The Human trafficking bill in India and commitment of G20

India assumed the G20 presidency on December 1, 2022, and will continue to do so through November 30, 2023. The degree of involvement among member nations and the passion around the President are unparalleled.

The fact that 200 meetings are being scheduled and held across 32 separate workstreams in more than 50 places indicates that the entire nation is celebrating.

India’s G20 targets include three key areas: progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals; women-led development; and rapid, inclusive, and resilient growth by providing labor rights and secure labor welfare.

The G20 has deemed gender equity to be essential to long-term, socially just economic growth. If the vulnerable insecurity is decreased, all of these objectives can be accomplished.

The achievement of the objectives outlined may be threatened by human trafficking, one of the worst types of human rights crimes. Simply said, human trafficking is the exploitation of individuals who are vulnerable, typically those who disclose their weakness.

As a kind of organized crime, human trafficking is expanding quickly. No nation, whether or not it is a G20 member, can assert that it is devoid of human trafficking. An expression of exploitation, selfishness, and the drive to rule others is trafficking.

According to statistics provided by the UN, women and children continue to make up around 70% of those who fall victim to human trafficking. As a result, if the human trafficking measure passes, the G20’s vital commitment to gender justice would gain momentum.

By passing the Transgender Act of 2019, which has completely changed how transgender people are mainstreamed and aided their access to justice, this administration has demonstrated its desire and earnest commitment to achieving gender justice.

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Combating human trafficking was seen as a responsibility of the criminal justice system everywhere. Even in India, the ministry of home affairs issued office memoranda, and the only institutionalized system in place to fight trafficking was anti-human trafficking units, which were part of the police.

The mission was very clear: plan operations to liberate the victims from the grasp of the traffickers, and then, ideally, reintegrate them into the community where they were originally kidnapped. The majority of the government’s response plan was focused on prosecution.

There are actually two strategies to control the threat of trafficking. The first is to strengthen the social safety net for the most vulnerable, and the second is to concentrate more on the offender in terms of prosecution and prevention.

As knowledge of the topic increased, it became clear that prevention is an important factor since a victim of human trafficking experiences more psychological harm than physical harm, and treating psychological problems requires skilled intervention, which is usually lacking in the system. Thus, prevention is frequently preferable to the few current treatments.

Prevention necessitates addressing the vulnerabilities that result from societal injustices, which can only be addressed through the social justice system. The bill was submitted by the ministry of women and child development rather than the ministry of home affairs since the government has recognised this paradigm change.