NHRC sends advisories to ministries, states on combating human trafficking amid pandemic

In view of reported increase in human trafficking cases amid the Covid-19 pandemic, the National Human Rights Commission has issued advisories to various ministries and states on combating the menace, officials said on Friday.

The NHRC, in a statement, said it gains significance in the backdrop of various media reports that during the pandemic, incidents of human trafficking had "increased".

In view of the unprecedented situation across the country an being "deeply concerned" about the rights of the vulnerable and marginalised sections of the society affected by the Covid-19 pandemic and the resultant lockdowns, it had constituted a 'committee of experts on impact of Covid-19 pandemic on human rights and future response'.

The committee included representatives from the civil society organisations, independent domain experts and the representatives from the ministries concerned. It was tasked to assess the impact of the pandemic on realisation of the rights of the people, especially the marginalised and vulnerable sections of the population which have been "disproportionately impacted", the NHRC had earlier said.

The advisory on human trafficking has been sent to Union ministries and all states and Union Territories for implementation and submitting the action-taken reports, the statement said.

This is the 12th advisory in the series of advisories issued by the Commission in context of the Covid-19 pandemic.