in combating
trafficking. The government's National Task Force Against
Trafficking also coordinates and facilitates among government
agencies and NGOs. It is the government's point of contact
on trafficking matters. The Commission for the Investigation
of the Abuse of Authority (CIAA) investigates public
corruption.

-- J. The GON's National Plan of Action to Combat
Trafficking, organized by the MWCSW, was developed in
consultation with the ILO, NGOs and relevant government
agencies, including the Ministries of Home, Law, and Local
Development. Finalized in 2003, the GON disseminated The
National Plan through a workshop to all relevant
stakeholders. It is being implemented in 26 high-risk
districts. The National Plan of Action includes eight areas
of focus: 1) policy, research and institutional development;
2) legislation and enforcement; 3) awareness creation; 4)
advocacy; 5) income and employment generation; 6) networking
and social mobilization; 7) trans-border, regional and
international issues; and 8) monitoring and evaluation.


4. (SBU) INVESTIGATION AND PROSECUTION OF TRAFFICKERS

-- A. The absence of a national legislature since the
dismissal of Parliament in 2002 continues to prevent
enactment of new anti-trafficking legislation. Draft
legislation exists and is expected to be brought before any
newly constituted Parliament. The current laws governing
trafficking are a chapter on Trafficking and Human Beings in
the 1963 Civil Code (which addresses slavery and the
exploitation of prostitution by coercion or fraud) and The
Human Trafficking Control Act of 1986. Both laws are being
used to prosecute trafficking cases. The 1986 Act was
revised in 2002 to include more stringent punishment;
however, the new version was never passed due to the lack of
a sitting Parliament. The existing 1986 Act prohibits:

- Selling of a human being for any purpose;
- Taking any person to a foreign territory with an intention
of selling that person to a third party;
- Involving any woman in prostitution by enticement,
allurement, fraud, threat, coercion or any other means; and
- Abetting, assisting, conspiring or attempting to carry out
any of the above acts.

The 1986 Act covers both internal and external forms of
trafficking, provided that the trafficker is a Nepali;
however, the trafficker must be in Nepal to be apprehended
(an extradition treaty negotiated and signed at the Secretary
level by the governments of Nepal and India in January 2005
still awaits Ministerial signature to come into force). The
1986 Act requires revisions of several provisions. It does
not criminalize the separation of a minor from his or her
legal guardian with the intent of trafficking the minor, nor
does it criminalize the receipt of a trafficked person.

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Under the terms of the Act, no crime occurs until the
perpetrator takes the victim outside of Nepal. Local police
cannot investigate trafficking complaints without permission
from the district courts, and the resultant delay gives
perpetrators time to flee.

If trafficking takes place within labor migration, punishment
can be meted out under the Foreign Employment Act of 1985.
In 2004 the Ministry of Labor and Transport Management
drafted a progressive bill protecting the rights of labor
migrants, for which foreign employment regulations and labor
migration policies have also been developed. This bill
remains in draft form and the Ministry plans to refine it
before submitting it for Cabinet approval.

-- B. The Human Trafficking Control Act of 1986 provides for
jail terms of up to 20 years (the maximum sentence for any
crime in Nepal) for traffickers, but sentences are often much
less. Penalties for the selling of girls range from 10-20
years; for forced marriage 10-15 years; and 5-10 years for
trafficking abroad. The Act provides for sentences ranging
from 5 to 10 years if a person is convicted with intent to
traffic. If actual trafficking took place, sentences range
from 10 to 20 years. Although there is no specific legal
provision at this time covering trafficking for labor
exploitation, traffickers of people for labor exploitation
are generally charged under the Foreign Employment Act of

1985. The court decides the amount to be paid to the victim;
this amount is usually borne by the manpower company
(employment agency).

-- C. The maximum sentence for trafficking is higher than the
maximum sentence for rape or forcible sexual assault.
Penalties for rape vary with the age of the victim. If the
victim is under 16, jail sentences of up to fifteen years are
possible. For victims 16 and over, the maximum sentence is
five years. In contrast, trafficking crimes carry a minimum
penalty of five years and a maximum penalty of twenty.

-- D. National law is silent regarding prostitution. In
practice, however, prostitutes are frequently treated as
criminals for violating public decency under the Public
Offense Act. Under the Human Trafficking Control Act of
1986, brothel owners are punished for the act of forced
prostitution, but the law is silent about punishments for the
client, pimp or enforcer. A bill to revise the 1986 Human
Trafficking Control Act includes the concept of
criminalization of prostitution and is progressive in
proposing "in camera" hearings for survivors and compensation
to the victims. However, due to the lack of a sitting
Parliament, passage of this bill is still pending.

-- E. The government has prosecuted cases against
traffickers. The Nepal Police Women's Cell reports that 73
trafficking cases were filed and investigated from March 2005
through February 2006. The most recent data available on
prosecutions comes from the Attorney General's Annual Report.
The most recent report covers July 15, 2004 through July 15,
2005, when 347 cases were filed in District, Appellate, and
Supreme Courts. Attorneys filed 173 cases in District Courts
across the country. These resulted in 33 full and 24 partial
convictions, 31 lost cases; and 85 remained pending.
Attorneys filed 43 cases in Appellate Courts nationwide.
These resulted in 3 full and 1 partial convictions, 5 lost
cases; and 34 are pending. The Attorney General's Office
filed 131 cases in Supreme Court. These resulted in 16 full
and 1 partial convictions, 13 lost cases; and 101 cases are
pending.

According to NGO lawyers, over half of all convicted
traffickers receive maximum prison sentences and serve the
full sentence. In most cases, NGO-provided prosecutions have
successfully resulted in maximum punishments for the

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traffickers. Success is less likely in cases argued by
government public attorneys. The plea bargaining system is
not practiced in Nepal. Government information on sentences
and fines is difficult to obtain as anti-trafficking cases
are not aggregated in a specific category, but rather in
other diffuse categories such as fraud and corruption.

-- F. According to the MWCSW, the Police Women's Cell and the
Attorney General's office, small groups of organized
criminals are the primary perpetrators of trafficking in
Nepal. They note that parents and other relatives of
trafficking victims are often complicit as well. A December
2004 study by Action Aid Nepal showed that suspected
trafficking pimps often visited cabin (live entertainment)
restaurants posing as clients to entice young girls with
better job opportunities in India. The Nepali NGO Asmita
Women's Publishing House, Media and Resource Organization,
conducted a study of Indian Brothels in 2005 and reported
that there were no organized criminal syndicates involved in
trafficking girls from Nepal, though a chain of criminals
existed. The report stated that traffickers and pimps were
small time beneficiaries while the brothel operators made the
most profit. Laborers sent abroad by employment agencies
have ended up being trafficked to destinations other than
advertised, but there is no strong evidence to determine
whether the culpability for the trafficking lies with Nepali
employment agencies or with middlemen or employment agencies
in the destination countries. Post is not aware of any
instances of use of travel or other agencies as a front to
traffic individuals. To date, there have been no reports of
government officials involved in trafficking. However, it is
suspected that some local government officials take bribes to
produce identification documents that ultimately allow girls
to be trafficked over the Indo-Nepal border. Profits from
trafficking in persons are generally kept by the perpetrator
rather than channeled elsewhere.

The Nepal Police Women's Cell noted that Maoist insurgents
could be extorting rich traffickers, and that the Maoist
conflict forced women and children to flee to urban centers
in Nepal or India, where they often ended up in forced labor
situations.

-- G. The government, through the Central Police Women's Cell
and district women's cells, actively investigates cases of
trafficking. However, the government acknowledges it lacks
the trained manpower necessary to investigate cases of
trafficking effectively. While no legal restrictions prevent
the police from conducting covert operations or electronic
surveillance, poor training, rudimentary equipment and
procedural inertia prevent the techniques from being utilized.

-- H. As part of an anti-trafficking initiative begun in
1996, the Nepal Police occasionally train a limited number of
personnel in the investigation of trafficking. Most training
programs of this type are developed and administered by Nepal
Police Women's Cell and NGOs. The Nepal Police Women's Cell
now operates 20 Women and Children Service Centers in 18
districts that provide training to local police on victim
support techniques, provide victims counseling, and raise
public awareness about violence against women and children.
In August 2005 the Nepal Police Policy Coordination Committee
made a decision to establish Women and Children Service
Centers in all of Nepal's 75 districts and requested budget
allocation for the centers and the required 339 new officers
to staff them. To date there has been no movement on the
budget request and thus no additional centers have opened nor
new officers hired. The GON supports these programs to the
best of its ability by providing facilities and making its
personnel available to participate.

The National Judicial Academy (NJA),an annex of the Supreme
Court, provides training to judges, government attorneys and

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other court staff. The NJA has conducted national as well as
regional workshops for judges on trafficking, focusing on a
"rights-based approach" to ensure victims' rights. The NJA
started two years ago, however, the Attorney General's Office
indicated the Academy needed to be strengthened and better
developed. The government also has a staff college that
provides basic training for all government employees,
including a small component on gender awareness issues.

-- I. The GON cooperates with other governments informally in
the investigation and prosecution of trafficking cases. The
Nepal Police Women's Cell says it has good relations with
officials in India and Saudi Arabia. Currently there is no
formal mechanism of cooperation and data is not compiled on
such cooperation.

-- J. The government cannot extradite persons who are charged
with trafficking in other countries under the Extradition
Treaty of 1953, Nepal's only extradition treaty, currently in
force with India. According to the 1953 Extradition Treaty,
no Nepalese national can be extradited to another country;
he/she must be tried in Nepal. In January 2005, the Home
Secretaries of Nepal and India approved and initialed a new

SIPDIS
Extradition Treaty, which awaits Ministerial-level signature
to come into force. It is believed to contain a clause
related to trafficking that would allow for extradition of
third-country nationals or nationals of the requesting
country, specifically India. The Home Secretaries also
initialed an Agreement on Mutual Legal Assistance on Criminal
Matters (MLACM) between Nepal and India. Details of the
MLACM have not been made public as the agreement awaits
signature at the political level to come into force. Nepal
ratified the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation
(SAARC) Convention on Preventing Trafficking in Women and
Children for Prostitution on October 31, 2005, which may have
implications on extradition policies in the future. No
Nepalese or other citizens have been extradited for
trafficking.

-- K. There is no evidence that GON authorities facilitate,
condone or are otherwise complicit or involved in human
trafficking. However, local anti-trafficking NGOs report
that individual local officials and border police sometimes
accept bribes in exchange for allowing the traffickers and
their victims to cross Nepal's border with India. Also, it
is suspected that some local officials also accept bribes for
identification documents, which are used by traffickers to
move their victims across the border.

-- L. No government official has been prosecuted for
involvement in trafficking or trafficking-related corruption.

-- M. Nepal has no identified child sex tourism problem.
However, according to the Nepal Police Women's Cell, police
have apprehended several tourists for child sex tourism in
Nepal, and prosecuted seven cases since 1996: two cases in
1996, four cases in 2000, and one case in 2005. As a result,
the government deported two tourists to their country of
origin (one approximately three years ago, and one in
December 2005). Child sex abuse laws in Nepal do not have
extraterritorial coverage. If the trafficker (Nepali or
third country national),however, returns to Nepal, the
government can file a case against him or her.

-- N. Nepal ratified ILO Convention 29 on Forced Labor on
January 3, 2002, and ratified ILO Convention 182 concerning
the prohibition and immediate action for the elimination of
the worst forms of child labor on September 13, 2001.
According to the MWCSW, Nepal signed and ratified the Rights
of the Child Convention in 1991. Nepal also signed the
Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the
Child in May 2000, but has not yet ratified it due to the
lack of a sitting Parliament. Nepal has not yet signed ILO

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Convention 105 on forced or compulsory labor, or the Protocol
to Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially
Women and Children, which supplements the UN Convention
Against Transnational Organized Crime. Nepal ratified the
SAARC Convention on Preventing Trafficking in Women and
Children for Prostitution on October 31, 2005, making it
operational. The MWCSW plans to hold discussions with civil
society leaders to update the National Action Plan so that it
is compatible with the SAARC Convention.


5. (SBU) PROTECTION AND ASSISTANCE TO VICTIMS

-- A. Nepal has victim care and victim health care
facilities. They are run primarily by NGOs, often in
cooperation/coordination with the Nepal Central Police
Women's Cell and district-level police women's cells, but are
limited. Complete records are not available for the total
number of victims who have received care or services from
NGOs or Police Women's Cells, however, the Central Women's
Cell estimates it provided legal aid to approximately 700
victims in 2005. Maiti Nepal provided legal aid to the 48
victims they rescued. The MWCSW provides support to the
Women's Cell by providing legal advice to any questions of
the Women's Cell. Questions regarding residency status and
relief from deportation do not appear to apply to Nepal, as
Nepal is not a destination country for international
trafficking in persons.

-- B. The GON provides limited funding to local NGOs to
provide trafficking victims assistance with rehabilitation,
medical care, and legal and other services. The GON does not
fund foreign NGOs. Bilateral and multilateral donors,
working with the GON through the MWCSW and the Nepal Police
Women's Cell, fund local and foreign NGOs to provide victim
assistance. Maiti Nepal, an anti-trafficking NGO partially
funded by the government, rescued 48 girls during calendar
year 2005 from brothels and exploitative environments in
Nepal, India and Gulf countries. Maiti Nepal provides
medical and legal services to all the girls it rescues.

-- C. Although there is no formal screening or referral
process in place to transfer victims from GON custody into
local care facilities, it is common for the police to refer
victims to local NGOs that maintain rehabilitation centers.
Usually, the NGO that initially takes in the trafficking
victim provides most of the services.

-- D. The government of Nepal protects and respects the
rights of victims. Trafficking victims are not detained,
jailed, or deported, nor are they prosecuted for violations
of other laws. The Nepal Police Central Women's Cell in
Kathmandu and 19 other district-level Women's Cells assist
victims of trafficking and domestic violence. In Districts
lacking a Women's Cell, victims would be more likely to have
to deal with male police officers who may not be as
sensitized to trafficking crimes as the female Women's Cell
officers.

-- E. The GON actively encourages trafficking victims to file
civil suits or seek legal action against traffickers.
However, threats by traffickers, lack of personal security,
open court hearings, and non-cooperative communities often
discourage the victim from pursuing legal recourse. If the
victim is a material witness in a court case against a former
employer, she/he is not permitted to obtain other employment
or to leave the country until the case is over. The Foreign
Employment Act of 1985 provides for the court to determine
compensation to the victim. The GON has legal provisions to
provide travel and lodging expenses for trafficking victims
acting as witnesses, though in practice the money is rarely
made available.

-- F. The Women's Cell provides limited protection to

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victims. When a victim files a civil suit or makes a
criminal complaint, the GON prosecutes the case at no cost to
the victim. Intercepted and returned victims are given over
to the care of NGOs, which in turn pursue legal and other
recourses. Victims are often reluctant to testify because
trials are held in open court and there is no legal
protection for witnesses. The South Asia Regional Initiative
for Gender Equity (SARI/Q) has finalized a draft of a
victim/witness protection protocol for Nepal, India,
Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, under consideration by Nepal.

-- G. As part of the foreign employment initiative of January
2003, the GON opened Embassies with labor attaches in Kuala
Lumpur in June 2003 and the UAE in April 2004. Malaysia and
the UAE have large concentrations of Nepalese workers. The
government has also asked Saudi Arabia to open a consular
section in Nepal. Malaysia opened an Embassy in Kathmandu in
2003, while the closest embassies for Saudi Arabia are in New
Delhi and Dhaka. GON representatives at Consulates located
in countries where victims are typically trafficked receive
information about trafficking as part of their general
training; they do not receive specialized training in
recognizing trafficking nor in the provision of assistance to
trafficked victims.

Government officials have assisted with the repatriation of
victims to Nepal when cases were brought to their attention.
ABC Nepal reported that government officials assisted with
the repatriation of two labor trafficking victims in February

2006. One woman was repatriated from Kuwait and the other
from Saudi Arabia. Many NGOs in Nepal, however, feel that
government officials working at Embassies and Consulates are
not encouraged to foster relationships with local NGOs in
their host countries, which could be a valuable tool to find
services to trafficking victims.

-- H. The Nepal Police Central Women's Cell and district
cells provide assistance and referrals to repatriated
nationals who are victims of trafficking.

-- I. There are 57 NGOs and 19 international organizations
(UN agencies, INGOs, and donors) working to combat
trafficking in Nepal; several of the NGOs and INGOs have
rehabilitation and skills-training programs for trafficking
victims. NGOs that provide both shelter and skills-training
include: ABC Nepal, Maiti Nepal, Shanti Punarsthapana Kendra,
Saathi, and Mit Nepal. International organizations working
on trafficking issues in Nepal include: UNIFEM, UNICEF, the
ILO, and Planete Enfant. Central and local authorities
cooperate fully with NGOs, including providing them nominal
funding. With the GON's endorsement, many NGOs conduct
public information and outreach campaigns in rural areas.
They also provide prevention education, micro-finance,
rehabilitation, advocacy and legal assistance. Two
representative NGOs are members of the MWCSW's National Task
Force, and the GON works closely with NGOs to provide
services to victims and assist in the implementation of the
National Plan of Action.

Maiti Nepal has transit homes in ten border districts and one
checkpoint in Nagdhunga, Kathmandu's major transit point, to
monitor for trafficking. Planete Enfant works in
collaboration with Nepali NGOs ABC Nepal (which receives
government funding) and Saathi (another anti-trafficking NGO)
in 14 border districts. ABC Nepal has four transit homes in
four different districts and ten border checkpoints. Saathi
has two transit homes and operates four border checkpoints to
watch for victims of trafficking.

POINT OF CONTACT AND REPORTING TIME
--------------


6. (U) Point of contact on trafficking is Political/Economic

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Officer Jamie Dragon; phone 977-1-443-1254, fax
977-1-441-0723.


7. (U) OMB Reporting Requirements: The Political/Economic
Officer, FS-04, spent 35 hours researching, drafting, and
clearing this report. One FSN-11 at USAID spent 16 hours
researching and editing content of the report. One Embassy
FSN-11 spent 9 hours doing research. The Political/Economic
Chief, FS-02, spent 5 hours, the Political/Economic OMS,
FS-07, spent 5 hours and ADCM, FS-01, spent 1 hour clearing
the report.
MORIARTY