The problem of trafficking cuts across a range of development issues - from poverty, landlessness, livelihood to legal protection, and has relevance for practitioners throughout the development sector. This intersectionality makes it important that a collective approach is taken to address the issue of human trafficking. With this intersectionality in mind, the project ‘Trafficking in Persons: Addressing Women and Children’s Risk by Enhanced Regional Connectivity in Assam and Mizoram’ aims to establish the baseline knowledge of human trafficking in the North-East that may have adverse impact with the on-going Regional Connectivity program. The project will identify and assess factors that put vulnerable persons, especially women and children, at risk of trafficking. It will provide evidence-based recommendations on preventing and improving of responses to human trafficking, albeit in the context of regional connectivity. The larger goal of the project is to create a roadmap to integrate anti-human trafficking agenda in the World Bank’s project design, particularly in the transport sector and to facilitate dialogue spaces between the World Bank, private sectors, government agencies and other stakeholders through the process of knowledge sharing and learning on combating human trafficking.

The objective of the project are as follows:

1. Conduct an assessment study on Human Trafficking in the context of regional connectivity in Assam and Mizoram;
2. Develop a Strategic Action Plan for mainstreaming prevention of Human Trafficking in Transport Sector operations in North-East India;
3. Identify gaps in anti-trafficking measures by different agencies and suggest measures for covering the same;
4. Develop Training Modules for relevant stakeholders and dissemination strategies for existing training tools and;
5. Use the research and on-going activities for regional connectivity to enhance dialogue between different state and non-state stakeholders from the region with a view to better implementation of anti-trafficking and rehabilitation measures.