Anti-Trafficking Bill: Survivors from West Bengal, Telangana and MP write to Narendra Modi for early passage in RS

New Delhi: Victims of human trafficking have written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, expressing their support for the Anti-Trafficking Bill and hoping for its early passage in the Rajya Sabha. The Lok Sabha had passed the bill in the Monsoon session of the Parliament in July 2018. In a letter to the prime minister undersigned by organisations representing trafficking survivors from West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana, the survivors said they hope for the early passage of the bill in the Rajya Sabha. “At some desperate moment of our life, we were lured with a hope of better life and were trafficked for forced labour, commercial sexual exploitation, forced begging and other inhumane jobs. We were fortunate to break free from the chains of bondage but there are millions who are still trapped in the vicious cycle or are vulnerable to traffickers,” the letter said. “We would like to ensure you that the survivors and citizens of India stand with you against the menace of human trafficking. We hope the Rajya Sabha functions and all political parties support the Bill,” it added. The Trafficking of Persons (Prevention, Protection and Rehabilitation) Bill, 2018, provides for designated courts that can fast-track trials and complete timely repatriation of foreign victims within a period of one year from taking a case into cognizance. There are many cases of trafficking reported from across neighbouring countries such as Nepal and Sri Lanka. A path-breaking addition to the Bill has been the formation of the National Anti-Trafficking Bureau (NATB), which will coordinate with authorities in international organizations, and facilitate the inter-state and trans-border transfer of evidence. Last month, survivors of human trafficking, along with some MPs had sent a petition to the Vice-President and Rajya Sabha Chairman Venkaiah Naidu urging him to ensure the passage of the Bill in the Winter session of the Parliament. As per the 2016 report of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), a total of 15,379 victims of human trafficking were reported in 2016, out of whom almost 60 per cent were minors. The report has also estimated that 1,11,569 children have gone missing till 2016, and 55,625 of them remained untraced.