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House committee accuses Ministry of Foreign Affairs of promoting human trafficking

File image: Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Kathmandu, August 8

International Relations and Labour Committee in Parliament has accused the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of promoting human trafficking in the form of foreign employment.

A subcommittee formed by the committee to study and monitor situation of Nepali migrant workers in the Gulf countries has made such conclusion. The subcommittee submitted its report to the Committee on Tuesday.

“Instead of playing a role to take action against people involved in human trafficking in the name of foreign employment,” the report reads, “It seems the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has assisted in trafficking by hiding information it received.”

In March, an eight-member team had visited Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar and United Arab Emirates to study the situation of Nepali workers. Around that time, the Committee had also recommended for an action against the then Minister for Foreign Affairs Prakash Sharan Mahat for his failure to control human trafficking.

Meanwhile, the report also accused MoFA of not taking any initiative to control trafficking and to take action against the guilty in coordination with the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Claiming that the government was not interested to control human trafficking, the subcommittee said the government’s apathy could legalise such criminal activities.

The government should not have introduced a new rule to send Nepalis as domestic workers to the Arabian nations without signing bilateral labour agreements, the report suggested.

 

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