Description
The U.S. Consulate General Kolkata will host the fourth Trafficking in Persons Conclave in Ranchi, Jharkhand, to reinforce its commitment to combat human trafficking. The first two conclaves were held in Kolkata in 2012, followed by the third international conclave in Guwahati in 2013, have helped secure Kolkata Consulates position as a key partner in strengthening the anti-trafficking movement at the regional level as part of our common efforts to eliminate trafficking in persons globally. Having worked in close association with the government, police, business, civil society and the NGO sectors in West Bengal and the North Eastern states, Consulate Kolkata would now like to strengthen partnerships in the Bihar- Jharkhand belt. Trafficking in Jharkhand has increased threefold in the past three years, according to data released by the Indian Social Welfare, Women and Children Development Department that works on behalf of rescued persons. In recent years, the state of Jharkhand has emerged as a vulnerable state for trafficking of women and children for forced labor and slavery. Thousands of children from Jharkhand are traded and trafficked by placement agencies to domestic homes in Delhi and other Indian cities. Abject poverty, illiteracy, ignorance, difficult access areas, shrinking land holding by the local populace, network of placement agencies and, most importantly, the vulnerability of the tribal population has been cited as the main reasons for large-scale safe and unsafe migration from Jharkhand to other cities. The proposed two-day Conclave will address the lack of coordinated efforts in addressing this problem by bringing together key stakeholders from NGOs, government, business houses, law enforcement agencies, civil society organizations and the legal fraternity to encourage increased networking and cooperation to tackle this growing menace. The U.S. Consulate Kolkata seeks applications from a valid U.S. or Indian organization to organize and execute this conclave (refer to Section IV). In case the applicant is an organization from the U.S, they will have to choose and work in close partnership with a local partner/sub-awardee. The awardee will work together with key stakeholders at the regional, national and international level to develop an agenda, invite local and international speakers and manage all logistics for the conference. One significant purpose of this cooperative agreement is to strengthen networking among the anti-TIP partners between Bihar/Jharkhand (which is the source) and North and West India (which are the destinations).The Conclave will also continue to strengthen networking with the border countries of India, including Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Burma.Proposals should be based on the framework of a two-day conference to include a networking reception and not more than ten panels/ discussions featuring a maximum of 50 speakers/presenters. The U.S. Consulate General Kolkata will also work separately to secure funding for a U.S. anti -TIP expert whose participation will bring in a global perspective. The awardee will invite appropriate local participants from cities including but not limited to Ranchi, Jharkhand, Patna, Bihar, Kolkata and Delhi, representatives from Northeast states, and appropriate representation from Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Burma- approximately 100 people, including but not limited to, government officials, police, judiciary, prosecutors and the legal fraternity, business people, and local and international NGOs. The awardee must receive approval from the U.S. Consulate General Kolkata on the final list of invited participants and the media strategy to amplify the impact of this conclave. Topics for the conference should include, but are not limited to, domestic and bonded labor trafficking, child protection issues, timely coordination between anti human trafficking units, NGOs, law enforcement agencies and the judiciary, and the role of CSR in addressing exploitative child labor issues and developing marketable skills for the vulnerable community. (Please refer full announcement for details).