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Former bonded laborers in Nepal still live in appalling conditions – UN
UN NEWS SERVICE
September 07, 2010: Two years after the Nepalese Government abolished the system of indentured labor that was prevalent in the country’s west, many of the freed agricultural workers still live in miserable conditions, United Nations agencies have reported, calling on authorities to step up the pace of reform to help the laborers.
The Office for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in Nepal (OHCHR-Nepal), the UN International Labor Organization (ILO) and Nepal’s National Dalit Commission said the so-called Haliyas or bonded laborers in the country’s Mid and Far western regions often have no access to food, shelter, clothing, health care or education.
Haliya women and children are particularly badly affected, the three organizations said in a joint statement issued on Sunday in the capital, Kathmandu, to mark the second anniversary of the abolition of the bonded labor system by the Government.
The statement noted that the Government plans to draft a law banning the practice of bonding Haliyas and undertake a survey of the freed laborers, describing it as a “crucial step towards their rehabilitation.
“However, we are deeply concerned over the slow progress on the implementation of the five-points agreement signed two years ago, including the annulment of debts, formation of a separate Haliya Commission and distribution of land to the freed Haliyas.”
The statement stressed that “meaningful rehabilitation of the freed Haliyas” is consistent with Nepal’s interim constitution, its international treaty obligations and a 2007 ruling from the South Asian country’s Supreme Court.
“The failure of the Government to fulfill its commitment in a timely manner will put the freed Haliyas at risk of falling back into the vicious cycle of exploitation once again and further compound their misery also on account of their Dalit [low caste] identity.”
