'Manipur becoming fertile source for child trafficking'
Source: Hueiyen News Service

Imphal, September 18 2012: Manipur State Legal Services Authority today conducted a one-day workshop on child trafficking at the Banquet Hall of 1st MR here.

Participating in the technical session of the workshop, Keisham Pradip, Chairperson of CWC, Imphal East said, "Manipur is becoming a fertile source for child trafficking." Children from the state are being trafficked to other Indian states by giving false promises of providing better education, employment, training cum-jobs in spas, private security guards, etc.

Around 60% of the commercial sex workers (CSWs) inducted in brothel houses in India is minor girls.

Pradip, who spoke on topic- "Child Trafficking, rescue and rehabilitation" , went on to say that poor parents are betrayed and entangled in the prevailing socio-economic conditions in the state, thus forcing them to send their children outside states for better jobs, education or livelihood.

However, if the children landed into the hands of traffickers, they are kept illegal homes or in servitude along with depriving proper food, cloths, seizure of visas or forcing them into flesh trade, he observed.

He also informed that with the help of state police, Social Welfare Department has rescued 327 children from various illegal children homes in other parts of the country this year alone.

Earlier, inaugurating the workshop as Chief Guest, Justice C N Ramachandran Nair, Executive Chairman of Kerala State Legal Services Authority, pointed out that the most important factor that led to child trafficking is lack of education and deprived economic status of the family.

So, it be eradicated along with providing proper education to children.

Justice Ramachandran explained that there are various laws and regulations as well as statutory bodies for the protection of child rights.

However, these laws and regulations have not been able to stop illegal activities and crimes in India.

It seems that the law in the country is encouraging the criminals indirectly.

Manipur has only 26 lakh (approx) population which is a manageable one than other Indian states.

There are also lots of potentials for development in Manipur.

So, if the government addresses the problems prevailing in the state, the state could emerge as one of the richest and most developed states in the country, he added.

P Mohandas, Member Secretary, Kerala State Legal Services Authority said that child trafficking, which is the third largest illegal business in the world, is becoming a social menace and one of the organized crimes in the country.

Even though the Parliament has introduced Right to Education Act, there are lots of people, especially poor and needy ones, who have no idea about it.

If children are provided free and compulsory education, the problem of child trafficking could be controlled to some extent.

Contending that poverty is the main factor behind the problem of child trafficking, Guest of Honour of the function, Justice S Talapatra, Judge of Gauhati High Court, noted that India has awaken to the menace of child trafficking only lately.

During the technical session of the workshop, S Imocha Singh, Addl.

District and Sessions Judge highlighted and read out the main provisions of some of the major International Child Right Protection Acts and provisions like UN Declaration of Right to Children, Universal Declaration of Human Rights, etc.

The Addl.

District and Sessions Judge, who spoke on the topic ,"Child Trafficking and Law", said that the purpose of all these international laws and Acts is to eradicate child trafficking and to safeguard the rights of children and the same have also been reflected in the Indian Constitution.

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