Nepal
In Nepal, Free the Slaves is working to dismantle deeply rooted systems of modern slavery through community-driven change, national advocacy, and local capacity building. With a long history of bonded labor, child exploitation, and migration-related trafficking, Nepal faces complex and widespread challenges. Free the Slaves supports and strengthens local civil society organizations, equipping them with the tools and knowledge to prevent exploitation, support survivors, and advocate for systemic reform. Our work includes training, resource development, and partnership-building to expand local impact and sustainability. As a Pathfinder Country of Alliance 8.7, Nepal presents a critical opportunity to lead in the global fight against modern slavery, and our efforts aim to ensure that commitment is matched with action at all levels of society.
People trapped in forms of modern slavery
Children Working in Hazardous Child Labor
Nepal, a country marked by stunning landscapes and cultural richness, continues to face entrenched forms of modern slavery. The 2023 Global Slavery Index estimates that 97,000 people in Nepal are currently living in modern slavery, while the National Human Rights Commission reported in 2022 that 1.9 million are at risk of being trafficked. Slavery in Nepal takes many forms, including bonded labor, sexual trafficking, forced marriage, child labor, and exploitation in foreign employment.
Bonded labor is widespread in agriculture, brick kilns, and stone quarries, driven by poverty, debt, and social exclusion. Children are particularly vulnerable—over one million are engaged in child labor, often in hazardous environments. Migration for work is a major driver of exploitation; remittances account for nearly a quarter of Nepal’s GDP, but many migrant workers fall victim to trafficking and abuse, especially in the Gulf countries, Malaysia, and India.
The risks are compounded by caste-based discrimination, lack of education, climate-related displacement, and poor enforcement of anti-slavery laws. Many communities lack awareness of their rights and access to support systems. There is a critical need for stronger accountability, legal protections, and community-based organizations to help at-risk populations resist and recover from exploitation.
Year FTS started working in Nepal
In Nepal, Free the Slaves is working to tackle the multifaceted challenges of modern slavery. Our projects are designed to address immediate issues as well as build long-term resilience against the threats of bonded labor, trafficking, and other forms of slavery. Below, we spotlight our projects showcasing our comprehensive approach in Nepal.
Community Liberation Initiative 2022 – Present
Free the Slaves is advancing sustainable, community-based solutions to modern slavery in Nepal through its Community Liberation Initiative (CLI). This program equips grassroots organizations with tools, training, and partnerships to address trafficking and exploitation.
At its core is the Community Liberation Toolkit, which includes four practical modules:
- Educating and Mobilizing Vulnerable Communities
- Survivor Liberation, Care and Reintegration
- Strengthening the Rule of Law
- Ensuring Access to Social and Economic Services
These modules help communities recognize risks, assert rights, access justice, and build resilience. The CLI also strengthens partnerships with local law enforcement, service providers, and civil society.
In 2022, FTS launched CLI training in Nepal with a national workshop focused on Module 1. Held in Kathmandu, it brought together 13 grassroots organizations. The participants learned Free the Slaves’ approach to educating and mobilizing vulnerable communities, a pillar of the FTS Community Liberation Model, and how it can be used to incorporate anti-modern slavery interventions into participating organizations’ existing work. Participants also develop the ability to articulate the impact of slavery on the communities where they work and use that information to create a specific action plan to integrate community-based programming into their organization’s work. Post-training evaluations showed a 90% improvement in participants’ knowledge of human trafficking and modern slavery.
A follow up training covering Module 2: Survivor Liberation, Care and Reintegration was held online from November 27-29, 2023. Participants in the CLI Module 2 training deepened their understanding of the full continuum of care for survivors of human trafficking and modern slavery. They explored the liberation, care, and reintegration process; learned to apply a rights-based, trauma-informed approach; and practiced protocols for identifying and responding to suspected trafficking cases. Key topics included how to manage first contact, conduct effective victim identification, and collaborate with law enforcement. Participants also studied the phases of rescue operations, minimum standards of care in shelters, and individualized case management. The training concluded with sessions on survivors’ participation in the justice system, principles of safe and dignified repatriation, and the multi-dimensional elements of long-term reintegration, emphasizing survivor autonomy, resilience, and the role of community development workers in supporting sustainable freedom.
Read our blog about the training here.
Local Partner
Nepal Community Resilience and Advocacy Work 2006 – 2018
From 2006 to 2018, Free the Slaves implemented a comprehensive, multi-pronged anti-trafficking program in Nepal, grounded in community empowerment, survivor reintegration, and systemic change. Working across both rural and urban settings, FTS supported communities in resisting modern slavery, empowering women and girls, and advancing policy reform.
In rural districts, FTS launched community vigilance committees to identify and respond to trafficking cases. These grassroots groups became a frontline defense against slavery—raising awareness, challenging harmful social norms, demanding accountability from public officials and perpetrators, and supporting the rescue and reintegration of survivors. Survivors, particularly women, were also supported through vocational training and micro-enterprise support, enabling them to rebuild their lives through small businesses like mobile shops and bicycle taxis.
In Kathmandu, FTS focused on empowering women and girls trapped in the city’s informal entertainment sector. Through self-help groups, workers in dance bars and restaurants organized to demand fair wages, protect each other from exploitation, and access education, health care, and safe employment alternatives. These groups offered collective strength and tangible resources, including a revolving savings fund and legal support.
At the national level, FTS worked with government agencies to strengthen anti-trafficking laws and policies. Our advocacy helped refine the National Plan of Action Against Trafficking and pushed for constitutional reforms and international treaty ratification, such as the UN Protocol Against Trafficking.
To reach even broader audiences, FTS collaborated with major anti-poverty programs by training development workers to recognize and respond to trafficking risks. These efforts helped integrate anti-slavery awareness into large-scale migration and livelihood programs, ensuring that community members leaving Nepal for work were better protected from exploitation.
Local Partners
FTS Strategy for Nepal
Training and Capacity Building
FTS strengthens Nepal’s anti-slavery movement by training local organizations to lead community engagement and policy advocacy efforts. Through collaborative multi-partner sessions using the Community Liberation Toolkit, these trainings build both skills and solidarity, raising the quality and scale of interventions. The strategy targets those most at risk of modern slavery, including marginalized castes, indebted rural families, and migrant workers, while also equipping civil society groups and government agencies to address root causes of slavery and build resilient communities and respond more effectively.
Partnerships and Services
Policy and Advocacy
FTS advances systemic change by influencing policy agendas and holding institutions accountable at local, national, and global levels. Through targeted advocacy and coalition-building, FTS supports civil society—including survivor leaders—in shaping and monitoring Nepal’s anti-slavery commitments as a Pathfinder Country under Alliance 8.7. The strategy includes campaigning for specific reforms, mobilizing key audiences, and engaging governments and corporations to promote slavery-free practices. By equipping coalitions with strategic resources and amplifying their voices, FTS strengthens the broader movement to eradicate modern slavery across sectors and regions. Nepal benefits from FTS’s efforts to strengthen civil society’s role in shaping and monitoring anti-slavery commitments.
Nepal’s Legal Framework on Modern Slavery
The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act sets the minimum employment age at 14 and prohibits hazardous work for anyone under 18. Nepal has also committed to eliminating child labor through a 10-year National Master Plan (2018–2028), aiming to align national efforts with international labor standards. However, enforcement remains a challenge, particularly in agriculture, domestic work, and informal sectors where children continue to face exploitation.
Nepal’s Human Trafficking and Transportation (Control) Act of 2007 criminalizes all forms of trafficking, including labor and sexual exploitation. Additional provisions in the Muluki Ain (General Code) further criminalize forced labor and trafficking-related offenses. Nonetheless, legal definitions still fall short of full alignment with international protocols, and survivors often struggle to access justice due to gaps in implementation and systemic barriers.
Although the legal minimum age for marriage is 20, child marriage remains widespread in practice. Nepal’s Constitution and Civil Code prohibit forced marriage and provide for legal penalties, yet cultural norms, poverty, and weak enforcement allow the practice to persist, particularly among girls in rural areas.
Nepal as an Alliance 8.7 Pathfinder Country
Nepal is a Pathfinder Country of Alliance 8.7 and has made important strides:
Initiated its first national household child labor survey in 2010
Launched the National Plan of Action on Combating Human Trafficking in 2012
Passed the 2017 Labor Act prohibiting forced labor and adopted a roadmap to end child labor by 2030
National Priorities as a Pathfinder Country Include:
Aligning child labor and education laws for policy coherence
Establishing child labor inspection and monitoring committees at local levels
Declaring more municipalities child labor free
Reforming the Foreign Employment Act to close protection gaps
Creating bilateral agreements with destination countries for migrant labor protections
Integrating forced labor and trafficking into national data systems
Promoting economic empowerment and decent job creation
Enhancing access to quality education and vocational training for vulnerable children
FTS Staff for Nepal
Kuldeep Singh Chauhan
Regional Director for Asia
kuldeep.chauhan@freetheslaves.net