Nepalese men, women and children are trafficked into neighbouring India as well as other countries such as Syria, South Korea, China, Malaysia, United Arab Emirates, Mexico and the United States.^[2] Human traffickers have utilized the India-Nepal open border to facilitate human trafficking routes.^[3] There are only 14 checkpoints regulating the Indian-Nepali border which spans over 1,500 kilometres,^[4] which traffickers are able to exploit.^[5] The United Nations estimates that approximately 7,000 Nepalese women and girls are trafficked into India every year.^[6]

Trafficking of Nepalese women to South Korea and China for marriage has resulted in as many as 1,000 women being exploited by marriage bureaus with promises of citizenship, job opportunities and good family life.^[7] In addition to this, reports of internal trafficking, particularly to Kathmandu, for forced labour and commercial sexual exploitation persist, as well as cases of human trafficking for organ harvesting; data on this phenomenon, however, remains limited.^[8]

Walk Free Foundation survey data reveals that approximately three percent of respondents reported forced marriage. Existing literature also suggests that forced and child marriage remains prevalent. An estimated 41 percent of Nepalese girls are married before the age of 18, with roughly ten percent marrying before the age of 15.^[9] In this context, Walk Free Foundation survey results possibly indicate a lack of willingness to self-identify, or a lack of understanding of the issue at the local level.

Research into forced and child marriage has noted that there is generally low awareness of the legal age of marriage and that child marriage is widely accepted as a social norm.^[10] The drivers of forced and child marriage vary, however, they include economic constraints, a lack of education, poverty, and strict religious practices and discriminatory social hierarchies.^[11]

Within Nepal, forced labour and debt bondage persist, particularly within the agriculture, forestry, construction, and manufacturing sectors.^[12] Many Nepalese are trapped into exploitative situations by borrowing money from lenders, who then force borrowers to work to repay their debt.^[13] Those in debt bondage do not have the freedom to work for another employer without the landlord’s permission, and are subjected to working long hours for wages below the minimum wage.^[14] Individuals who eventually pay off their debt are at risk of falling back into modern slavery, due to a limited alternative job opportunities.^[15]

Labour recruitment agencies and job brokers also exploit Nepalese workers with attractive offers of overseas travel and job opportunities.^[16] A large proportion of Nepalese workers work overseas, many of whom are deceived about their working and living conditions in labour-receiving countries. Nepalese men continue to suffer exploitative living and working conditions in the construction of stadiums and infrastructure for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, and some Nepalese migrant domestic workers experience practices that amount to forced labour in private homes throughout Malaysia and the Gulf States.^[17]

Nepalese women and children can also become vulnerable to commercial sexual exploitation. In the Nepalese entertainment industry, many of the women and girls are expected, and sometimes forced, to provide sexual favours to customers as part of a job that also may involve massage, dance or serving food.^[18] However, there remains a significant gap in academic research and insight into the sexual exploitation and trafficking of women and girls within the Nepalese entertainment industry.^[19]

Child sex tourism also occurs in Nepal,^[20] with cases of foreigners setting up ‘orphanages’ and ‘street shelters’ to access young children in order to sexually exploit them.^[21] Tourists, commonly from India, visit Nepal to sexually exploit minors, sometimes bringing them across the border, particularly in neighbouring Rupaidiha, India - a commonly known transit point for Nepalese human trafficking.^[22]

In Nepal, the caste system perpetuates discrimination and some traditional forms of slavery. Although the caste system was officially abolished in 1963, certain populations continue to face discrimination often resulting in a lack of economic opportunities.^[28] The traditional systems of Haruwa, Charuwa, Kamaiya, Haliya and Balighare enslave Nepalese minorities, such as the Dalits (untouchables), through forced labour and debt bondage practices.^[29]

In Nepal, foreign remittances contributes to more than 30 percent of Nepal’s Gross Domestic Product.^[30] Every day, 1,500-1,800 Nepalese youth migrate abroad for work.^[31] There is an estimated 2.2 million Nepalese working abroad, largely concentrated in Malaysia and several Gulf states.^[32] However, this figure is arguably conservative considering unregulated informal migration flows and the open border policy between India and Nepal.^[33] Many overseas Nepalese workers are unskilled with low education and knowledge about human and labour rights, which can increase vulnerability to exploitation.^[34]

The Government of Nepal has ratified several fundamental UN and ILO Conventions that are key to combating forms of modern slavery. However, the government has yet to ratify the UN Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, the Convention on the Rights of Migrant Workers and their families, and the ILO Domestic Workers Convention.^[35] If ratified, these conventions would provide protection for types of modern slavery to which Nepalese citizens are particularly vulnerable.

The Nepalese police have specialized units which investigate trafficking crimes – the Women and Children Service Directorate (WCSD) and the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB).^[36] Between 2013 and 2015, these divisions carried out multiple investigations and operations into human trafficking crimes.^[37] For example, on April 11, 2015, the ‘Operation Eagle’ program resulted in the arrest of eight persons involved in the trafficking of Nepali girls to countries such as Tanzania, Kenya, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Malaysia, Uganda and Oman.^[38] Despite these efforts, the National Human Rights Commission of Nepal has deemed the law enforcement response inadequate as few cases are registered, with limited support for victims throughout the prosecution process. There are also reports that some perpetrators abscond before they can be prosecuted.^[39]

In Nepal, support shelters and services exist for modern slavery victims, however, there are no shelters for internally trafficked men, while many of the existing shelters for all types of trafficking victims are under-funded and under-staffed.^[40]

The Nepali Government has shown its willingness to tackle modern slavery. In March 2016, Nepal hosted its first Girl Summit, as part of its commitment to end child marriage by 2030.^[41] The Girl Summit was hosted by the Ministry of Women, Children and Social Welfare (MoWSCW) in order to raise awareness of the issue in Nepal.^[42] In recent years, the Government and the National Human Rights Commission has also published reports on trafficking in persons and Nepalese labour migration.