Shri Madhukar Gupta, Secretary, MHA
Ms Cristina Albertin, South Asia Regional Office Representative
Sh. B K Sinha, DG, NIRD
Ms Vijay Lakshmi K Gupta, Addl. Secretary, Ministry of Women and Child Development


          I on behalf of CBI welcome all the esteemed guests and participants to the Anti Human Trafficking Conference to be held over the next two days here. Human Trafficking is an organised crime of illicit "trade" of human beings involving multiple abusers and abused persons, specially children and women. The abused persons are essentially the victims of the trade who are treated as commodities, to be traded and re-traded at will without the slightest concern to human rights. Such victims are more vulnerable in context of our country, since our society is still predominantly a patriarchal society and the victims are the weaker sex. The volume of this trade around the globe as per ILO reports ranges between 6 to 8 million people per year. It has been estimated that huge revenues to the tune of US$ 5-9 Billion is generated per year out of Human Trafficking alone and it is the world's 3rd largest organized crime after Narcotics Trade and Illicit Arms Trafficking.

          Since this trade caters essentially to prostitution therefore 80% of the people trafficked are women and children. It is also not surprising that premium is more for young females, therefore half of the female victims are minors. This is perhaps also because of the fact that this class is the most vulnerable and is therefore easily lured and transported both within and outside India.

          India occupies a unique position in this illicit trade because it is a source, transit and a destination as well Human Trafficking Groups. It is therefore both; a supplier and a consumer of this trade and this differentiates Human Trafficking in India from other countries. It is estimated that 85% of the people trafficked in India are trafficked for domestic market itself. The trafficked victims mostly end up in forced prostitution, as bonded labourers (also called debt labourers) in hazardous manufacturing industries, other illegal labour intensive industries and as carriers.

          The approach of the government in tackling this social scourge is essentially two fold; first, to frame policy and enacting legislations like Juvenile Justice Act, 2000; Child Labour Prevention Act; Bonded Child Labour Protection Act, etc. and second, to involve NGOs and multifarious social groups involved in rescue and rehabilitation of victims. The order of Maharashtra Govt. to shut dance bars to my mind goes a long way towards shutting an important avenue of consumption of trafficked children and women.

          Tackling Human Trafficking is popularly known as 3 P's; Protection, Prevention and Prosecution. The Law Enforcement Agencies have important role to play in each of these areas of the organized crime. In the area of protection, law enforcement agencies have to ensure that vulnerable groups are identified and ensuring that people are not trafficked. In context of prevention it is imperative to strengthen the intelligence collection network through conventional means and by integrating its efforts with the Civil Societies Groups to unearth the roots and vulnerable areas which are protected by the syndicates.

          The approach of the law enforcement agencies is two pronged i.e. treating the rescued people as victims and not as accused and second, to treat human trafficking as an organized crime. Therefore, the approach towards the victim has to be that of rescue, rehabilitation and reintegration in the society. This approach is popularly known as 3 R's. The Govt., through the Ministry of Women and Social Welfare have layed special emphasize through different policies and programs towards implementing these three R's while law enforcement people have to pay greater importance to the second aspect of the strategy which is tackling the organized crime. The Human Trafficking is an organized crime often having interstate, international and transnational ramifications. The reason for this is that people trafficked are across diverse geographical areas crossing at times many international borders and passing through the jurisdiction of different governmental agencies like Border Control, Customs, Police, Railways, Tourism etc. In this context, treating the trafficked persons who are rescued as victims and not as accused is a milestone legislation and this change will see these victims come forth as witnesses to the unlawful acts of the traffickers. To execute this operation requires an organized and synergised approach to channelise efforts by number of agencies/countries and also develop the necessary expertise to tackle this issue as an organised crime.

          The people who were trafficked in India are mostly from neighbouring countries and India itself who are transported to Middle East and West Asian Countries. Therefore, the law enforcement agencies have to collect actionable intelligence to execute preventive and rescue operations, apprehended and perpetrators/conspirators/ abettors/unearth networks operating across transnational borders and pay special emphasis on prosecuting the offenders to successfully neutralize them. This is one of the reason why Central Bureau of Investigation has been made as Nodal Agency for the Govt. for enforcement of anti human trafficking efforts as in intelligence collection, investigation and prosecution go hand in hand.

          It is very important to plug the root and tackle the syndicate involved in human trafficking since these networks could be put to use to enhance other unlawful acts like Narcotics Trade, Wildlife Crime and Illicit Arms Trafficking. It is often discovered that the carriers of such illicit trades were themselves victims of trafficking in the first place and were expendable. No wonder that human trafficking is the fastest growing industry in the world since the trafficked people and networks can be put to different use at different times and circumstances.

          My heartiest thanks to all participants for having spared their valuable time in pursuit of a cause that is no less a noble cause. I hope that the deliberations in the coming days will be enriching and meaningful.