Prime Minister Balendra Shah has called for cooperation among all stakeholders, including the federal, provincial and local governments, to build a society free from human trafficking and smuggling.
In a message issued on the occasion of the 20th National Day against Human Trafficking, Prime Minister Shah said human trafficking was a blot on human civilisation and had spread worldwide as a form of organised crime.
The day is being observed under the theme, “Proper use of technology and vigilance, solidarity for building a nation free from human trafficking”.
Prime Minister Shah said technological development was bringing changes in the trends, nature, forms and destinations of human trafficking and smuggling.
He said the government had been making policy and institutional reforms in line with its national and international commitments to prevent and control human trafficking and smuggling.
Various initiatives were being undertaken through coordination and cooperation among the three tiers of government and all concerned stakeholders, he said.
According to Prime Minister Shah, a bill to amend the Human Trafficking and Transportation (Control) Act, 2007 has been registered in Parliament to bring it in line with the Palermo Protocol.
He expressed hope that the amendment would facilitate greater cooperation and coordination among states for the protection of the human rights of victims of human trafficking and smuggling at the international level.
Prime Minister Shah also said a policy against human trafficking had been issued and brought into implementation as part of efforts to align with the existing legal and institutional mechanisms with the federal structure.
He said cooperation among provincial and local governments, in addition to the federal government, as well as national and international non-governmental organisations, development partners and other stakeholders, was essential to the campaign against human trafficking.
“Building a society free from human trafficking is possible only through our collective initiatives and joint efforts,” Prime Minister Shah said.
Minister Badi calls for solidarity
Meanwhile, Minister for Women, Children, Gender and Sexual Minorities and Social Security Sita Badi has called for solidarity among all stakeholders to build a safe, dignified and just society free from human trafficking and smuggling. In a message issued on the day, Minister Badi urged the federal, provincial and local governments, security agencies, government and non-government organisations, civil society, media, development partners and the general public to fulfil their respective roles and responsibilities effectively.
Minister Badi stressed the need to make the safe and responsible use of technology, public awareness campaigns and inter-agency coordination more effective, saying that the forms, means and challenges of human trafficking were changing with the rapid development of technology.
According to her, the National Policy against Human Trafficking 2082 BS has been implemented with an action plan defining the clear roles and responsibilities of the three tiers of government.
The National Day against Human Trafficking has been observed annually on Bhadra 20 (Nepali Calander) since 2007, commemorating Nepal’s adoption of the SAARC Convention on Preventing and Combating Trafficking in Women and Children, 2002. A total of 125 cases of human trafficking were reported in Nepal Police during the fiscal year 2024/25. The data reveals a fluctuating trend in number of trafficking cases, with 163 trafficking cases registered in FY 2022/23, which increased to 170 in FY 2023/24, but decreased to 125 in FY 2024/25.
In Nepal, the number of trafficking offences/cases filed in Nepal Police is comparatively much lower than that of the estimated number of the actual cases, and not all filed cases are prosecuted, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) stated. Despite legal and policy frameworks, including the Human Trafficking and Transportation (Control) Act and various national plans of actions, implementation gaps remain significant, NHRC stated.
According to the NHRC, challenges persist in victim identification, survivor-centred rehabilitation, effective prosecution, inter-agency coordination and access to compensation and long-term reintegration.
The US State Department’s Human Trafficking report, 2025, has also placed Nepal in Tier-2 watch list for the second consecutive year. This status signals that, despite efforts made by the State, minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking are not yet fully met.
