Towards Safer Migration: Countering Human Trafficking in an Integrated South Asia

Maurizio Bussolo, lead economist in the Chief Economist Office for South Asia, has been working on quantitative analyses of economic policy and development with research interests spanning both micro and macroeconomic topics. At the World Bank, he also worked in the Chief Economist Office for Europe and Central Asia and in the Development Economics Prospects Group; and he led operational teams in the aftermath of the 2008-09 crisis negotiating with Latin American and Caribbean governments the implementation of reforms to shield the most vulnerable. Before joining the World Bank in 2003, Bussolo worked at the OECD, at the Overseas Development Institute in London, and at Fedesarrollo and the Los Andes University in Colombia. He has extensively published in peer-reviewed journals on trade, growth, poverty and income distribution. Some of his recent publications include ‘Toward a New Social Contract’, ‘Golden Aging: Prospects for Healthy, Active, and Prosperous Aging’ and ‘The Impact of Macroeconomic Policies on Poverty and Income Distribution’. He holds a PhD in economics from the University of Warwick.

Cecile Fruman is Director, Regional Integration and Engagement in the South Asia Region (SAR). She is responsible for fostering collaborative activities amongst SAR countries and managing partnerships and engagements with SAR and global development partners.   Previously, Cecile was Senior Manager for Financial Intermediary Funds (FIFs) and Partner Relations in the Development Finance Vice-Presidency (DFi) where she oversaw a portfolio of FIFs that disbursed in the order of $6 billion a year in grants for key global development priorities to multiple implementation agencies and coordinated the World Bank’s strategic engagement with development partners. 

Charimaya Tamang, a survivor of sex trafficking, founded the NGO Shakti Samuha in Nepal, along with 15 other survivors of sex trafficking. Charimaya was trafficked at the age of 16 into India. She spent 22 months in a brothel, until she was rescued in a raid conducted by the Indian government in 1996. She returned home to Nepal but was stigmatized for her victimization. Despite lacking community support, she filed a case with the district police naming the people who had trafficked her. She was the first person to ever file such a complaint. Her decision became a turning point for her and Nepal. In 1997, the court in that district convicted the eight men who were responsible for her trafficking. In 2009, the Government started a National Committee to Combat Human Trafficking. Charimaya is one of only two survivors on that committee, but her advocacy has led to survivors being included in many other committees about human trafficking in the various districts of Nepal. In 2011, she was honored as a "TIP Report Hero Acting to End Modern Slavery" for her efforts.

Peppi Kiviniemi-Siddiq is the Senior Regional Migrant Protection Specialist at the International Organisation for Migration (IOM). An expert on migrant protection and assistance issues, Siddiq is based in IOM's regional office for the Asia-Pacific in Bangkok. Siddiq has supported IOM migrant assistance programs across the Asia region, including programs focused on trafficking prevention, on returns and reintegration, and on victim support and identification. Siddiq works on regional policy frameworks that govern human mobility, immigration detention practices, and national referral mechanisms for trafficking victims. Siddiq is passionate about supporting alternatives to detention and leveraging the private sector to address migrants rights violations. Before Bangkok, Siddiq managed IOM’s Emergency and Displacement Unit in Bangladesh with focus on the Rohingya crisis. Siddiq has a strong background in information dissemination, through a five year stint as a financial journalist in London and Brussels.

Priya Dhanani is an Assistant Director in the Women’s Empowerment and Gender Equality program at The Asia Foundation (TAF). She oversees the portfolio to address gender-based violence (GBV), including TAF’s work to end human trafficking. Dhanani provides technical assistance to the Foundation’s 18 country offices on strengthening trauma-informed services for GBV survivors. Previously, she led GBV program development in South and East Asia, where she integrated an intersectional lens across projects. Prior to this, she oversaw a GBV prevention program and worked as a case manager providing direct services to survivors of human trafficking. She currently serves as the board chair of a DC-based NGO called the Asian Pacific Islander Domestic Violence Resource Project. Dhanani holds a bachelor’s degree in International Affairs and Women’s Studies from Georgia State University and a master’s degree in Sociology from George Washington University, where she was also a part-time sociology professor.

Diana J. Arango is the Sr. Gender-Based Violence and Development Specialist in the Gender Cross-Cutting Solutions Area at the World Bank Group. She has more than 10 years of experience working on development issues including gender-based violence, specifically within the context of humanitarian settings. Before joining the World Bank Group she was a Research Scientist at George Washington University's Global Women's Institute leading research on violence against women and girls in conflict settings. Prior to that she served as the Global Coordinator for the development and implementation of the Gender-Based Violence Information Management System (GBVIMS), an innovative inter-agency initiative that aids humanitarian workers in collecting timely data on GBV incidents that can then be used to inform programmatic work. She has an MSc from the London School of Economics in Anthropology and Development, and has on the ground experience in several countries, including Colombia, Haiti, Chad, Somalia, Uganda, and South Sudan.