IMPHAL, September 18: The Manipur State Legal Services Authority organized a one day workshop on child-trafficking here today at 1st MR Banquet Hall.
The workshop was graced by Justice C N Ramachandran Nair, Seniormost Judge, Kerala High Court and Executive Chairman, Kerala State Legal Services Authority as the chief guest.
Along with him was Justice S Talapatra, Judge of Gauhati High Court as the guest of honour.
In his key note address for the workshop, Justice T Nandakumar Singh covered a wide range of issues regarding child trafficking.
He informed that over 40,000 children are missing every year and the problem of child trafficking is a huge issue that needs to be seriously dealt with.
He further explained that the occurrence of child trafficking is due to many reason and the most important being poverty, lack of opportunity, low status of women and child, ignorance of the people, weak law enforcement and so on.
Justice S Talapatra also in his speech mentions about the cause of child trafficking and how it can be prevented. He explained that the marginalization of people into poverty and the non-negotiable situation of women and children where they are not given proper space for their own development are some of the reason why there is child trafficking. India being one of the South East Asian countries and sex tourism being a huge business, children are trafficked. Some children are trafficked with the consent of the parents in the name of giving them welfare and these parents send these children as they don’t have any resources to take care of their children and give them education.
Taking example of the 23 children from Manipur that were rescued in Kerala in 2010, the chief guest, Justice C N Ramachandran Nair children are being trafficked from every part of the country.
However, when the children were sent back to their native place, they wanted to go back because the institution run by the nuns, the place that they were rescued from gave them shelter, education and proper food. But back home, they had nothing of that sort. He further explained that therefore, all government agencies and the people should work together against child trafficking and to make sure that the Right to Education be implemented in Manipur as well because education will go a long way in curbing this menace and developing children’s lives.