Nepal Earthquakes: UNICEF speeds up response to prevent child trafficking
GENEVA/KATHMANDU, 19 June 2015 – At least 245 children have been intercepted from being trafficked and unnecessarily or illegally placed in children’s care homes since the first earthquake hit Nepal almost two months ago, said UNICEF.

The children’s organisation is working with the government and the Nepal Police to reduce the risk of trafficking through targeted action and policy measures.

“UNICEF feared a surge in trafficking cases after the two earthquakes”, said Tomoo Hozumi, UNICEF Nepal Representative. “Loss of livelihoods and worsening living conditions may allow traffickers to easily convince parents to give their children up for what they are made to believe will be a better life. The traffickers promise education, meals and a better future. But the reality is that many of those children could end up being horrendously exploited and abused.”

Trafficking was rife in Nepal even before the 25 April earthquake, with an estimated 12,000 Nepalese children trafficked to India every year, according to a 2001 International Labour Organisation study. Girls not recruited into prostitution could be also sold as domestic slaves in India and other countries and boys taken into forced labour. After disasters such as earthquakes, there is a risk that trafficking will increase.

Families may also be more easily convinced to send their children to orphanages in Kathmandu and Pokhara, a trend that began following the civil war with promises of safety and education. Prior to the Nepal earthquake, approximately 15,000 children lived in child care homes in Nepal, and were potentially at risk of poorly-regulated adoption, exploitation and abuse. More than 85 per cent of these children had at least one living parent.

UNICEF has been working closely with the Government of Nepal and other partners to speed up and bolster the response on child trafficking prevention.