Children in South Asia need stronger legal protection from trafficking, the United Nations said in a report released in Nepal yesterday.
Governments in the region are failing to stop children being trafficked for sexual exploitation and for labour, the world body said.
"Governments must do more. Many governments in the region are engaged, but the laws are not sufficient and the application of laws does not prevent trafficking," said Daniel Toole, South Asia director of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).
An estimated 1.2 million people are trafficked worldwide, and around half are children, but this figure is likely just the tip of the iceberg, the UN official said.
"All countries (in South Asia) are destination, origin and transit points for trafficking," said Toole, adding that significant amounts of internal trafficking occurred in most South Asian countries.
"The report sounds an alarm. We have a very long way to go to understand the problem. We have an even further distance to go before we can deal with the problem," the UN official said.
The world body said minors are being trafficked to countries in Europe, the Gulf and East Asia, as well as illegally transported between South Asian countries.