The United States and Nepal have begun a series of meetings to negotiate the terms of a Child Protection Compact (CPC) Partnership, a non-binding, multi-year comprehensive plan to address child sex trafficking and forced child labour in Nepal, informed US State Department in a press release.

The partnership, according to the release, includes a planned initial investment of up to USD 10 million in targeted US foreign assistance to combat the human trafficking of Nepali children.

“This US foreign assistance will be available to civil society organisations and/or international organisations to support implementation of the Partnership’s plan. This will be the US government’s eighth CPC Partnership and the first with a South Asian nation,” said US State Department spokesperson Mather Miller.

The US Department of State’s Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (TIP Office) will lead for the United States.

The Partnership will build on current Government of Nepal and civil society efforts to combat child trafficking. The TIP Office will look to the Government of Nepal to contribute resources, including in-kind assistance, to ensure that the partnership goals are met and that improvements are sustainable after the partnership ends.

Discussions between the two governments will “include potential partnership objectives and implementation strategies” to improve the Government of Nepal’s capacity to investigate and prosecute cases of child trafficking, identify and respond to instances of forced child labour and child sex trafficking, provide comprehensive services to protect child trafficking victims; and to prevent future child trafficking crimes, as per the official release.

The discussions will also include setting CPC indicators and targets for collecting performance data, which will be used to assess progress made through this joint effort and lay the groundwork for long-term sustainability.

The US government also approved a new regulation to increase protections for victims of crime, including human trafficking survivors, the release said.