Thomas Kauffmann, the Executive Director of ECPAT Luxembourg, is in Nepal from Sunday 4 to Thursday 8 October 2015 in order to assess the situation in the region, which has been subject to outbreaks of violence since the controversial adoption of a new Constitution on 20 September 2015.
More than 40 people were killed in clashed between police and demonstrators following this resurgence in violence, with populations in the southern region, bordering India, particularly affected. This crucial bridge for the transportation of goods between the two countries was blocked for several days, causing fuel rationing in the country.
If no intervention ensures, aid agencies could find themselves struggling to sustain the projects they have set up in the region. Such is the case for ECPAT Luxembourg, the NGO founded in 1995 to combat the commercial sexual exploitation of children.
ACPT has two projects set up in Nepal, aimed at protecting children and young people vulnerable to the risk of trafficking in the five districts which were the most severely affected by the earthquakes. As strict government policies and regulations are lacking, the eradication of trafficking networks is not the main agenda and instead the actions of ACPAT involves removing children from axploitative areas and offering them rehabilitation in the form of psychosocial aid, education, professional training, legal aid, healthcare and job placement.
Thomas Kauffman will be in Nepal during this period to ensure the continuation of these projects in the face of outbreaks of violence.
