To curb human trafficking, representatives of six States — Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Odisha and Tamil Nadu — on Saturday signed an Inter-State Declaration of Intent to work in collaboration.
The first-of-its-kind consultation focuses on joint efforts on intelligence gathering and sharing; legal and witness protection; and rehabilitation and care for survivors.
The declaration concluded the two-day Regional Consultation to Combat Human Trafficking hosted by the Telangana government in collaboration with two non-profit organisations, Prajwala and Shakti Vahini. The U.S. Consulates General in Hyderabad and Kolkata supported the event.
Special secretary to the Government of Telangana and Commissioner of Women Development and Child Welfare department Divya Devarajan said that Regional Consultation served as a platform to share each other's best practices, which further can be replicated in each State.
“This helped us to understand each other and cooperate. The two-day event has made us focus on what better can be done in combating human trafficking,” she said.
“I hope this collaboration doesn’t end here. It’s just a beginning and we can go forward stronger and much more knowledgeable about various laws, acts and best practices,” Ms. Devarajan said, adding that soon they would come up with the documentation of best practices.
Citing the example of how replicating each State’s best practices can help, Ms. Devarajan said that a team from Telangana went to Tamil Nadu to study the Amma Maternity Nutrition Kit scheme and Amma Baby Care Kit scheme. “It was later implemented here as KCR Kit, after which the Infant Mortality Rate and Maternal Mortality Ratio came down drastically in the State,” she said.
Founder of Prajwala Sunitha Krishnan said that the problem of human trafficking in India is primarily inter-State or intra-State. “The need for cooperation among States to curb trafficking is the need of the hour. This consultation under the able leadership of the Telangana government has paved the way for the best course of action in the Indian context to combat human trafficking,” she said.
The consultation included panel discussions and presentations by senior police officers, prosecutors, members of the judiciary, cyber crime professionals and survivor advocates, providing a forum for sharing of knowledge and evolving a way forward. Public Affairs Officer of the U.S. Consulate General, Hyderabad, David Moyer said that working together to end all forms of human trafficking is key to U.S.-India partnership.
