Bridging Borders: India’s Strategic Role In Combating Human Trafficking Across South And Southeast Asia: A Legal, Policy, And Transnational Perspective

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Aryan A. Devne, DES’s Shri Navalmal Firodia law College

ABSTRACT

This research paper examines India’s evolving role in combating human trafficking across South and Southeast Asia, focusing on its domestic legal framework, regional cooperation mechanisms, and emerging challenges such as cyber slavery and climate-induced vulnerability. While India has ratified key international instruments such as the Palermo Protocol, its fragmented institutional response and inconsistent inter-state coordination continue to undermine enforcement and victim protection. The paper analyses India’s domestic anti-trafficking architecture under the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956, and evaluates its compatibility with international standards on prevention, protection, and prosecution. Further, it investigates the impact of structural and environmental factors including gender inequality, migration, and climate change; on trafficking vulnerability. By comparing India’s approach with regional models within BIMSTEC and ASEAN, this paper highlights the urgent need for a unified, survivor-centered, and transnational strategy. The study proposes an integrated policy framework that connects human security, environmental resilience, and regional cooperation as the foundation for India’s leadership in counter-trafficking efforts.

Keywords: India, Human Trafficking, South and Southeast Asia, Palermo Protocol, Regional Cooperation, BIMSTEC, Cyber Slavery, Climate Vulnerability, Victim Reintegration, Human Security, Transnational Crime

BRIDGING BORDERS- INDIA’S STRATEGIC ROLE IN COMBATING HUMAN TRAFFICKING ACROSS SOUTH AND S.

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