NEW CONVERGENCE PROJECT CONTINUES U.S.-INDIA PARTNERSHIP TO

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 NEW DELHI 000022

STATE FOR G/TIP MARK TAYLOR; G LAURA PENA/DAVID YOUNG
DEPT LABOR FOR ILAB MEUGENIO

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ELAB PGOV ETRD KTIP KOCI PHUM SOCI USAID IN
SUBJECT: NEW CONVERGENCE PROJECT CONTINUES U.S.-INDIA PARTNERSHIP TO
ERADICATE CHILD LABOR


1. SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Labor (USDOL)-funded project,
"Converging Against Child Labor: Support for India's Model,"
provides new momentum for the partnership between the U.S. and India
in eradicating child labor. Implemented by the International Labor
Organization (ILO),the USD 6.85 million convergence project builds
on the previously successful USD 40 million U.S.-India INDUS Child
Labor Project. The successor project explicitly aims at child labor
trafficking and seeks to leverage the benefits of existing GOI
welfare schemes at the grassroots level. A pre-launch stakeholder
workshop in Bhopal attended by Poloffs provided insights into the
strong level of commitment by state government officials. The
Government of India (GOI) and ILO plan to formally launch the
project in early 2010. The project demonstrates the value of
seeking partnerships with the GOI to help it overcome India's
societal problems. END SUMMARY.

CONVERGENCE MODEL TAKES UP AFTER INDUS
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2. The U.S. Department of Labor (USDOL) is providing USD 6.85
million in funding for a child labor project in India. The project,
"Converging Against Child Labor: Support for India's Model," builds
on the tremendous success of the USD 40 million joint USG-GOI Indus
Child Labor Project that ended in March 2009, after rescuing over
100,000 child laborers. The selected sites for the project are:
Bihar (Sithamari and Katiyar),Gujarat (Vadodara and Surat),
Jharkhand (Ranchi and Sahibganj),Madhya Pradesh (Jabalpur and
Ujjain),and Orissa (Cuttack and Kalahandi). The International
Labor Organization (ILO) will implement the new project, which seeks
to prevent and eliminate hazardous child labor, including the
trafficking and migration of children for labor. The project will
demonstrate a sustainable convergence model at the grassroots level
that leverages the benefits of various GOI social welfare programs
(tapping into millions of dollars of additional funds). The goal is
to tackle child labor more effectively by supporting economic
rehabilitation of families in tandem with educational rehabilitation
of children. The project targets over 48,000 current and potential
child laborers between the ages of 5 and 17.


3. The ILO began preliminary project work by convening state-level
stakeholder workshops in Patna, Bihar and Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh in
December, and will hold similar meetings in Gujarat, Orissa, and
Jharkhand in early 2010. The GOI and ILO expect to formally launch
the project in February or March 2010. Embassy Poloffs attended the
stakeholder workshop in Bhopal on December 21-22, 2009, which
comprised approximately 60 attendees. Participants included
representatives from various state agencies, unions, and NGOs in
addition to experts from colleges. The participation of senior
state officials was a demonstration of the Madhya Pradesh state
government's strong commitment to the project and to eradicating
child labor. State Labor Minister Jagannath Singh inaugurated the
workshop, while Labor Secretary Sewaram and Labor Commissioner
Pramod Kumar Das participated in the entire two-day workshop.
Several participants recalled the tremendous success of the INDUS
project and expressed hoped that the new project would achieve
similar gains. Some participants asked the ILO and state government
officials to ensure that the project had sufficient consultation
with and support from the community at the grassroots level.

TRAFFICKED AND MIGRANT CHILD LABOR
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4. A principal objective of the project is the prevention of
trafficking and migration of children for labor. This is the first
time a child labor project has explicitly recognized the problem of
trafficking of children for labor, and demonstrates recognition by
the GOI and Indian states of this issue. During the workshop, state
officials admitted that migration of children, especially during the
agricultural season, was a problem and that the Madhya Pradesh
wanted to learn ways to better handle it. In closing remarks, Labor
Commissioner Das stressed that the project would be very useful in
helping Madhya Pradesh further tackle child labor, and Labor
Secretary Sewaram exhorted participants to actively participate to
derive the project's full benefits.


COMMENT: PARTNERING WITH INDIA WORKS
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5. The GOI's continuing focus on child labor is significant since

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children form the most vulnerable segment of bonded and forced
laborers in India. State governments' active participation in
addressing the problem is crucial in India's federal system. The
GOI sees the convergence project as an important building block to
further advance its goal of eliminating child labor. The project's
holistic approach and focus on leveraging various GOI welfare
programs at the grassroots level have not been attempted in the
past. If successful, the GOI plans to expand the model to other
districts that suffer from child labor. The convergence project not
only continues the U.S.-India partnership against child labor but
demonstrates the value in seeking to partner with the GOI to help
India overcome its societal problems.


ROEMER