News & Events

Three-day training on 'Strengthening Victim and Witness Protection for Successful Prosecution of Traffickers'

CeLRRd organized a three-day training from 2-4 August at Kathmandu School of Law, Bhaktapur on "Srengthening victim and witness protection for successful prosecution of traffickers" for law enforcement officials, so as to sensitize them on several sensitive issues surrounding human trafficking and capacitate them with increased information and skills to handle trafficking cases. Kapil Aryal, Geeta Pathak Sangroula, Yamuna Bhattarai, Sukhadev Sapkota, Kishor Silwal and Rajesh Jha were the trainers and/or facilitators. It was attended by 25 law enforcement officials including police personnel, judges, court officials, public prosecutors, lawyers, and representatives of NGOs fighting against human trafficking. The training helped clarify emerging dimensions of human trafficking, its multi-faceted purposes and forms and its current situation in Nepal; its differences from human smuggling, illegal migration and prostitution. The strengths of Human Trafficking and Transportation Control Act 2007 for strengthening victim and witness protection and successful prosecution of traffickers were also discussed in the program.

Brajesh Pyakurel, District Attorney and Rajendra Kharel, District Judge shed light on the issues like problems and challenges faced during registration of complaints, investigation, prosecution, trial, judgment and execution of judgment, and how all the processes of trials are affected by public and political pressures, threats and other influences, thereby denying access to justice to the victims and witnesses of human trafficking. They emphasized that Nepalese laws have largely ignored the victims and therefore, do not follow the spirit of UN Declaration of Basic Principles of Justice for Victims of Crime and Abuse of Power. Forum for Protection of People's Rights (PPR) oriented the participants on psychosocial counseling, which as reiterated helps trafficking victims and witnesses overcome the trauma and fear and then go to police to register their cases. The roles and responsibilities of stakeholders for the protection of victims and witnesses and successful prosecution of traffickers were also clarified.