Former bonded labourers in Nepal still live in appalling conditions – UN

Two years after the Nepalese Government abolished the system of indentured labour 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 labourers.

The Office for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in Nepal (OHCHR-Nepal), the UN International Labour Organization (ILO) and Nepal’s National Dalit Commission said the so-called Haliyas – or bonded labourers – 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 labour 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 labourers, 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 fulfil 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.”