Source: Christian Today India
By: John Malhotra
Friday, 20 May 2011, 15:41 (IST)
The All India Christian Council today welcomed India's decision to ratify the United Nations Convention against Organised Crime also known as Palermo Protocol.
The Palermo Protocol aims at combating trafficking, migrant smuggling and illicit trafficking in firearms. There are three protocols that are referred to jointly as the Palermo Protocol.
"The Christian Council welcomes India’s practical step towards stopping modern-day slavery. India did not ratify the Palermo Protocols for eleven years. Many campaigners were concerned that India lacked a clear and full definition of human trafficking for Indian states and territories to use in legislation and enforcement," aicc said in a statement.
On May 13, India’s Ministry of External Affairs announced that it had ratified all three Palermo Protocols that target specific areas of organized crime - trafficking in persons; migrant smuggling; and illicit trafficking in firearms.
The Protocol was adopted by the UN at Palermo, Italy, in 2000, and it supported the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime. The Protocol was signed by India in December 2002, but was not ratified until last week.
Joseph D'souza, aicc President, commented, “We welcome this move by the Indian government. Now we are looking for a significant improvement in enforcement and victim care as words are translated into action. Our concern is for millions of Dalits who are being exploited. They make up to 90% of all those trafficked or in bonded labour in India.”
“We value the role of the international community not only in supporting our on-the-ground efforts to address trafficking in India, but also in encouraging the authorities to move toward more comprehensive measures and more effective action,” said D’souza who is also the President of Dalit Freedom Network.
Year-on-year, the annual Trafficking in Persons Report has highlighted that India had failed to ratify the Protocol, as had a recent UN report. The concern has been that India lacked a comprehensive definition of human trafficking to provide a common platform for the different Indian states to use in legislation and enforcement.
"This convention is the main international instrument in the fight against transnational organized crime," a statement by the Bachpan Bachao Andolan (BBA), a child rights organisation, said.
RS Chaurasia of BBA said: "This ratification is a shot in the arm for all the anti-human trafficking activists like us as the lack of a comprehensive legislation and policy in India has often been the reason for the lack of law enforcement and knowledge on the issue."
India has emerged as one of the biggest source, route and destination country for victims of trafficking. According to government figures, 60, 000 children go missing annually in India and majority of them fall prey to trafficking.
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