HAPPY NEW YEAR 2015

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2015

What is outside is harder to change than what is inside? Follow the path of least resistance.

                                                    Paulo Coelho

Let Us Globalise Compassion, and Set Our Children Free

Nobel Lecture

Nobel Lecture by Kailash Satyarthi, Oslo, 10 December 2014.

Let Us Globalise Compassion, and Set Our Children Free

 
(My dear children of the world…)

Your Majesties, Your Royal Highnesses, Excellencies, distinguished members of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, dear brother Tom Harkin, brothers and sisters, a and my dear daughter Malala.

From this podium of peace and humanity, I am deeply honoured to recite a mantra from the ancient texts of wisdom, Vedas.

This mantra carries a prayer, an aspiration and a resolve that has the potential to liberate humanity from all man-made crises.

Let's walk together. In the pursuit of global progress, not a single person should be left out or left behind in any corner of the world, from East to West, from South to North.

Let's speak together, let our minds come together! Learning from the experiences of our ancestors, let us together create knowledge for all that benefits all.

I bow to my late parents, to my motherland India, and to the mother earth.

With a warm heart I recall how thousands of times, I have been liberated, each time I have freed a child from slavery. In the first smile of freedom on their beautiful faces, I see the Gods smiling. 

I give the biggest credit of this honour to my movement's Kaalu Kumar, Dhoom Das and Adarsh Kishore from India and Iqbal Masih from Pakistan who made the supreme sacrifice for protecting the freedom and dignity of children. I humbly accept this award on behalf of all such martyrs, my fellow activists across the world and my countrymen.

My journey from the great land of Lord Buddha, Guru Nanak and Mahatma Gandhi; India to Norway is a connect between the two centres of global peace and brotherhood, ancient and modern.

Friends, the Nobel Committee generously invited me to deliver a "lecture.” Respectfully, I am unable to do that.

I represent here the sound of silence. The cry of innocence. And, the face of invisibility. I have come here to share the voices and dreams of our children, our children, because they are all our children.

I have looked into their frightened and exhausted eyes. And I have heard their urgent questions:

Twenty years ago, in the foothills of the Himalayas, I met a small, skinny boy. He asked me: "Is the world so poor that it cannot give me a toy and a book, instead of forcing me to take a tool or gun?”

I met with a Sudanese child-soldier who was kidnapped by an extremist militia. As his first training, he was forced to kill his friends and family. He asked me: "What is my fault?”

Twelve years ago, a child-mother from the streets of Colombia – trafficked, raped, enslaved – asked me this: "I have never had a dream. Can my child have one?”

There is no greater violence than to deny the dreams of our children.

The single aim of my life is that every child is:

free to be a child,

free to grow and develop,

free to eat, sleep, see daylight,

free to laugh and cry,

free to play,

free to learn, free to go to school, and above all,

free to dream.

All the great religions tell us to care for children. Jesus said: "Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to them.” The Holy Quran says: "Kill not your children because of poverty.”

I refuse to accept that all the temples and mosques and churches and prayer houses have no place for the dreams of our children.

I refuse to accept that the world is so poor, when just one week of global spending on armies is enough to bring all of our children into classrooms.

I refuse to accept that all the laws and constitutions, and the judges and the police are not able to protect our children.

I refuse to accept that the shackles of slavery can ever be stronger than the quest for freedom.

I REFUSE TO ACCEPT.

I am privileged to work with many courageous souls who also refuse to accept. We have never given up against any threat and attack, and we will never. Undoubtedly, progress has been made in the last couple of decades. The number of out of school children has been halved. Child mortality and malnutrition has been reduced, and millions of child deaths have been prevented. The number of child labourers in the world has been reduced by a third. Make no mistake, great challenges still remain.

Friends, the biggest crisis knocking on the doors of humanity today is intolerance.

We have utterly failed in imparting an education to our children. An education that gives the meaning and objective of life and a secure future. An education that builds a sense of global citizenship among the young people. I am afraid that the day is not far when the cumulative result of this failure will culminate in unprecedented violence that will be suicidal for humankind.

Yet, young people like Malala, are rising up everywhere and choosing peace over violence, tolerance over extremism, and courage over fear.

Solutions are not found only in the deliberations in conferences and prescriptions from a distance. They lie in small groups and local organisations and individuals, who confront the problem every day, even if they remain unrecognised and unknown to the world

Eighteen years ago, millions of my brothers and sisters in 103 countries marched across 80,000 kilometres. And, a new international law against child labour was born. We have done this.

You may ask: what can one person do? Let me tell you a story I remember from my childhood: A terrible fire had broken out in the forest. All the animals were running away, including the lion, king of the forest. Suddenly, the lion saw a tiny bird rushing towards the fire. He asked the bird, "what are you doing?” To the lion's surprise, the bird replied "I am on my way to extinguish the fire.” He laughed and said, "how can you kill the fire with just one drop of water, in your beak?” The bird was adamant, and said, "But I am doing my bit.”

You and I live in the age of rapid globalisation. We are connected through high-speed Internet. We exchange goods and services in a single global market. Each day, thousands of flights connect us to every corner of the globe.

But there is one serious disconnect. It is the lack of compassion. Let us inculcate and transform the individuals' compassion into a global movement. Let us globalise compassion. Not passive compassion, but transformative compassion that leads to justice, equality, and freedom.

Mahatma Gandhi said, "If we are to teach real peace in this world... we shall have to begin with the children.” I humbly add, let us unite the world through the compassion for our children.

Whose children are they who stitch footballs, yet have never played with one? They are our children. Whose children are they who mine stones and minerals? They are our children. Whose children are they who harvest cocoa, yet do not know the taste of a chocolate? They are all our children.

Devli was born into intergenerational debt and bonded labour in India. Sitting in my car immediately after her rescue the eight-year-old girl asked: Why did you not come earlier? Her angry question still shakes me – and has the power to shake the world. Her question is for all of us. Why did we not come earlier? What are we waiting for? How many more Devlis will we allow to go without rescue? How many more girls will be abducted, confined and abused? Children, like Devli across the world are questioning our inaction and watching our actions.

We need collective actions with a sense of urgency. Every single minute matters, every single child matters, every single childhood matters.

I challenge the passivity and pessimism surrounding our children. I challenge this culture of silence, this culture of neutrality.

I, therefore, call upon all the governments, intergovernmental agencies, businesses, faith leaders, the civil society, and each one of us, to put an end to all forms of violence against children. Slavery, trafficking, child marriages, child labour, sexual abuse, and illiteracy have no place in any civilised society.

Friends, we can do this.

Governments must make child friendly policies, and invest in education and young people.

Businesses must be more responsible and open to innovative partnerships.

Intergovernmental agencies must work together to accelerate action.

Global civil society must rise above business-as-usual and scattered agendas.

Faith leaders and institutions, and all of us must stand with our children.

We must be bold, we must be ambitious, and we must have the will. We must keep our promises.

Over fifty years ago, on the first day of my school I met a cobbler boy my age sitting at the school gate, polishing shoes. I asked my teachers these questions: "Why is he working outside? Why is he not coming to school with me?” My teachers had no answer. One day, I gathered the courage to ask the boys' father. He said: "Sir, I have never thought about it. We are just born to work.” This made me angry. It still makes me angry. I challenged it then, and I am challenging it today.

As a child, I had a vision of tomorrow. That cobbler boy was studying with me in my classroom. Now, that tomorrow has become TODAY. I am TODAY, and you are TODAY. TODAY it is time for every child to have the right to life, the right to freedom, the right to health, the right to education, the right to safety, the right to dignity, the right to equality, and the right to peace.

TODAY, beyond the darkness, I see the smiling faces of our children in the blinking stars. TODAY, in every wave of every ocean, I see our children playing and dancing. TODAY, in every plant, tree, and mountain, I see that little cobbler boy sitting with me in the classroom.

I want you to see and feel this TODAY inside you. My dear sisters and brothers, may I ask you to close your eyes and put your hand close to your heart for a moment?   Can you feel the child inside you? Now, listen to this child. I am sure you can!

Today, I see thousands of Mahatma Gandhis, Martin Luther Kings, andNelson Mandelas marching forward and calling on us. The boys and girls have joined. I have joined in. We ask you to join too.

Let us democratise knowledge.

Let us universalise justice.

Together, let us globalise compassion, for our children!

I call upon you in this room, and all across the world.

I call for a march from exploitation to education, from poverty to shared prosperity, a march from slavery to liberty, and a march from violence to peace.

. 

Let us march from darkness to light. Let us march from mortality to divinity.

Let us march!

SOURCE  <http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/2014/satyarthi-lecture_en.html>

CONGRATS --MALALA AND KAILASH

Post by Dr.Nagendra Kumar Sinha.

Delhi pavement is great

Delhi pavement is great

The old man sitting on the pavement declined to take the polythene bag full of apples .My wife was purchasing some fruits from the vendor in front of her medical complex and she asked the the vendor to offer the fruit to that old person.
Actually that old man was frequently seen beside the path.
We had discussed about that person because his appearance and way of sitting and sleeping was not consistent with the path dwellers or beggars.

He used to  bear relatively clean Kurta and Pajama.He was a white bearded person .

We used to see him whenever we go to for the evening walk .Sometime he was also seen during mid-day

.He had a plastic bucket containing something .

We have seen him sleeping on the plastic sheet ,which was of good quality .
He had a few aluminium utensils .

We have seen him cooking the food .
 .
A chulha was prepared by using two bricks kept side by side What exactly he used to cook ,i could only guess .Most likely it was rice .He used to blow with mouth for fire to be more intense and in the process once i saw the wrinkle over his face .

Who he is ,from where he has come is  enigma for me. .
I wish i could know about him because he was at least not a beggar
AND he has proved that by declining the the bag of apple .

Perhaps he appears to victim of social apathy ,social negligence by his own son/daughter
Perhaps he has been enforced to sleep on the pavement of  Delhi .
Delhi pavement is great ,, it provides shelter to many individual??????????????

Post by Dr.Nagendra Kumar Sinha.

5.5 million kilometres march

End Child Slavery Week

Vision

To mobilise worldwide efforts to end child slavery.

End Child Slavery Week 2014 Demand

That the eradication of child slavery be made an international post-2015 Development Goal.

Overall Strategy

To bring civil society organisations, the public sector, private sector and citizens of the world together
to stage the boldest and most influential global campaign of our time to end child slavery.

What?
End Child Slavery Week (ECSW) will provide a unique and powerful platform for stakeholdersinternationally to pool their talent base, financial resources and influential networks to put the
suffering of children in slavery in the brightest of spotlights on the world stage. Through publicpressure, immediate action by the UN, governments and business leaders will be demanded to make
the atrocity of child slavery a priority in national legislation, policies and programmes to achieve real and lasting outcomes for all children trapped in the living hell of slavery, turning in their life a new leafby realising all their rights, particularly freedom from exploitation and inclusion in education.

Why?

According to 2012 ILO estimates, there are a minimum of 5.5 million children in forced labour aroundthe world, and 85 million children currently engaged in hazardous work in need ofimmediate and urgent help. Forced labour is a subset of slavery therefore the statistics of child slavery would be farhigher. The figure of 5.5 million children in forced labour has not changed since the 2005 estimates.This means that the world is failing millions of children across the globe suffering horrific abuse, whilethose with the power to change things standby idly.The first step to ending this travesty against justice is to make the end of child slavery a global
priority. A worldwide movement against child slavery via a highly coordinated campaign for a focusedperiod of time every year is now urgently needed to secure the immediate rescue, rehabilitation andrepatriation of all children imprisoned by slavery.


When?

The timing for End Child Slavery Week 2014 is from Thursday November 20th - Wednesday November 26th to coincide with both the Trust Women’s Conference in London on November 19th
(staged by Thomson Reuters Foundation who have generously offered this star studded event as the launching pad for the inaugural ECSW) and Universal Children’s Day on November 20th
.
How?

One specific matter in need of reform as agreed by ECSW partners will form the basis of an overarching demand each year, with pressure maintained on that matter until it is addressed. “The
Big Picture” or longer term objectives will also be communicated through various channels, with the ECSW website serving as a forum for participating countries to draw attention to highpriority nationalissues and associated objectives, backed by strong research and evidence.

ECSW 2014 Strategy

• Letters from several influential political figures and a joint letter from all ECSW partnerorganisations will be sent to heads of states in all countries, urging them to demand that theeradication of child slavery be included as a priority and matter of utmost urgency in the post-2015Development Agenda.
• Ground breaking social media campaign incorporating an online petition and virtual march to rally a minimum of 5.5 million signatures/march 5.5 million kilometres (1 petition signature = 1 km), representing the minimum 5.5 million children in slavery around the world.
• High profile marches led by children rescued from slavery in cities around the world.
• Events, activities, meetings and media coverage in participating countries with a focus on local demands.
• Delivery of petition signatures to the UN Secretary General by ECSW co-signatories in a prearranged meeting.
• Delivery of petition signatures to heads of states in all countries by senior representatives from ECSW partner organisations, preferably in a prearranged meeting.
• ECSW will be followed by a series of specific and time bound action points, with campaign performance judged against mutually agreed upon indicators and periodic reporting of progress
disseminated to all stakeholders.


http://globalmarch.org/sites/default/files/ECSW_Summary_Concept_Note.pdf

The mother of one billion solutions.

The mother of one billion solutions.

• India is the land of 100 problems but is (also) the mother of one billion solutions.

• See the faces of invisible children and listen to the sound of their silence.

• There are 168 million children engaged in jobs in the world.At the same time ,we have 200 million adults who are jobless.-----You can understand the solution of unemployment of adult .

KAILASH SATYARTHI 

CHILDREN'S DAY

Today is CHILDREN'S DAY  in India .

No day can really be children 's day unless india is free of child labour,child exploitation ,child slavery and 100% child education.
I wish world  to be free of child labour ,child exploitation and child slavery.

Slavery index ---where stands India

Slavery index

Modern slavery includes slavery, slavery-like practices (such as debt bondage, forced  marriage, and sale or  exploitation of children), human trafficking  and forced labour.

Trafficking Slavery MEANS

1 Recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or  receipt of persons.

2 By means of threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the  abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the  consent of a person having control over another person  (these means are not required in the case of children).

3 With the intent of exploiting that person through:

Prostitution of others;

Sexual exploitation;

Forced labour;

Slavery (or similar practices);

Servitude; and

Removal of organs.

(UN Trafficking Protocol, 2000)

• The first Global Slavery Index published by the Australia-based Walk Free Foundation, ranked 162 countries based on three factors that include estimated prevalence of modern slavery, a measure of child marriage and a measure of human trafficking in and out of a country.
• The index was created in consultation with an international panel of experts and has been endorsed by former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former British prime ministers Tony Blair, Gordon Brown and Julia Gillard, and philanthropists Bill Gates, Sir Richard Branson and Mo Ibrahim. 

• Modern slavery included slavery, practices such as debt bondage, forced marriage and sale or exploitation of children as well as human trafficking and forced labour. 
• According to the index, there are 29.6 million people in modern slavery globally. India leads the world, followed by China, Pakistan, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Russia, Thailand, Democratic Republic of Congo, Myanmar and Bangladesh. These 10 countries account for 76% of the world's modern slaves. 
• Sixty-six years after independence, India has the dubious distinction of being home to half the number of modern day slaves in the world. The first Global Slavery Index has estimated that 13.3 to 14.7 million people live like slaves in the country — roughly equal to the population of Kolkata. 
• The study says that in India there's some exploitation of foreign nationals but by far the largest proportion of slaves are Indians exploited by other Indians within the country, particularly through debt bondage and bonded labour. 
• India is one of the few countries that has not ratified the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention.
• SOURCE ----http://www.globalslaveryindex.org/

Petition to UN Secretary General

Petition to UN Secretary General

To,
Ban Ki-moon
United Nations Secretary General
New York

Dear Secretary-General,

We write as a group of civil society organisations that have been working independently and collectively for many years in order to end child labour and child slavery in the world.

We welcome sub-goal 8.7 of the “Outcome Document” of the Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals, which represents the international community’s crucial recognition that child labour and contemporary slavery hinder the efforts of people to work their way out of poverty.

However, we urge a slight amendment of the sub-goal in terms of re-arranging the existing text to make it simpler and clearer, while at the same time placing an emphasis on “child slavery”. As such, sub-goal 8.7 would read as follows:     

“Take immediate and effective measures to eradicate forced labour, secure the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labour including recruitment and use of child soldiers and child slavery, and, by 2025, end child labour in all its forms”

We believe that it is important to include in the text explicit reference to the issue of child slavery to give visibility to and to affect impact on the most neglected, exploited and hard-to-reach category of children engaged in child labour. The 1956 Convention on Slavery and the relevant ILO instruments on forced labour and child labour define forms of forced labour and contemporary slavery of adults and children, including in debt bondage. The 1956 Supplementary Convention includes in its definition of child slavery the handing over of a child with a view to exploitation of the child or his or her labour. This reflects the serious level of exploitation and violence involved in child slavery, undertaken by third parties.

Hence, child slavery needs specific attention as a development challenge. Since 2005, the estimates that child slavery has stayed stubbornly at the level of around 5.5 million children, suggesting that whatever approaches have been used to eliminate child labour have been wholly insufficient in reducing child slavery. 

Without attention to the issue of child slavery, the Sustainable Development Goals to reduce poverty and violence, including with regard to child soldiers, and to advance education and health goals will be compromised.

We hope you will recognise that though the amendments we request are small they are also vital to help focus the attention of the international development community on the importance of the elimination of child labour and child slavery in the broader struggle against poverty.

Yours
……… 

- See more at: http://www.endchildslaveryweek.org/sign-petition/#sthash.wpYCU9N8.dpuf

Who will care

A girl child eating near a crossing near parliament of Iindia .Why she is eating on the road ,May be she is enjoying ????outings???? Who cares ? Who will care ? We respect YOUTH ,not CHILD ????????

But certainly that is not enough.

It was about 3.40 pm,sitting in the department of radiology and preparing for going to home .

"Sir ---sir --sir ----- middle aged women rushed to my room and said sir ,i want to be examined by USG .My abdomen is increasing day after day."

"OK,come tommorrow ,now time is over.Show me the paper."

"Sir ,i donot have any paper . I have been suggested to come here.Iwant myself to be examined right now ."

"Madam ,time is over ,come tommorrow and bring the prescription also---i repeated."

Sir .you will do ultrasound definitely  tomorrow --inquired with an element of doubt over my assurance.

Thereafter she left the department with one of bearded person looking like SADHU.

Next day , she came with prescription with advice of usg of whole abdomen.

Sir ,do you remember ,you called me today for ultrasound ?

Remmembering that lady and asked her to wait for her turn.

Finally she was lying on the examination table for ultrasound of whole abdomen .Sir ,my abdomen is increasing in size day by day .Sir is it ok? Sir what is the problem ?

I was doing usg  giving  attention to what she was saying.

Suddenly ,i asked ---"how many children have ?"

"Sir ,three"

"how many children you want "? 

"Sir ,no more child sir . my eldest child is 12yrs old ,it is difficult to bring up three children. i only know how i am taking care of  them.

"SO what will you do of this pregnancy" ?
"What"?

"Yes ,you have pregnancy of  8weeks"?
She spoke nothing ,perhaps her fear of pregnancy made her dumb?
She just started snobbing .

"Why are you weeping"?
She kept mum.

Sir, now you advise me sir .My destiny is like that . Who cares a lady like me in this world. I am destined to be exploited?
 Her tone and tenor compelled me to probe further. And what unfolded was a story for which a civilised society has no reason to boast of.


She was from Assam.Her 12 yrs old son was brought by an agent in Delhi for  work about one year back.
Since then she had no contact with his son . So she came to Delhi to find out her son.
But she  could not be trace her son .She was given wrong address.A temple was nearby the given address.So she took shelter of temple and continued to search her son .
Her son was nowhere to be found. Of course ,a event took in the premises of the temple which culminated in her 8 week pregnancy

So she was restless ,so she was concerned about her increasing abdomen size .
Now who will take care of her?
Will Delhi afford to accept HER in totality?Will Delhi return her son?
Will even Delhi be civilised enough to send her back to native place?
I doubt ,and unfortunately i am part of that so- called civilised metro world of Delhi.
Only solace is that i could tell her cause of her increasing abdomen size ,but certainly that is not enough.

Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976

Bonded Labour

The Government of India has consistently maintained a proactive approach to the issue of forced or bonded labour in the country. It recognizes this evil system as a gross infringement of the fundamental Human Rights of the affected citizens and is implacably committed to its total eradication in the shortest possible time.

India has ratified ILO Convention No.29 (Forced Labour Convention 1930) on 30.11.1954.

The Bonded Labour System stands abolished throughout the country with effect from 25^th October, 1975 with the enactment of Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976.

 It freed unilaterally all the bonded labourers from bondage with simultaneous liquidation of their debts. It made the practice of bondage a cognizable offence punishable by law. 

The Act is being implemented by the State Governments concerned.

Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976

Salient features of the Act are as under:

1     On commencement of this Act, the bonded labour system stood

abolished and every bonded labourer stood freed and discharged

free from any obligation to render bonded labour.

2        Any custom, agreement or other instrument by virtue of which a

person was required to render any service as bonded labour was

rendered void.

3.   Liability to repay bonded debt was deemed to have been

extinguished.

4.    Property of the bonded labourer was freed from mortgage etc.

5. Freed bonded labourer was not to be evicted from homesteads or

other residential premises which he was occupying as part of

consideration for the bonded labour.

6.  District Magistrates have been entrusted with certain duties and

responsibilities for implementing the provisions of this Act

7.Vigilance committees are required to be constituted at district and

sub-divisional levels.

8.       Offences for contravention of provisions of the Act are punishable

with imprisonment for a term, which may extend to three years and

also with fine, which may extend to two thousand rupees.

9.         Powers of Judicial Magistrates are required to be conferred on

Executive Magistrates for trial of offences under this Act

Offences under this Act could be tried summarily.

10.      Every offence under the Act is cognizable and bailable.

 SOURCE ---LABOUR/NIC

Eliminating child labour: Delhi govt accepts NGO's (Bachpan Bachao Andolan )suggestions

Eliminating child labour: Delhi govt accepts NGO's 

(Bachpan Bachao Andolan )suggestions

1,------when a complaint of child labour is filed, immediate action be taken in 24 hours and maximum within three days if the number of workers is large, i.e above 100.
2.-------investigation should be completed within 45 days from rescue of a child so that necessary formalities for rehabilitation and compensation can be complied with within 45 days of rescue of victim
3.------- intensive investigation be conducted by the investigating officer (IO) throughout the chain of trafficking as the data submitted by the labour department suggests that 99 per cent of child labour in Delhi is brought from other states".
4.--------formulation of schemes "for providing incentives/ scholarships, etc. 

Bonded Labour (Abolition) Act, 1976. 

-----"Under the Act, it is incumbent upon the authorities to ensure the rehabilitation of the rescued children by creating a rehabilitation-cum-welfare fund of Rs 25,000 of which Rs 20,000 shall be paid by the employer as a fine and the rest shall come from the state."
-------Section 13 of Bonder Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976, stipulates that every state government shall by notification in the official gazette, constitute such committees in each district and sub-division as it may think fit.

child sex

There is repeated report of rape /sexual assualt of 6-7 yrs old girl by teachers ,cab drivers ,own relative and by neighbours.
WHY? Are there any provocative dress being born by such small kids ?Certainly not.
Naturally  problem is on side of culprit .

What are those problems ?

Easy availability of pornographic material appears to be very important provocative factor.
Such small girls are not able to decifer the intention of culprit .
Some culprit suffer from the mentral abnormality .
Some has presumption of cure of disease by having sex with child girl .

Difference of opinon may be there for the cause ,but such heinous crime has no place in a civilised society.But it exits ..Irony is that such cases are frequently being reported from metros ,epicentre of civilised society
So what to do?
How to prevent such heinous crime ? how to handle such crime ?

• Ban of all kinds of pornographic  material 
• Moral teaching 
• STRINGENT AND ALMOST INSTANT PUNISHMENT 

ANY OTHER SOLUTION ?PL WRITE IN THE COMMENT 

CHILD TRAFFICKING --ASSAM

Despite constant awareness programmes by NGOs and government agencies, Assam is still at the top among the seven states in the region when it comes to child trafficking and labour


In the past few years, the northeast, Assam in particular, has emerged as one of the biggest source areas and transit routes for child trafficking. I have come across dozens of cases where Assamese girls have become victims of trafficking and slavery. Most of these children are trafficked from Lakhimpur and Kokrajhar districts. The tea gardens of Udalguri, Sonitpur and Bongaigaon, among other poor areas of lower Assam, also happen to be source areas. Some people from West Bengal, Assam and Meghalaya have set 'placement agencies' to supply domestic helps to metropolitan cities. Other agencies have engaged local agents from the northeast to procure children. Besides being trafficked to work as domestic helps, thousands of minor children are held in bondage in the 'zari-embroidery' and garment industry in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. Additionally, a large number of adolescent girls are duped and they find themselves in prostitution or sold as brides in states like Haryana, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh.

KAILASH SATYARTHI

WORST FORM OF CHILD LABOUR---ILO Convention No. 182

The term ‘child labour’ is often defined as work that deprives children of their childhood, their potential and their dignity, and that is harmful to physical and mental development.

It refers to work that:

1. is mentally, physically, socially or morally dangerous and harmful to children; and

2.interferes with their schooling by:

a. depriving them of the opportunity to attend school;

b.obliging them to leave school prematurely; or

c. requiring them to attempt to combine school attendance with excessively long and heavy work.

 The worst forms of child labour as defined by Article 3 of ILO Convention No. 182:

(a) all forms of slaveryor practices similar slavery, such as the sale and trafficking of children,debt bondage and serfdom and forced or       compulsory labour, including forced 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.

Labour that jeopardises the physical, mental or moral well-being of a child,either because of its nature or because of the conditions in which it is carried out, is known as ‘hazardous work’.