PAKISTAN: INFORMATION ON FORCED LABOR AND CHILD LABOR IN

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ISLAMABAD 002064 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ELAB ETRD PGOV SOCI PK SUBJECT: PAKISTAN: INFORMATION ON FORCED LABOR AND CHILD LABOR IN THE PRODUCTION OF GOODS Ref: STATE 43120 ¶1. (U) The following is a response to the Department's request for information on the use of forced and child labor in the production of goods. Responses are keyed to questions in reftel. ¶2. (U) There are no recent surveys or studies on the nationwide use of forced labor and exploitative child labor in the production of goods in Pakistan. A 1996 National Child Labor Survey, conducted with technical assistance from the International Labor Organization (ILO),found that 8.3 percent of children aged 5 to 14 were employed, 73 percent of them male. 71 percent of Pakistan's child laborers were concentrated in the agricultural, fisheries, construction and manufacturing industries. The Government of Pakistan (GOP),in conjunction with the ILO, has been planning to update the 1996 survey for several years. ILO representatives expressed a desire to build a child labor survey into the next national census, scheduled to begin in October 2008. While Ministry of Labor officials are reluctant to speculate on the outcomes of any future survey, they hope increasing primary school enrollment rates are an indication that child labor is on the decline. ¶3. (U) Data on the use of child and forced labor in the production of goods is mostly anecdotal and incomplete. Information in this cable has been collected from the Ministry of Labor, the ILO and NGOs operating in Pakistan. According to the Ministry of Labor, nearly all of Pakistan's forced and child labor occurs in informal, family-based or cottage industries. In non-agricultural sectors, 93 percent of working children are engaged in informal activities. Children's contribution to work in rural areas is around eight times greater than in urban areas. Estimates indicate that 95 to 98 percent of all forced labor also occurs in the informal sector. ¶4. (U) ILO sources indicate that there is some incidence of forced labor in the agricultural sector, particularly in the production of wheat, sugar and tobacco in the provinces of Sindh and Punjab. There are recorded cases in which landowner-tenant share cropping arrangements denigrate into debt bondage. In these cases, tenants borrow money from landlords during the course of the year, planning to return it when crops are harvested. Post-harvest profits are often insufficient to pay back the terms of the loan and the debt is carried forward. Perpetual indebtedness is not uncommon in these cases. Debt arrangements are often verbal with tenants having no record of what they agreed to and no recourse for arbitration. There are specific instances of children being pledged or bonded in return for loans. Commonly, children of bonded families do not attend school but participate in agricultural production. ¶5. (U) Debt bondage and forced labor has also been reported in the brick kiln industry. Some kiln owners, located mainly in Punjab and the Northwest Frontier Province (NWFP),use debt bondage to bind laborers to long-term work commitments. Large debts, and therefore workers, may be transferred to other kiln owners. The ILO alleges that kiln owners have been known to sell workers to other kiln owners outright. Family members, including young children, becoming liable for debts in cases of worker death or disability. The ILO reports that kiln laborers in debt bondage to kiln owners do not believe that they or their children would ever be free of the debt. ¶6. (U) Lahore-based NGO Sudhaar reports that forced and child labor does exist in the carpet weaving and glass bangle making industries, although there is no data to quantify to what extent. Neither the ILO nor NGOs operating in Pakistan reported child or bonded labor in the garment and textile industry. According to Sudhaar, child and forced labor in the carpet industry occurs in the informal sector. Individual looms are located in private homes and weavers are paid in advance for their carpets. Anecdotal reports indicate that in some cases, carpet brokers target families in economic need, providing loans in exchange for weaving services. As with other industries, it is often difficult for families to repay the terms of the loan and debt bondage can ensue. Sudhaar identified Sindh province's Thar desert region as having a high incidence of forced child labor in the carpet industry. ¶7. (U) Pakistan has ratified all eight core ILO labor conventions, including conventions on the prohibition of forced labor (Conventions 29 and 105) and child labor (Convention 182). The GOP enacted a Bonded Labor System Abolition Act in 1992, outlawing bonded labor and canceling existing bonded debts. The use of child bonded labor is punishable by up at five years in prison and a USD 800 fine. Pakistani courts do not recognize the legality of loans in exchange for labor. Although bonded laborers have the legal right to petition for a writ of habeas corpus and freedom from ISLAMABAD 00002064 002 OF 002 bonded labor, few cases have been recorded. Implementation of anti-bonded labor laws remains inconsistent, as most bonded laborers lack an understanding of their basic legal rights. The GOP has made some effort to address forced labor in the agricultural sector, freeing 850 families from private debt prisons in Sindh province in ¶2005. The Ministry of Labor is in the process of simplifying Pakistan's 74 separate labor laws, incorporating them into five broad pieces of legislation. This process has been underway since the passage of the 2002 Labor Policy. The first of these bills, aimed at codifying core labor rights, will be sent to the National Assembly following Cabinet approval. PATTERSON