Hyderabad: Six Indian States sign declaration of intent to combat human trafficking

Hyderabad: An Inter-State Declaration of Intent to collaborate in the fight against human trafficking was signed by six States — Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Odisha and Tamil Nadu, here on Saturday.

The two-day Southern Regional Consultation to Combat Human Trafficking, hosted by the Telangana Government in collaboration with the nonprofits Prajwala and Shakti Vahini, concluded with the signing of this declaration.

The first of its kind agreement emphasises on cooperative efforts in intelligence gathering and sharing, witness and legal protection, and rehabilitation and care for survivors. The US Consulates General in Hyderabad and Kolkata supported the conference.

Founder of Prajwala, Sunitha Krishnan said, “the problem of human trafficking in India is mostly inter-state or intra-state. The need for cooperation between states in counter trafficking efforts is the need of the hour.”

The Southern Regional Consultation to Combat Human Trafficking on July 1 and 2 brought together officials from Departments of Women and Child Welfare/Social Welfare, Home department, State Women’s Commissions, State Children’s Commissions, State Legal Services Authority as well as the respective Ministers from the six States.

The consultation included panel discussions and inputs from police officials, members of the judiciary, cyber-crime professionals, survivor advocates, and survivers themselves, providing a forum for sharing of knowledge and evolving a way forward.

Adding that the declaration will be called as ‘Hyderabad Declaration’ from now, Sunitha Krishnan said for first time in her 30 years of work against trafficking, she has seen a solution based session and thanked the Telangana government for paving a way for the best course of action in the Indian context to combat human trafficking.