Worst Forms Of Child Labour In Nepal
Yuba Nath Lamsal
The population of children below 18 years of age is almost half of the total population of Nepal. ILO-IPEC has estimated that there are about 2.6 million child labourers in Nepal. These child workers, according to child rights organisations, shed their blood and sweat in 75 different sectors for their mere survival. Of these 75 sectors, some have been identified as most hazardous.Unpaid labourThere is yet another revealing factor regarding child labour in Nepal. Concern for Children and Environment, a child rights organisation in Nepal, says that about 900,000 child workers are unpaid despite the exploitation of their labour. Some child rights activists even claim that as many as 1.7 million children are working as unpaid labourers in different sectors. This is an extreme case of exploitation of child labour in Nepal.Nepal has ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and several other international instruments concerning human rights and child rights, which prohibit child labour. The ratification of the international treaties is a commitment and obligation of the signatory to ensure that conditions and provisions of the treaties are strictly applied and implemented back home.Since Nepal has ratified the CRC and other child rights related international instruments, it is the obligation of the government of Nepal to implement these provisions and fully guarantee the rights of the child.Nepal has definitely taken some initiatives for the rights of the child. Laws have been made and policies and programmes announced to promote children's rights. The Children's Act has prohibited the employment and recruitment of children below 14 years of age in any kind of physical and mental labour. However, child labour is pervasive in Nepal despite the legal measures to restrict it. This is due to the weak implementation aspect and lack of effective measures, mechanisms and programmes to practically eliminate child labour.Child labour is a violation of the rights of the child. The different forms of exploitation include use of labour without wages or salary; physical, mental, psychological and sexual abuse; using them in hazardous sectors; long working hours and poor working condition; and denial of opportunity for education and entertainment. The exploitation of child labour is a crime, which must be punished by law.Given the poor economic condition and pervasive nature of child labour in Nepal, immediate elimination of child labour may not be possible. Thus, a gradual process has to be adopted. However, the exploitation of child labour and recruitment of children in hazardous sectors can be stopped.Bijaya Sainju, director of CONCERN, says that the immediate priority of the government and the social organisations and child rights groups should be to end the exploitation of child labour, and the first approach should be to duly recognise child labour and ensure fair wages, better working conditions and opportunity for education.ILO Convention No. 182 adopted in 1999 has defined what constitutes the worst forms of child labour. According to Article 3 of the Convention, the worst forms of child labour comprise: (a) all forms of slavery or practices similar to slavery, such as the sale and trafficking of children, debt bondage and serfdom and forced or compulsory labour, including forced or compulsory recruitment of children for use in armed conflict; (b) the use, procuring or offering of a child for prostitution, for the production of pornography or for pornographic performances; (c) the use, procuring or offering of a child for illicit activities, in particular for the production and trafficking of drugs as defined in the relevant international treaties; (d) work which, by its nature or the circumstances in which it is carried out, is likely to harm the health, safety or morals of children.In Nepal, the International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour ( ILO-IPEC) has categorised conflict-hit children, child soldiers, street children, domestic child workers, child sex workers and trafficked children as the victims of worst forms of child labour. It is estimated that there are 127,000 children working in the most hazardous sectors. But the number of those involved in the worst forms of child labour is much higher as some more areas like stone quarries, brick kilns, restaurants and metal works have been added to the list of worst forms of child labour.Recently, CONCERN conducted a national survey on children working in the mechanical sectors, a sector that had earlier been grossly ignored. In this sector, children as young as 10 years old were found working in very poor conditions that included long and odd working hours, low wages and hazardous work. According to the survey, about 50 per cent of the child workers in the mechanical sectors are either not paid at all or not paid in time. They are also not being allowed to go to school as they are forced to work from early morning to late evening. This is just the tip of the iceberg, and similar conditions exist in other hazardous sectors as well.Children are the future nation-builders. The future of the country depends on how we rear and educate children at present. Thus, any investment on children is an investment for the development of the country. Children must be better educated now so that they can be good citizens and contribute to the development of Nepal in the future. Labour is not a choice of the children but a compulsion due to poverty and other social and cultural factors.GoalsNepal is now working hard to meet the United Nations Millennium Development Goals. It is only right that child workers figure prominently in the plans and programmes of the government towards meeting the goals. Most of these child labourers are out of school. Some have either not attended school at all or dropped out before completing the primary level of education and joined the labour force. If these 2.6 million child workers are not covered, Nepal will not be able to meet the MDGs.
URL: http://www.gorkhapatra.org.np/content.php?nid=17460
The population of children below 18 years of age is almost half of the total population of Nepal. ILO-IPEC has estimated that there are about 2.6 million child labourers in Nepal. These child workers, according to child rights organisations, shed their blood and sweat in 75 different sectors for their mere survival. Of these 75 sectors, some have been identified as most hazardous.Unpaid labourThere is yet another revealing factor regarding child labour in Nepal. Concern for Children and Environment, a child rights organisation in Nepal, says that about 900,000 child workers are unpaid despite the exploitation of their labour. Some child rights activists even claim that as many as 1.7 million children are working as unpaid labourers in different sectors. This is an extreme case of exploitation of child labour in Nepal.Nepal has ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and several other international instruments concerning human rights and child rights, which prohibit child labour. The ratification of the international treaties is a commitment and obligation of the signatory to ensure that conditions and provisions of the treaties are strictly applied and implemented back home.Since Nepal has ratified the CRC and other child rights related international instruments, it is the obligation of the government of Nepal to implement these provisions and fully guarantee the rights of the child.Nepal has definitely taken some initiatives for the rights of the child. Laws have been made and policies and programmes announced to promote children's rights. The Children's Act has prohibited the employment and recruitment of children below 14 years of age in any kind of physical and mental labour. However, child labour is pervasive in Nepal despite the legal measures to restrict it. This is due to the weak implementation aspect and lack of effective measures, mechanisms and programmes to practically eliminate child labour.Child labour is a violation of the rights of the child. The different forms of exploitation include use of labour without wages or salary; physical, mental, psychological and sexual abuse; using them in hazardous sectors; long working hours and poor working condition; and denial of opportunity for education and entertainment. The exploitation of child labour is a crime, which must be punished by law.Given the poor economic condition and pervasive nature of child labour in Nepal, immediate elimination of child labour may not be possible. Thus, a gradual process has to be adopted. However, the exploitation of child labour and recruitment of children in hazardous sectors can be stopped.Bijaya Sainju, director of CONCERN, says that the immediate priority of the government and the social organisations and child rights groups should be to end the exploitation of child labour, and the first approach should be to duly recognise child labour and ensure fair wages, better working conditions and opportunity for education.ILO Convention No. 182 adopted in 1999 has defined what constitutes the worst forms of child labour. According to Article 3 of the Convention, the worst forms of child labour comprise: (a) all forms of slavery or practices similar to slavery, such as the sale and trafficking of children, debt bondage and serfdom and forced or compulsory labour, including forced or compulsory recruitment of children for use in armed conflict; (b) the use, procuring or offering of a child for prostitution, for the production of pornography or for pornographic performances; (c) the use, procuring or offering of a child for illicit activities, in particular for the production and trafficking of drugs as defined in the relevant international treaties; (d) work which, by its nature or the circumstances in which it is carried out, is likely to harm the health, safety or morals of children.In Nepal, the International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour ( ILO-IPEC) has categorised conflict-hit children, child soldiers, street children, domestic child workers, child sex workers and trafficked children as the victims of worst forms of child labour. It is estimated that there are 127,000 children working in the most hazardous sectors. But the number of those involved in the worst forms of child labour is much higher as some more areas like stone quarries, brick kilns, restaurants and metal works have been added to the list of worst forms of child labour.Recently, CONCERN conducted a national survey on children working in the mechanical sectors, a sector that had earlier been grossly ignored. In this sector, children as young as 10 years old were found working in very poor conditions that included long and odd working hours, low wages and hazardous work. According to the survey, about 50 per cent of the child workers in the mechanical sectors are either not paid at all or not paid in time. They are also not being allowed to go to school as they are forced to work from early morning to late evening. This is just the tip of the iceberg, and similar conditions exist in other hazardous sectors as well.Children are the future nation-builders. The future of the country depends on how we rear and educate children at present. Thus, any investment on children is an investment for the development of the country. Children must be better educated now so that they can be good citizens and contribute to the development of Nepal in the future. Labour is not a choice of the children but a compulsion due to poverty and other social and cultural factors.GoalsNepal is now working hard to meet the United Nations Millennium Development Goals. It is only right that child workers figure prominently in the plans and programmes of the government towards meeting the goals. Most of these child labourers are out of school. Some have either not attended school at all or dropped out before completing the primary level of education and joined the labour force. If these 2.6 million child workers are not covered, Nepal will not be able to meet the MDGs.
URL: http://www.gorkhapatra.org.np/content.php?nid=17460
Comments
Post a Comment