PERMANENT MISSION OF INDIA
GENEVA

Statement by Shri Ajit Kumar, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of India to the UN in Geneva during Item 3, Clustered Interactive Dialogue: Special Rapporteur on Contemporary Forms of Slavery and Working Group on Enforced Disappearances, September 15, 2016

Mr. President,

We thank the Special Rapporteur on Contemporary Forms of Slavery and the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances for their respective reports. Our statement is confined to the SR’s report.

2.      We appreciate the SR for highlighting the issue of debt bondage in her latest report. The scourge of ‘bonded labour’ or ‘debt bondage’ continues to effect all parts of the world including India.

3.      As the SR has noted in her report, India has a strong legal and institutional mechanisms for addressing bonded labour. Our Constitution abolishes bonded labour. The legal framework to give effect to this is contained in the Bonded Labour Abolition Act, 1976, and is further supported by other acts like the Contract Labour Act, 1970; the Inter-State Migrant Workmen Act, 1979; the Minimum Wages Act, 1948 and the Prevention of Atrocities Act. Despite statutory prohibition, the practice still continues. Poverty, illiteracy, unemployment and lack of development remain the primary reasons for their persistence. These complex socio-economic realities coupled with weak implementation are the major barriers to eradication of bonded labour.

Mr. President,

4.      Nonetheless, there is a strong political will to eliminate bonded labour in India in a time bond manner. The focus is on effective implementation of existing programmes through convergence and better coordination of various welfare schemes and generating greater awareness about bonded labour among all stakeholders.

5.      Accountability is a crucial issue. A two-day National Workshop on Total Abolition of Bonded Labour System was organized recently by Ministry of Labour in collaboration with ILO where the role of judiciary, media and civil society in monitoring the implementation of programmes by district administration, police and the state labour departments and ensuring accountability and justice to victims of bonded labour was emphasized. Our National Human Rights Commission also has a specific mandate in this regard.

6.      Another major challenge is the issue of relapse. Elimination of bonded laobur is not a one-time event. It can occur and recur any time in any industry or occupation. Sustained rehabilitation of victims thus assumes critical importance. The focus is, therefore, on awareness, skill development, vocational training and financial assistance to victims. With this in mind, Government of India has recently in May 2016 revised the Centrally Sponsored Scheme for Rehabilitation of Bonded Labours. We are also working on strengthening social protection floors.

Mr. President,

7.      Finally, we wish to conclude by highlighting that our approach to eliminate bonded labour needs to go beyond the symptoms to address the root causes. The multifaceted and deeply rooted nature of those causes requires an integrated and long-term strategy. And we are committed to take such actions.

Thank you Mr. President.

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