Washington: India figures among 39 countries placed on a US 'specialwatch list' of nations deemed to warrant special scrutiny of theiranti-trafficking efforts under a 2003 US law.

The government of India has made some progress incombating its significant problem of human trafficking since the release of aTrafficking in Persons (TIP) report for 2006, the state department said whilereleasing an interim assessment of these countries for 2007.

However, the government still needs to go further indesignating and empowering a national agency or office, specifically taskedwith carrying out an effective law enforcement response to trafficking crimescommitted throughout India,it said.

"Some of these countries could be downgraded to the lowest 'Tier3' countries whose governments do not fully comply with the minimum standardsunder US Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorisation Act (TVPRA) of 2003  in the upcoming June 2007 TIP report if theiranti-trafficking efforts this year are determined to be inadequate," it warned.

Besides India,the 2007 interim assessment covers Algeria,Argentina, Armenia, Bahrain,Belize, Bolivia, Brazil,Cambodia, Central African Republic, China, Cyprus,Djibouti, Ecuador, Egypt,Equatorial Guinea, Finland, Indonesia,Israel, Jamaica, Kenya,Kuwait, Laos, Libya,Macau, Malawi,Malaysia, Mauritania, Mexico,Oman, Peru, Qatar,Russia, Singapore, South Africa, Switzerland,Taiwan, Togo, and the United Arab Emirates.

On India,the interim assessment said that despite estimates of a significant debtbondage situation in the country, New Delhi reported no arrests, prosecutions, orconvictions of employers using bonded labour. Similarly, it did not provideevidence of any rescues of bonded labour victims.

India,however, did make moderate progress on addressing child labour betweenSeptember and November. Delhi Police rescued 140 children working in zarifactories and rice mills, but it is unclear how these children have beenrehabilitated.

"In October, the government also enacted a ban on theemployment of children in domestic work or the hospitality industry withpenalties including three months to two years incarceration and the possibilityof fines," it noted.

Referring to India'santi-trafficking efforts, the interim report said that in September 2006, theIndian government responded to the need for a central anti-trafficking lawenforcement effort by creating a two-person federal 'nodal cell responsible forcollecting and analysing data of state-level law enforcement efforts.

The cell is responsible for identifying problem areas andanalysing the circumstances creating these areas and monitoring action taken bystate governments for combating trafficking in these areas. It is also toorganise coordination meetings with nodal police officers of the states.

The government has provided significant in-kindcontributions to a two-year programme by the USgovernment funded United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC) inMaharashtra, Goa, West Bengal, and Andhra Pradesh.
 

"The programme focuses on raising the awareness of police andprosecutors on the problem of trafficking and to build their capacity toinvestigate and prosecute people involved with trafficking," it said.

But law enforcement activity to combat human traffickingremains confined to the state level and continues to be relatively low incomparison to the estimated extent of the situation.

"However, in June, two former state ministers in Jammu and Kashmir werearrested for trafficking in minor girls for commercial sexual exploitation,along with other senior government officials. Two traffickers in Delhi were also convictedand sentenced to three and seven years in prison, and another was arrested inAugust,' it said.

In November 2006, the parliamentary committee returned theamendments to the Immoral Trafficking Prevention Act to the ministry of womenand child development for revision.

"The committee asked the ministry to clarify language,provide a clearer delineation between criminals and victims, prioritiseprogrammes and resources for expanded rehabilitation and reintegration efforts,and recommended passage of the bill with those changes," the interimreport noted.