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The High Commissioner for Human Rights recently noted that:
"Victims of slavery and slavery-like practices frequently
belong to minority groups, particular racial groups or categories
of people who are especially vulnerable to a wide range of discriminatory
acts, including women, children, indigenous people, people of 'low'
caste status and migrant workers." 1
This is certainly the case for millions of bonded and forced labourers
2 in India, Pakistan and Nepal, the vast
majority of whom are dalits, of "low" caste status,
indigenous people or other minority groups.
India
Research carried out in March 2000 by the Indian NGO Mine Labour
Protection Campaign (MLPC) documented a high incidence of bonded
labour amongst the three million mineworkers in Rajasthan and estimated
that 95 per cent of them were dalits or indigenous people.
This pattern is repeated in many different industries throughout
India.
Scheduled castes (dalits and "low" castes) and
scheduled tribes (indigenous groups) make up 24 per cent of the
Indian population (1991 census). However, the Government itself
accepts that more than 86 per cent of bonded labourers are from
scheduled casts and scheduled tribes.3 This
clearly shows that these minority groups are disproportionately
subjected to bonded labour. This situation is replicated in Pakistan
and Nepal.
Nepal
In Nepal, bonded labourers are either from the Tharu indigenous
community (kamaiya) or they are dalits. Although the
Government prohibited the Kamiaya system through an Act in
Parliament in 2002, up to 20,000 kamaiya still have not been
released and continue working as bonded labourers. It is clear that
there are also many thousands of dalit bonded labourers (haliya)
working in agriculture in Western Nepal and in the plains, but a
survey is needed to identify the exact number of dalit bonded
labourers in Nepal.
Pakistan
In Pakistan, research by a non-governmental organisation, the Pakistan
Institute for Labour Education and Research (PILER), estimated the
total number of sharecroppers in debt bondage in 2000, across the
whole of Pakistan, to be over 1.8 million people.4
A further 6.8 million people are subjected to compulsory labour
for the landlord on their farm or house - a practice known as begar.
5
The agricultural labourers who are in debt bondage or compelled
to provide begar (commonly referred to as haris) are
almost exclusively from minority groups (those of "Indian origin",
religious minorities or indigenous groups). Other industries follow
the same practice, for example, PILER's research also indicates
that up to one million brick kiln workers in Pakistan are bonded
labourers.
Societal discrimination is the key factor behind bonded labour
The information provided above shows that virtually all the victims
of bonded and forced labour in India, Nepal and Pakistan are either
dalit, "low" caste, indigenous people or other
minority groups. This indicates that the use of this contemporary
form of slavery is based on and maintained through societal discrimination
against these minority groups. As Kiran Prasad, Director of the
NGO JEEVIKA notes:
"Bonded labour in India is not just an economic issue, but
a social issue linked with caste. Unless we associate bonded labour
with caste, we won't understand bonded labour, and we won't find
a solution." 6
Similarly, in Pakistan, Lieten and Breman stress that societal
control is more important than debt in understanding and combating
the bonded labour system. They note that:
"It is quite possible that the hari family is not
indebted and nevertheless its freedom of movement, employment
and schooling are circumvented by the zamindar (landlord),
who represents an omnipotent authority. A solution to indebtedness
will therefore not solve the issue of bondedness, and may only
be of short-term significance." 7
The allocation of labour on the basis of caste is a fundamental
part of the caste system, in which dalits and "low"
castes are considered to be "polluted" from birth and
assigned tasks and occupations which are deemed ritually polluting
by other caste communities. Such occupations include work in agriculture,
brick kilns, mines, leatherwork, domestic work and manual scavenging.
8
This societal discrimination which proscribes the type of work
these minorities can do, along with the fact that over 86 per cent
of dalits in India are landless or near landless, 9
leaves them economically dependent on their employers. The employers
in turn exploit this position by paying poor wages and in some cases
demanding unpaid labour from workers and/or members of their family.
Dalits and other "low" castes are not in a position
to complain. If they do they may be subject to violence or social
and economic boycotts, which then deprive them of any source of
income.
As a result, dalits and other "low" castes often
do not earn enough to live on and are compelled to take loans from
contractors or landowners to meet their daily subsistence needs
and other expenses, such as the cost of arranging a marriage or
buying medicines.
In this way they become bonded labourers. They are required to
pay high rates of interest on their loans and cannot negotiate their
conditions of work or seek work elsewhere. Generally bonded labourers
work longer hours for less pay and become even more indebted. In
this way the bonded labour system reinforces their marginalisation
from society and makes them even more vulnerable to exploitation
and human rights abuse.
For example, bonded labourers working in mines or quarries can
be forced to pay for the costs of drilling and blasting rocks and
are exposed to very serious health risks. According to the MLPC
study referred to earlier, approximately one third of mine workers
are women and 84 per cent of these are dalits. MLPC estimate
that almost a quarter of the female workforce comes from widows
of mine labourers who have died of silicosis and tuberculosis. If
a family member becomes sick or dies from these work related illnesses,
the debt is simply passed on to the spouse or children along with
the additional debts incurred for medicines or a funeral.
As a family becomes more impoverished or indebted so the pressure
increases on them to force their children to work. This puts the
children's health and safety at risk and deprives them of an education.
Human Rights Watch's study of bonded child labour in India's silk
industry found that children typically work between 10 and 14 hours
a day, for six or more days a week. These children suffer from work
related injuries and illness and may also be subjected to abuse
from their employers. Medical examinations carried out in 2000 of
200 children (aged six to 14) working in the industry found that
86 per cent had respiratory diseases and 70 per cent had skin infections.
The majority of these children were dalits.
A study conducted for UNICEF and the Punjab State Human Rights
Commission shows that 71 per cent of children working in brick kilns
are dalits and "low" castes and that the school
drop-out rate of children at brick kilns is 89 per cent. 10
The removal of dalit, "low" caste or indigenous
children from school because they are bonded, or because they are
subject to discrimination at school, perpetuates their marginalisation
in society and allows the cycle of discrimination to continue.
The legal framework
The High Commissioner for Human Rights has stressed that:
"Governments have a particular obligation to ensure
that individuals from such vulnerable groups are not victims of
discrimination, that their rights are recognized and protected,
and that they do have access to effective remedies and rehabilitation
measures." 11
While bonded labour is prohibited by law in India, Pakistan and
Nepal, many millions of dalits, indigenous people and other
minority groups continue to be enslaved under this system in these
countries. Anti-Slavery International believes this is because the
discrimination which underpins this system is also helping to maintain
it.
Many local officials continue to show a reluctance to implement
legislation which prohibits bonded labour. This may be because they
are afraid of the power of local landowners or contractors, but
it may also be because the individuals and institutions themselves
are inherently discriminatory and sympathise with the idea that
dalits, indigenous people and other minority groups owe a
duty of labour to landlords for little or no pay.
In the case of India, it is now 27 years since the Bonded Labour
System (Abolition) Act was passed. In this time only 280,000
bonded labourers have been identified by the Government, which even
by the most conservative estimates constitutes only a fraction of
the total number of bonded labourers in India. In Pakistan, government
officials have yet to recognise the scale of the problem and recently
dismissed the bonded labourer issue as affecting between 5,000 and
7,000 people in Pakistan.12 In Nepal, it
is not clear whether the new legislation prohibiting bonded labour
extends to cover dalit bonded labourers.
The ILO Committee of Experts observed in 2003 that there is a "certain
reluctance" by state governments in India to participate in
efforts to identify and release bonded labourers. 13
The former Labour Secretary for the Indian Government was less circumspect.
He noted that "There have been cases where the magistrate has
refused to issue a release certificate even after all the ingredients
of bonded labour system have been proved beyond doubt." 14
Such a case occurred in 2002 when an Indian District Magistrate
refused to free a family of bonded labourers, stating that it is
a "social phenomenon in villages where the farmers borrow money
from landowners". She told the family to pay back the debt
and not to leave the village without doing so. This ruling is in
direct contradiction of the law.
A similar situation exists in Pakistan. In January 2002, the High
Court of Sindh in Pakistan dismissed 94 cases filed by bonded labourers
for their release. The court stated that "living beyond ones
means and being in a state of continuous debt has become the main
reason for such disputes and the resultant emergence of petitions."
The ruling has the effect of negating the Bonded Labour System
(Abolition) Act, 1992 which sets all bonded labourers free and
nullifies their debts. The Supreme Court has allowed an appeal,
but has refused to set aside the High Court's ruling.
This information shows that bonded labourers encounter many obstacles
when trying to use
the established legal process to free themselves. Conversely, the
vast majority of those who
use bonded labourers seem to evade the sanctions set out in the
Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Acts in India and Pakistan.
Anti-Slavery International has also documented
cases where bonded labourers and organisations working on their
behalf have been victims
of violence, kidnappings, threats and harassment because they are
seeking to access their
rights under the law. Such acts are generally committed with impunity
even when reported
to the police.
This seems to indicate that bonded labourers are not able to access
their right to equal and effective protection before the law because
of societal discrimination and that the governments in these countries
have not done enough to ensure that the available legal remedies
can be effectively accessed.
Recommendations for the Governments of India, Pakistan and Nepal
1. Fully implement the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination's
General Recommendation on Descent-Based Discrimination, 15
including: reviewing, enacting or amending legislation to outlaw
all forms of discrimination based on descent; resolutely implementing
legislation and other measures in force; and formulating and implementing
a comprehensive national strategy, with participation of members
of affected groups, in order to eliminate discrimination against
members of descent based groups. 16
2. Carry out comprehensive and independent national surveys to
identify the total number of bonded labourers in each country. These
surveys should include breakdowns of dalit bonded labourers
and those who have to provide forced labour for landlords (begar).
3. All local and national officials responsible for implementing
the bonded labour laws (including District Magistrates, Vigilance
Committees, the police, etc.) must be properly trained and function
effectively, so that they actively seek out cases of bonded labour
and ensure immediate release and rehabilitation, in compliance with
the law.
4. Prosecutions must be initiated against all those who use bonded
labour and against those who use intimidation and violence to retain
people as bonded labourers. The number of successful convictions
and sentences passed should be published, by state, on a regular
basis.
1 Report to the 56th session of the United Nations
Commission on Human Rights (E/CN.4/2000/12), para 53.
2 Human Rights Watch estimates that there are 40 million bonded
labourers in India alone (Broken People, 1999, page 139).
3 Ministry of Labour, Government of India, Annual Report 2000-2001,
page 181. Quoted in Human Rights Watch, Small Change, January
2003, page 41.
4 PILER, Bonded Labour in Pakistan, October 2000.
5 Begar is the word used to refer to this traditional system
of forced labour demanded by landlords.
6 Quoted in Human Rights Watch, Small Change, January 2003,
page 41.
7 K. Lieten and J. Breman, "A Pro-Poor Development Project
in Rural Pakistan: an academic analysis and a non -intervention",
Journal of Agrarian Change, Vol.2, No.3, July 2002, page
338.
8 For more details see Anti-Slavery International, Manual scavenging,
submission to the UN Working Group on Contemporary Forms of Slavery,
27th Session, 2002.
9 Human Rights Watch, Small Change, January 2003, page 43.
10 This is in line with the findings of the National Survey on the
Incidence of Bonded Labour (1981) which found that 90-94 per cent
of bonded labourers had no school education.
11 Report to the 56th session of the United Nations Commission on
Human Rights (E/CN.4/2000/12),
para 53.
12 Report of the ILO Committee of Experts, 2000. Observations
concerning Pakistans's application of Convention No.29.
13 The NGO Volunteers for Social Justice (VSJ), has filed some 2,000
cases for the release of bonded labourers in Punjab State. According
to VSJ only four of these bonded labourers have been formally released
since 1990.
14 Dr L Mishra, Secretary to the Government of India, Ministry of
Labour, Bonded Labour, presentation in the National Consultation
on Forced Labour, 21-22 September 2000, New Delhi, page 35.
15 Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD),
General Recommendation XXIX, General Recommendation on Descent-Based
Discrimination, 61st session, August 2002.
16 CERD strongly reaffirmed that "discrimination based on 'descent'
includes discrimination against members of communities based on
forms of social stratification such as caste and analogous systems
of inherited status which nullify or impair their equal enjoyment
of human rights." Ibid
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