India not doing enough in addressing human trafficking: US

WASHINGTON: India, a "source, destination and transit point" in human trafficking, is not doing enough to address the issue, the United States said today.

The US has placed India in tier 2 watch list of countries in a report on human trafficking.

"India is a source, destination, and transit country for men, women, and children trafficked for the purposes of forced labor and commercial sexual exploitation," said the 2009 Trafficking in Persons Report, which was released by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Observing that in recent years, there has been an increase of sex trafficking to medium-sized cities and satellite towns of large cities, the report said, adding India is also a destination for women and girls from Nepal and Bangladesh trafficked for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation.

There are also victims of labour trafficking among the thousands of Indians who migrate willingly every year to the Middle East, Europe, and the US for work as domestic servants and low-skilled labourers.