{"id":65,"date":"2010-06-14T22:21:28","date_gmt":"2010-06-14T13:21:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/test.hrn.or.jp\/?p=65"},"modified":"2023-10-25T09:43:07","modified_gmt":"2023-10-25T00:43:07","slug":"india-fact-finding-press-statement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hrn.or.jp\/eng\/news\/2010\/06\/14\/india-fact-finding-press-statement\/","title":{"rendered":"Press Statement on HRN Fact-finding team in India, June 2010"},"content":{"rendered":"

2010.6.5<\/font><\/font> <\/font><\/p>\n

Immediate Release<\/b><\/font> \u3000\u3000\u3000<\/p>\n

  Press Statement on HRN Fact-finding team in India, June 2010<\/b><\/font> <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n

\"20100601_india1.jpg\"<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\"20100601_india2.jpg\"<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\"20100601_india3e.jpeg\"<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n


<\/span><\/font><\/div>\n

<\/span><\/font><\/div>\n

<\/span><\/font><\/div>\n
Press Statement on HRN Fact-finding team in India, June 2010.pdf<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/font><\/div>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

 <\/font><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n


\n<\/p>\n

1.    <\/span>Human Rights Now, a Tokyo-based international
\nhuman rights NGO, conducted a fact finding mission from May 31 to June 2nd to investigate
\nthe extremely hazardous situation of child labor around the coal mines of Jaintia
\nHills in the state of Meghalaya with Impulse NGO Network, based in Shillong,
\nMeghalaya.<\/span><\/p>\n


<\/span><\/p>\n

The HRN fact finding mission conducted
\nthree days of extensive investigation in 3 coal mines. We conducted interviews of
\n45 people including workers, children, families, supervisors, managers and
\nowners. Among the 45, we interviewed three children each of ages 12, 13, 14, 15
\nand 16 involved in coal mining. We also interviewed five 17 year old children
\nand six  <\/span>18 year olds who are
\ninvolved in coal mining. We greatly appreciate the kind cooperation of all those
\ninvolved.<\/span><\/p>\n


<\/span><\/p>\n

2. 
\n<\/span>Up on completion of the investigation, the HRN fact-finding team found
\nthat extremely hazardous and inhumane child labor practices have widely been
\noperated in the coal mines owned by individuals in Jaintia Hills. Significant
\nnumbers of them are trafficked from Nepal and Bangladesh.<\/span><\/p>\n

Most of the children including age under the
\nage of 14 are placed in an extremely dangerous working environment and the
\nsituation is indeed one involving a slavery-like practice. At the same time,
\nthey are exploited and usually given half the wages of an adult.<\/span><\/p>\n


<\/span><\/p>\n

The HRN team would like to emphasize
\ncharacteristic of the practices as follows:<\/span><\/p>\n


<\/span><\/p>\n

Firstly, the age of the children involved
\nin child labor in this area is notably low. We interviewed three child workers who
\nwere only 12 and three child workers of age 13. A 12-year-old boy told us that
\nhe has been working since he was 8 years old. He used to work at the bottom of
\nthe hole to extract coal when he was ages 8 to 10. Several adults told that
\nsince children are brought from abroad when they are only 8 to 10 years old,
\nthey forget how to go back home and had no choice but to stay and work even
\nthough they do not like the work.<\/span><\/p>\n


<\/span><\/p>\n

Secondly, the working conditions at the coal
\nmines are extremely hazardous. The children need to go deep into the hole and
\nwork in underground “rat holes” to extract coal for many hours at a
\ntime.[1] The holes are extremely deep and there is little oxygen.  <\/span>It is dangerous to climb up and down
\nthe ladders and also dangerous to enter into the hole.  <\/span>The working environments are very low
\ntechnology  <\/span>and they lack any
\nsafety measures to prevent accidents to worker, and they pose great  <\/span> <\/span>risk to workers’ lives and security. Workers and managers
\nreported a large number of accidents that caused death and injury. However, the
\ndeaths of missing children go unreported and neither compensation nor medical
\npayment is provided by the mine owners.<\/span><\/p>\n


<\/span><\/p>\n

Thirdly, there is trafficking involved in
\nthe situation. In many of the cases where children were brought from Nepal and
\nBangladesh, brokers were involved. [2]<\/span><\/p>\n


<\/span><\/p>\n

Also in most cases, deception is involved
\nin the recruitments of children. Children are often told that they would  <\/span>do simple work or are only told that
\nthey will earn money.  <\/span>They only discover
\nthe truth about the extremely hazardous working conditions after arrival.
\nHowever, without any money to return home, they have no choice other but to
\nengaging in slavery-like labour.<\/span><\/p>\n


<\/span><\/p>\n

Forth, we received information regarding
\nhuman rights violations such as extrajudicial executions. The workers,
\nincluding children, are often locked up in the rat holes as a punishment, and such
\npunishments cause death. Although such acts are intentional killings, the perpetuators
\nhave never been brought to justice. There is no doubt that other childrenwho
\nare working in the mines would feel fear and intimidation upon learning of such
\nexecutions, and therefore believe that leaving is not an option and that they
\nare forced to obey the manager.<\/span><\/p>\n


<\/span><\/p>\n

Fifth, the living conditions of the
\nchildren are inhumane and unsanitary. People live in an unhygienic condition
\nwith no proper sanitary facilities. There is a lack of safe drinking water or a
\n <\/span>proper sewage system, and as a
\nresult the people residing there are plagued with various diseases. Moreover,
\nno medical facilities are provided by the employers. Children are not permitted
\nto go to school at all.<\/span><\/p>\n


<\/span><\/p>\n

The number of
\nchild workers is unknown. According to Impulse NGO Network, the estimated
\nnumber of child workers is 70,000. However, we believe it is likely  <\/span>that there are more children working in
\nthe mining industry in the area. The reason for our higher estimation is
\nbecause of the what we witnessed – according to a manager we interviewed, there
\nare 100,000 quarries and we saw that some of the big quarries have around 25
\nchildren working in them. It is clear that the slavery-like practice of child
\nlabour is widespread and embedded in the entire Jaintia Hills.<\/span><\/p>\n


<\/span><\/p>\n

3. 
\n<\/span>It is regrettable that no interventions or initiatives by either the
\ncentral or local government to address this extreme situation have been
\nreported. According to Impulse NGO Network, it has officially reported the
\nproblem to relevant authorities such as the Social Welfare Department and the Labor
\ndepartment in the central government, as well as to the National Human Rights
\nCommission; however, no action has been taken. Although there are many mechanisms
\nto address child labour in India, these mechanism seem to have little impact on
\nsituation on the ground. The National Commission on Protection for Child Rights
\nhas visited the state of Meghalaya and has been informed the situation, but no
\nfollow up response has been taken place so far.<\/span><\/p>\n


<\/span><\/p>\n

In the state of Meghalaya,  <\/span>several
\ninspectors have been appointed to be in charge of child labour issue, but no
\ninspections or guidance have been reported.<\/span><\/p>\n


<\/span><\/p>\n

4. 
\n<\/span>The situation above constitutes a serious violation of both
\ninternational and domestic law.<\/span><\/p>\n


<\/span><\/p>\n

First of all, the practice is a grave
\nbreach of the ILO Minimum Age (Underground Work) Convention No.123 (1965) which
\nhas been ratified by India and which prescribes that “the minimum age
\nshall in no case be less than 16 years.”  <\/span>Also, the practice is a serious violation of the Indian
\nConstitution and the Child Labor Act, which both explicitly prohibit child
\nlabour by those who are under 14 years old in mines or in any other hazardous
\nemployment.<\/span><\/p>\n


<\/span><\/p>\n

Second, the above practice constitutes
\ngrave violations of international human rights law, such as the International
\nCovenant of Civil and Political Rights(ICCPR), the International Covenant on
\nEconomic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) and the Convention of the Right of
\nthe Child(CRC),<\/span><\/p>\n


<\/span><\/p>\n

The extremely hard and dangerous working
\nconditions without any security measures causes numerous deaths and injuries to
\nchildren by accident as well as by extrajudicial execution. It is a grave
\nviolation of the right to life (Article 6 and Article 7 of ICCPR, Article 6 of
\nCRC). The practice of child labour also deprives children’s rights to health,
\nincluding access to safe drinking water and sanitation(Article 12 of ICESCR,
\nArticle 24 and Article 27 of CRC) as well as the right to education( Article 13
\nof ICESCR, Article 28of CRC).<\/span><\/p>\n


<\/span><\/p>\n

It also violates children’s rights to be
\nprotected from hazardous or harmful work (Article 32 of CRC), the state
\nobligation to take all appropriate measure to prevent trafficking(Article 35 of
\nCRC), and children’s rights to be protected from exploitation prejudicial to
\nchild welfare(Article 10 Item 3 of ICESCR, Article 35 of CRC).<\/span><\/p>\n


<\/span><\/p>\n

Under the ICCPR, ICESCR and CRC, the State
\nof India has an obligation to respect and protect the human rights of all
\npeople including children within its jurisdiction.<\/span><\/p>\n


<\/span><\/p>\n

In cases where members of the private
\nsector commit grave violations of human rights, the state should protect the
\npeople including children from these human rights violations by taking all
\nnecessary measures, including introducing necessary preventive measure,
\ninvestigating the violations, and prosecuting the human rights violators.<\/span><\/p>\n


<\/span><\/p>\n

1)                 
\n<\/span>We call upon the India government and State government of Meghalaya:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u25cf<\/span>                  
\n<\/span>To immediately conduct a thorough, effective, and transparent
\nlarge-scale investigation of the child labour practice and human rights
\nviolations in Jaintia Hills, with the victims’ full participation<\/span><\/p>\n

\u25cf<\/span>                  
\n<\/span>To invite and accept international monitoring such as a Commission of
\nInquiry of the ILO as well as UN experts such as UN special rapportuers on
\ncontemporary forms of slavery, trafficking in persons and extrajudicial
\nexecution<\/span><\/p>\n

\u25cf<\/span>                  
\n<\/span>To immediately protect and rescue children from the slavery-like
\npractice and provide effective remedies including rehabilitation, education,
\nrestitution and compensation <\/span><\/p>\n


<\/span><\/p>\n

2)                 
\n<\/span>We call upon the Indian government:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u25cf<\/span>                  
\n<\/span>To ensure full and effective implementation of Indian Constitution and
\nthe Child Labor Act as well as ILO Convention No. 123<\/span><\/p>\n

\u25cf<\/span>                  
\n<\/span>To conduct a nation-wide comprehensive study of the cause, nature and
\nextent of child labour and human trafficking, analyze the implementation of relevant
\nlaws and conventions on those laws, identify the cause of malfunctions and take
\nall necessary measures to solve problems<\/span><\/p>\n

\u25cf<\/span>                  
\n<\/span>To ratify ILO Convention No.138 concerning the Minimum Age, and No.182
\nconcerning the Prohibition and Immediate Action for the Elimination of the
\nWorst Forms of Child Labour<\/span><\/p>\n

\u25cf<\/span>                  
\n<\/span>To expand the scope of the Immoral Trafficking Prevention Act to all
\nforms of trafficking of children to prevent children from being trafficked as
\nwell as to protect victims<\/span><\/p>\n

\u25cf<\/span>                  
\n<\/span>To enact a bilateral agreement with the governments of both Nepal and
\nBangladesh on prevention, protection, and prosecution related to child
\ntrafficking<\/span><\/p>\n


<\/span><\/p>\n

3)                 
\n<\/span>Considering the gravity of the human rights violations, we call upon the
\ninternational community to be aware to the issue and address the problem
\nimmediately.<\/span><\/p>\n

In particular the HRN fact finding mission
\nrequests:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u25cf<\/span>                  
\n<\/span>That UN experts such as UN special rapportuers on contemporary forms of
\nslavery, trafficking in persons and extrajudicial execution to conduct a fact
\nfinding mission in Jaintia Hills.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u25cf<\/span>                
\n<\/span>That the International Labour Organization(ILO) investigate and
\nintervene in the situation<\/span><\/p>\n


<\/span><\/p>\n

4)                 
\n<\/span>Lastly, the HRN fact finding mission would also like to call the attention
\nof the business community in the world to this matter.<\/span><\/p>\n

According to several sources, the coal
\nproduct extracted from Jaintia Hills goes to Bangladesh and is sent to third party
\ncountries around the world. We assume numerous companies in the world are
\npurchasers of coal produced in these mines.<\/span><\/p>\n

In this regard, we recommend that the
\nbusiness community be aware of the situation and sensitive to the “supply
\nchain”. We believe that no end users wish to buy any product related to the
\nslavery-like practice of child labour. We are sure that the above situation is no
\nbetter than the “Sweat Shop” practice of the past.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Human Rights Now ~Protecting Human Rights
\nfor All~<\/span><\/p>\n

Human Rights Now is the first Japanese international human rights
\nNGO comprising a body of experienced legal professionals dedicated to
\nprotecting and promoting human rights around the world, with a special focus on
\nAsia. The activity includes monitoring\/fact-finding of human rights, human
\nrights education and advocacy work.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

[1] One coal mine in which HRN fact finding
\nteam investigated, the depth of the hole(quarry) is 140-150 feet and the bottom
\nof the hole is 45-50 square feet. Also the depth of the rat hole can be about
\n1000m.<\/span><\/p>\n

[2] According to the manager we interviewed
\nthere are some other managers who pay money to brokers.<\/span><\/p>\n


\n<\/span><\/font><\/p>\n


<\/span><\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

2010.6.5  Immediate Release \u3000\u3000\u3000   Press Statement on HRN Fact-finding team in India, June 2010  Press Statement on HRN Fact-finding team in India, June 2010.pdf   1.    Human Rights Now, a Tokyo-based international human rights NGO, conducted a fact finding mission from May 31 to June 2nd to investigate the extremely hazardous situation of child labor around the coal mines of Jaintia Hills in the state of Meghalaya with Impulse NGO Network, based in Shillong, Meghalaya. The HRN fact finding mission conducted three days of extensive investigation in 3 coal mines. We conducted interviews of 45 people including workers, children, families, supervisors, managers and owners. Among the 45, we interviewed three children […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[34,13],"tags":[25],"countries":[254,251],"class_list":["post-65","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-media","category-statement","tag-child-rights","countries-bangladesh","countries-india"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hrn.or.jp\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hrn.or.jp\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hrn.or.jp\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hrn.or.jp\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hrn.or.jp\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=65"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/hrn.or.jp\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":572,"href":"https:\/\/hrn.or.jp\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65\/revisions\/572"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hrn.or.jp\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=65"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hrn.or.jp\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=65"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hrn.or.jp\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=65"},{"taxonomy":"countries","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hrn.or.jp\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/countries?post=65"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}