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Article 3 of the Convention. Worst forms of child labour. Clause (a). All forms of slavery or practices similar to slavery. Sale and trafficking of children. Following its previous comments concerning the practical application of the provisions on trafficking of children, the Committee notes the Government’s information, in its report, that as per the Crime in India-2021 report of the National Crime Records Bureau (Crime Report, 2021), in 2021, 425 cases of trafficking of children were reported under section 370 (trafficking of persons) and section 370A (exploitation of a trafficked person) of the Indian Penal Code and a total of 1,871 cases, in general, were reported under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 (Juvenile Justice Act). This report also indicates that a total of 2,189 cases of trafficking of persons, involving 6,533 persons, including 2,877 children, were reported and a total of 5,755 persons were arrested for this crime in 2021. The Committee requests the Government to continue to take the necessary measures to ensure that the provisions concerning the sale and trafficking of children are effectively implemented by ensuring that thorough investigations and prosecutions are carried out and that sufficiently effective and dissuasive sanctions are imposed against the perpetrators of this offence. In this regard, it requests the Government to provide specific information on the application in practice of section 81 (buying and selling of children under 18 years for any purpose) of the Juvenile Justice Act and section 370 of the Penal Code, in particular the number of investigations and prosecutions carried out as well as the convictions and penalties applied for the offences related to the trafficking of children.
Slavery, debt bondage, forced or compulsory labour. In response to its previous comments, the Committee notes the Government’s reference to the statistics under the Crime Report, 2021. According to these statistics, there were 2,978 reported cases under the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act from 2019 to 2021. It also notes from the Government’s report under the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) that from 2019 to 2022, 158 employers were convicted with imprisonment and fines for perpetrating bonded labour in the State of Uttar Pradesh. However, the Committee notes that the Government has not provided any information concerning the number of cases of bonded labour that involved children and the prosecutions undertaken and penalties applied in such cases. The Committee therefore requests the Government to provide information on the number of prosecutions, investigations, convictions and penalties applied under section 4 of the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act and section 79 of the Juvenile Act, specifically with regard to the offences related to the forced or bonded labour of children under the age of 18 years.
Clause (b). Use, procuring or offering of a child for prostitution. With regard to its previous comments, the Committee notes the Government’s information that according to the statistics from the Crime Report, 2021, 17 cases were reported in 2021 under section 5 of the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act related to procuring or inducing children for prostitution. Moreover, of the 48 cases from the previous year, 19 cases were disposed-of by the police and 29 cases were sent for trial in 2021. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information, in particular on the number of investigations, prosecutions, convictions and penalties applied for the offences related to the use, procuring or offering of children under 18 years for prostitution under section 5 of the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, as well as under sections 372 and 373 of the Penal Code (selling, buying, hiring, possessing or disposing of children for prostitution).
Use, procuring or offering of a child for pornography or pornographic performances. Following its previous comments, the Committee notes the Government’s information that as per the Crime Report, 2021, 526 cases were reported in 2021 under sections 14 (second or subsequent offence related to the use of a child for pornography) and 15 (storing of child pornography material) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act of 2012. Moreover, 1,896 cases were reported under section 67B (creating, publishing or transmitting materials depicting children engaged in sexually explicit or obscene acts in electronic form) of the Information Technology Amendment Act of 2008. In addition, 1,474 cases from previous years were disposed-of by the police, while 886 cases were sent for trial, 19 cases led to convictions and 49 cases were disposed-of by the courts. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the application in practice of the provisions related to the use or procuring of children for pornography under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (sections 13, 14 and 15) and section 67B of the Information Technology Amendment Act, including information on the number of offences reported, investigations conducted, prosecutions, convictions and penal sanctions imposed.
Clause (c). Use, procuring or offering of a child for illicit activities, in particular for the production and trafficking of drugs. In response to its previous comments concerning the application in practice of the provisions related to the use, procuring or offering of a child for the production or trafficking of drugs, the Government, referring to the Crime Report, 2021 provides general information of the number of cases reported and disposed-of under the Juvenile Justice Act and the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act but does not provide any specific information on cases involving children. The Committee therefore requests the Government toprovide specific information on the application in practice of section 78 of the Juvenile Justice Act and sections 31A and 32B of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act concerning the use, procuring or offering of a child for the production or trafficking of drugs, as well as section 76 of the Juvenile Justice Act prohibiting the use of children for begging, indicating the number of investigations, prosecutions and convictions, as well as penalties applied for such offences.
Clause (d) and Article 4(1). Hazardous work and determination of hazardous work. Following its previous comments, the Committee notes the Government’s information that as per the data from the Crime Report, 2021, there were 772, 476 and 613 reported cases in 2019, 2020 and 2021 respectively, under the Child and Adolescent Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act of 1986 (CAL (P&R) Act), as amended. However, there is an absence of information on the penalties applied in these cases. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information, in particular on the number and nature of violations reported under section 3A of the CAL(P&R) Act, as well as the penalties imposed for the offences related to the employment of children under 18 years in the hazardous occupations listed under Part A of the Schedule.
Article 5. Monitoring mechanisms. Anti-Human Trafficking Units (AHTUs). Following its previous comments, the Committee notes the Government’s information that 1 billion Indian rupees (approximately US$12 million) have been allocated for strengthening the existing AHTUs in States and setting up new AHTUs covering all districts of the States and Union Territories (UTs) all over India. As per the Crime Report, 2021, so far 768 AHTUs are functional in the country and 20 States/UTs have achieved the target of setting up AHTUs in all districts. The Government report also indicates that in 2021, 2,189 cases of trafficking of persons were registered by the AHTUs.
The Committee further notes from the official website of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) that the annual meeting of the Nodal Officers of AHTUs conducted in August 2022, emphasized the need to provide adequate training and resource material, periodically, to officers to efficiently deal with various issues involving trafficking of persons and to strengthen cooperation by establishing interstate channels of communication. The MHA issued an advisory to the State/UT Governments in July 2020 on establishing appropriate coordination mechanisms, awareness raising at all levels, intelligence and surveillance mechanisms, as well as training and sensitization of police officers in handling human trafficking cases. A national level communication platform, Crime Multi Agency Centre (Cri-MAC) was launched in March 2020 to facilitate the dissemination of information on human trafficking so as to enable the law enforcement agencies of all States and UTs to coordinate action and identify victims of trafficking. The Committee also notes from the Scheme on Institutional Mechanisms for preventing and countering human trafficking at State level, issued by MHA in December 2020, that funds were released to all States and UTs for setting up Women Help Desks, comprising trained police officials, lawyers, psychologists and NGOs, in 10,000 police stations of the States to attend all matters relating to human trafficking. The Committee encourages the Government to continue its efforts to combat trafficking of children and to provide information on the measures taken in this regard, including information on the activities undertaken by the Anti-Human Trafficking Units and the Women Help desks in identifying and combating trafficking of children as well as the training and sensitization programmes provided to officers and law enforcement bodies. It also requests the Government to continue to provide information on the number of cases of trafficking of children identified and dealt with by the AHTUs and the Women Help Desks, and the measures taken to withdraw and rehabilitate the victims.
District and sub-divisional magistrates and vigilance committees. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that the district and sub-divisional magistrates and the vigilance committees are entrusted with the duties and responsibilities for implementation of the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act. It also noted the observations made by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) under the Convention No.29, that endemic levels of debt bondage in the brick kiln industry affect a huge number of people, including children, with at least 125,000 functioning brick kilns in India employing an estimated 10 to 23 million workers. Noting an absence of information in the Government’s report, the Committee once again requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken by thethe vigilance committees and the district and sub-divisional magistrates in identifying and monitoring cases of child bonded labour, particularly in the brick kilns.
Article 7(2). Effective and time-bound measures. Clause (a). Preventing the engagement of children in the worst forms of child labour. Access to free basic education. The Committee previously noted the various measures taken by the Government to improve access to education and the significant results achieved through the National Child Labour Project Scheme (NCLP scheme), the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) (Education for All) Scheme and the Mid-Day Meal Scheme.
With regard to the implementation of the NCLP Scheme, the Committee notes the Government’s information that since March 2021, this scheme has been merged with the SSA Scheme of the Ministry of Education. It also notes the Government’s information that during 2021–22 a total of 13,271 children were rescued from work and mainstreamed into formal education under the NCLP scheme. The Government also indicates that the new National Education Policy (NEP), adopted on 29 July 2020, proposes various reforms in school and higher and technical education. According to the Government report, the NEP aims to increase the gross enrolment ratio to 100 per cent from pre-school to secondary level by 2030, and from 26.3 per cent to 50 per cent in higher and vocational education by 2035. The Committee further notes from the NEP document that one of the primary goals under the NEP, is to curtail drop-out rates and ensure universal access to education at all levels. Statistics indicate that a significant proportion of enrolled students drop out after Grade 5 or Grade 8. In order to bring children who have dropped out back to school, the NEP proposes two initiatives, namely to provide effective and sufficient infrastructures so that all children have safe access to school, and to carefully track students’ participation and attendance at school.
In this regard, the Committee notes, from the official website of the Ministry of Education (MoE), that the SSA scheme has been redesigned in accordance with the Sustainable Development Goal for Education (SDG-4) and aligned with the NEP of 2020 to ensure inclusive and equitable, quality and holistic education. The SSA scheme covers 1.16 million schools, over 156 million students and 5.7 million teachers. According to the Annual Report of 2021–22 of the MoE, the major achievements of the SSA scheme during 2020–21 include: (1) special training provided to 326,000 out-of-school children; (2) transport facility provided to 242,000 children; (3) admission to school ensured to 3.267 million children belonging to weaker sections and disadvantaged groups, as per section 12(1)(c) of the Right to Education Act; (4) school uniforms provided to 65.7 million children; (5) free text books provided to 88.4 million children; and (6) stipends provided to 368,000 girls with special needs. The Committee further notes that according to the MoE Report on the Unified District Information System for Education Plus – Flash Statistics 2021–22, the Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) at the primary level increased from 101.3 per cent in 2018–19 to 104.8 per cent in 2021–22, while the GER at secondary level has increased from 76.9 per cent to 79.6 per cent. However, according to this report the drop-out rates at primary, upper primary and secondary levels stood at 1.45 per cent, 3.02 per cent and 12.61 per cent respectively. The Committee encourages the Government to continue its efforts to improve access to free basic education of all children and reduce school drop-out rates as envisioned in the NEP of 2020. It requests the Government to continue to provide detailed information on the concrete measures taken in this regard, including through the implementation of the NCLP scheme and the SSA scheme, and to provide statistical information, disaggregated by age and gender, on the results achieved with regard to increasing school enrolment rates and reducing school drop-out rates and the number of out-of-school children.
Clauses (a) and (b) Preventing and removing children from the worst forms of child labour and providing for their rehabilitation and social integration.Child victims of trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation. Ujjawala Scheme. Following its previous comments, the Committee notes the Government’s information that the Ujjawala Scheme for the prevention of trafficking, rescue, rehabilitation, reintegration and repatriation of victims of trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation, is currently being implemented across the country. State Governments are responsible for identifying districts that need immediate attention to address the issue of trafficking as well as to furnish proposals to the Central Government for support. Under the rehabilitation component of the scheme, a grant is provided for the setting up of Ujjawala Homes, and under the reintegration component, a grant is provided for setting up halfway homes (homes for victims who are gainfully employed and can live semi-independently with minimum supervision). The Government indicates that as of April 2022, there are 107 Ujjawala Homes with 1,838 beneficiaries. It also notes the Government’s information, in its report under Convention No. 29, that from 2018 to 2020, more than 16,400 victims of trafficking from various States/UTs have been rehabilitated and re-integrated into the society under this scheme.
The Government further states that it has formulated a scheme, namely NALSA (Victims of trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation), to provide legal services to address the concerns of victims of trafficking of all age groups and at every stage, including prevention, rescue and rehabilitation. The thrust of this scheme is to provide economic and social pathways for these marginalized groups so that they are socially included and protected. The Committee requests the Government to continue to take effective and time-bound measures to prevent the engagement of children in commercial sexual exploitation as well as trafficking for that purpose and to remove those who are victims of such worst forms of child labour and provide for their rehabilitation and social integration. It requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken in this regard, including under the Ujjawala Scheme and NALSA scheme, and on the results achieved in terms of the number of children withdrawn and rehabilitated.
Devadasi system. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that the devadasi system (a culturally sanctioned practice of temple prostitution by lower caste girls) was prevalent mainly in the States of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Maharashtra.
The Committee notes the Government’s information that it is committed to the abolishment of the practice of devadasi in the country and that various legislative steps have been taken both by the Central and State Governments to completely prohibit the practice. The Committee however notes from a Press Release of October 2022 of the National Human Rights Commission of India that a legal notice has been issued to the State Governments of Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana over the continued menace of the devadasi system despite laws banning it. The Press release indicated that there are more than 70,000 women who are leading their lives as devadasi in the State of Karnataka and about 80,000 such women in the States of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. The Committee strongly requests the Government to take the necessary measures to put an end to the practice of the devadasi system and to withdraw girls from such practices and to provide for their rehabilitation and social integration. It requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken in this regard and on the number of girls withdrawn and rehabilitated. It also requests the Government to take the necessary measures to verify the prevalence of the practice of devadasi system, involving girls under the age of 18 years, including through the collection of data on this issue.
Central Sector Scheme for Rehabilitation of Bonded Labourers. The Committee previously noted that this scheme provides for a rehabilitation assistance of 200,000 to 300,000 rupees to special category beneficiaries such as children, including orphans, or those rescued from organized and forced begging rings or other forms of bonded or forced labour involving extreme cases of deprivation or marginalization, such as children rescued from trafficking and sexual exploitation.
The Committee notes that the Government’s report does not contain any updated information on the implementation of this scheme. It however notes from the Annual Report of the Ministry of Labour and Employment that, to date, a total number of 315,302 bonded labourers have been identified and released. In addition, over 1.036 billion rupees have been reimbursed to the State/UT Governments as rehabilitation assistance under this scheme. Moreover, an amount of over 112.7 million rupees has also been provided to the States/UTs towards conducting surveys, awareness raising and evaluation studies on bonded labour. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the implementation of the Central Sector Scheme for Rehabilitation of Bonded Labourers, including the measures taken to withdraw children from bonded labour as well as on the number of children who have been rescued and who have benefitted from rehabilitation assistance. It also requests the Government to provide information on the findings of any surveys or studies conducted on bonded labour.
Clause (d). Identifying and reaching out to children at special risk. children in street situations and runaway, abandoned or kidnapped children. With regard to its previous comments concerning the measures taken to withdraw children from street situations and provide for their rehabilitation and social integration, the Committee notes that the Government refers to the legislative and policy measures adopted for the elimination of child labour, such as the National Child Labour Project, SSA Scheme and the PENCIL portal comprising a complaint corner and child tracking system. The Government indicates that, as of February 2020, there were a total of 714 Child Care Institutes in the country that provided rehabilitation services to children in vulnerable situations, including Children Homes (206) with 39,250 beneficiaries; Specialised Adoption Agencies (250) with 2,475 beneficiaries; and Open shelters (258) with 6,704 beneficiaries.
The Committee also notes from a report of 17 May 2018 of the Ministry of Women and Child Development (MWCD), entitled “Significant Achievements of Four years 2014–2018”, that the Khoya-Paya Portal launched by the MWCD in June 2015 for posting information of missing or sighted children, has more than 8,746 registered users, and that about 10,447 cases of missing/sighted children have been published on the Portal as of March 2018. Moreover, the MWCD has established a path-breaking Special Operating Procedures (SOPs) to be implemented with the help of the railways for rescue and rehabilitation of runaway, abandoned, trafficked and kidnapped children via railways. Sixty railway stations which serve as “source and destination” centres for such children have been identified. Moreover, ChildLine Help Desks have been set up in these 60 railway stations for identifying, rescuing, reuniting and rehabilitating children in difficult circumstances. In addition, CHILDLINE, a nationwide initiative for rescuing and assisting children in distress which has been extended to 420 locations, has been able to identify and reunite thousands of children with their families. The CHILDLINE has received more than 18 million calls in 2017–18. The report of the MWCD also indicates that around 200,000 posters have been put up on railway coaches to caution passengers about children around them who may need protection, and continuous announcements are made for passengers to keep a look out for such children. These services have resulted in over 34,000 children being rescued and assisted, as of January 2018. The Committee encourages the Government to continue to take effective and time-bound measures to remove and protect children living and working on the streets and children in difficult circumstances and to ensure their rehabilitation and social integration. It requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken in this regard, including through the Khoya-Paya Portal, SOPs with the railways and the Childline, and the results achieved in terms of the number of children withdrawn and rehabilitated.
Clause (e). Special situation of girls. Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao (Save the Daughter, Educate the Daughter) (BBBP) scheme. Following its previous comments, the Committee notes that the BBBP scheme is currently being implemented in all the 640 districts across the country. The Government states that this scheme has resulted in an increased awareness and sensitization against gender bias and has set a favorable trend in the child sex ratio. The Committee also notes, from the official website of the MWCD, that a savings investment scheme, namely Sukanya Samridhi Scheme, was introduced under the BBBP scheme to assist the parents of young girls in securing money for their education and future. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the implementation of the BBBP scheme, indicating the measures undertaken to promote the education of girls and the results achieved in terms of the number of girls who have been provided access to education as well as assistance through the Sukanya Samridhi Scheme.
Article 8. International cooperation and assistance. Following its previous comments, the Committee notes the Government’s information regarding the various meetings carried out by the Regional Task Force for the implementation of the Convention of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) on Preventing and Combating Trafficking in Women and Children for Prostitution, as well as by the Task Force of India and Bangladesh for dealing with cross border trafficking of persons. The Committee encourages the Government to continue its international cooperation efforts to combat the worst forms of child labour, in particular trafficking of children under 18 years. It requests the Government to provide detailed information on the progress made with regard to combating trafficking of children and the results achieved through its bilateral and international cooperation agreements.
Application of the Convention in practice. The Committee once again notes that there are no recent official reports, studies or statistical information available on the situation of children in the worst forms of child labour. Recalling the importance of statistical information in assessing the application of the Convention in practice, the Committee requests the Government to strengthen its efforts to ensure that statistical data on the nature, extent and trends of the worst forms of child labour in India is made available in the near future. To the extent possible, all information should be disaggregated by age and gender.

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India (ratification: 2017)
The Committee notes the Government’s first report.
Article 3 of the Convention. Worst forms of child labour. Clause (a). All forms of slavery or practices similar to slavery. 1. Sale and trafficking of children. The Committee notes the Government’s information in its report that the Indian Penal Code Act No. 45 of 1860 as amended by the Criminal Amendment Act 13 of 2013 contains provisions prohibiting and criminalizing offences related to trafficking of persons. According to section 370 of the Penal Code, whoever for the purpose of exploitation, recruits, transports, harbours, transfers or receives persons by using force or any other form of coercion, by abduction, by fraud or deception, by abuse of power or by inducement, commits an offence of trafficking and shall be punished. The above offences if committed against a minor shall be punishable with rigorous imprisonment for a term not less than ten years and up to life imprisonment and shall also be liable to a fine. The term “exploitation” under this section shall include any physical or sexual exploitation, slavery, practices similar to slavery, servitude or forced labour. Moreover, according to section 81 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act No. 2 of 2016, any person who sells or buys a child for any purpose shall be punishable with rigorous imprisonment for a term of five years and to a fine of INR 100,000 (approximately US$1,337). A “child” according to section 2(12) refers to persons below the age of 18 years.
The Committee notes that according to the statistics by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), in 2018 there were 2,465 reported cases of trafficking of persons across India, involving 5,788 persons. Of these, 435 cases were related to trafficking of 2,834 children under the age of 18 years. A total of 5,362 persons were arrested for this crime, and 2,358 children under the age of 18 years were rescued from trafficking. Most of the trafficking cases were for the purpose of sexual exploitation (1,922) and forced labour (1,046) followed by forced marriage (220), child pornography (154) domestic servitude (143) and begging (21). The Committee requests the Government to continue to take the necessary measures to ensure that the provisions under section 81 of the Juvenile Justice Act and section 370 of the Penal Code concerning the sale and trafficking of children are effectively implemented by carrying out thorough investigations and prosecutions and imposing sufficiently effective and dissuasive sanctions against the perpetrators of this offence. It also requests the Government to continue to provide information on the number of investigations, prosecutions, convictions, and penalties applied regarding the trafficking of children.
2. Slavery, debt bondage, forced or compulsory labour. The Committee notes that article 23 of the Constitution prohibits trafficking in human beings, begging and other similar forms of forced labour. It also notes that sections 371 and 374 of the Penal Code provides for penalties of imprisonment and fines for the offence of habitual dealing in slaves and for unlawfully compelling any person to labour against the will of that person. The Committee further notes that according to section 4 of the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act of 1976, the bonded labour system shall be abolished and that every bonded labourer shall stand freed and discharged from any obligation to render any bonded labour. Furthermore, according to section 79 of the Juvenile Justice Act, whoever ostensibly engages a child and keeps him in bondage for the purpose of employment or withholds his earnings or uses such earning for his own purposes shall be punishable with rigorous imprisonment for a term which may extend to five years and shall also be liable to fine of INR 100,000. The Committee requests the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that section 4 of the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act and section 79 of the Juvenile Justice Act are effectively enforced and adequate penalties are imposed on persons who involve children under the age of 18 years in bonded labour. It requests the Government to provide information on the number of investigations, prosecutions, convictions and penalties applied for the offences related to the forced or bonded labour of children.
3. Compulsory recruitment of children for use in armed conflict. The Committee notes that there is no system of conscription in India and that the military services are voluntary. It also notes that according to section 83 of the Juvenile Justice Act any non-State, self-styled militant group or outfit declared as such by the Central Government, if recruits or uses any child below the age of 18 years for any purpose, shall be liable for rigorous imprisonment for a term which may extend to seven years and shall also be liable to a fine of INR 500,000 (US$6,713.32).
Clause (b). 1. Use, procuring or offering of a child for prostitution. The Committee notes the Government’s information that the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956 supplemented by the Penal Code prohibits procuring of children for prostitution. According to section 5 of the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, any person who procures or attempts to procure another person with or without his/her consent for the purpose of prostitution; or takes or attempts to take or cause a person to be taken from one place to another for the purpose of prostitution shall be punished. This offence if committed against a child or a minor is punishable by rigorous imprisonment for a term of not less than 7 years which shall extend to 14 years in the case of a minor and life imprisonment in the case of a child. A “child” as per section 2(aa) refers to a person who has not completed the age of 16 years, and a “minor” refers to a person who has completed 16 years of age but has not completed the age of 18 years (section 2(cb).
It also notes that the Penal Code further contains provisions that explicitly criminalize the offences related to procuring or inducing any minor girl under the age of 18 years to go from one place, or importing them from another country, with the intent of forcing them into illicit intercourse with another person (sections 366A and 366B); and selling, buying, hiring, possessing or disposing of any person under the age of 18 years for the purpose of prostitution (sections 372 and 373). The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the application of section 5 of the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act and sections 366A, 366B, 372 and 373 of the Penal Code in practice, indicating the number of investigations, prosecutions, convictions and specific penalties applied for the offences related to the use, procuring or offering of children for prostitution.
2. Use, procuring or offering of a child for pornography or pornographic performances. With regard to the use and procuring of children for pornography and pornographic performances, section 13 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act of 2012 stipulates that whoever uses a child (defined as persons under the age of 18 years) in any form of media (including television, internet or any other electronic form or printed form) for the production, offering, publishing or distribution of pornographic material shall be guilty of the offence of using a child for pornographic purposes which shall be punished with imprisonment for up to five years and to a fine. In the event of a second or subsequent offence the imprisonment may extend up to seven years (section 14). Section 15 further criminalizes the offence of storage of pornographic material involving a child.
The Committee also notes the Government’s reference to section 67B of the Information Technology Amendment Act of 2008, which states that any person who publishes or transmits materials depicting children engaged in sexually explicit acts in electronic form or creates images or texts, collects, seeks, downloads, advertises, promotes or distributes content that depicts children in an obscene or sexually explicit manner, shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend up to five years and a fine of INR 1 million rupees (US$13,426.53). The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the application in practice of sections 13 and 14 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act and section 67B of the Information Technology Amendment Act, including information on the number of offences reported, investigations conducted, prosecutions, convictions and penal sanctions imposed.
Clause (c). Use, procuring or offering of a child for illicit activities, in particular for the production and trafficking of drugs. The Committee notes that, according to section 78 of the Juvenile Justice Act, whoever uses a child under the age of 18 years for vending, peddling, carrying, supplying or smuggling any narcotic drug or psychotropic substance shall be liable for rigorous imprisonment for a term extending up to seven years and a fine of INR100,000 rupees (US$1,342.70). The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act of 1985 makes it an offence to engage in the production, manufacture, possession, transportation or import or export of narcotic drugs or psychotropic substances (section 31A). Moreover, using a minor for the commission of any of the offences within this Act constitutes one of the factors for imposing a punishment higher than the minimum penalty determined for that crime (section 32B). The Committee also notes that the offences related to employing, using or causing a child to beg is punishable with imprisonment up to five years and to a fine of INR 100,000 under section 76 of the Juvenile Justice Act. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the application in practice of section 78 of the Juvenile Justice Act and sections 31A and 32B of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act concerning the use, procuring or offering of a child for the production or trafficking of drugs as well as section 76 of the Juvenile Justice Act prohibiting the use of children for begging, indicating the number of investigations, prosecutions and convictions, as well as penalties applied for such offences.
Clause (d) and Article 4(1). Hazardous work and determination of hazardous work. The Committee notes that section 3A of the Child and Adolescent Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act of 1986 (CAL(P&R) Act) as amended by Act No. 35 of 2016 prohibits the employment of children and adolescents in hazardous occupations or processes set forth in the Schedule. In addition, section 7 prohibits overtime work by adolescents and work between 7 p.m. and 8 a.m. A “child” according to section 2(ii) refers to a person who has not completed 14 years of age and an “adolescent” is a person who has completed 14 years of age but has not completed 18 years (section 2(i)).
The Committee notes the Government’s information that, based on the recommendations of the Technical Advisory Committee constituted under section 5 of the CAL(P&R) Act, and after due consultations with all the stakeholders including organizations of workers and employers, the Ministry of Labour and Employment issued Notification S.O.2827(E) on 30 August 2017 amending the Schedule of the CAL(P&R) Act. The Committee notes that Part A of the Schedule as amended contains a list of 38 hazardous occupations and processes prohibited to children and adolescents, including: (i) mines and collieries-related work, such as work in stone quarries; brick kilns; open pit mines; and extraction, grinding, cutting, polishing, cobbling etc. of stones, lime, slate, silica, or any other mineral extracts; (ii) inflammable substances and explosives such as production, storage, sale of firecrackers; manufacture, storage, sale, loading, unloading of explosives; any processes involving inflammable substances; waste management of inflammable substances and explosives; natural gas and other related products; (iii) hazardous processes such as ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgical industries; coal, cement, fertilizer, petroleum, rubber, fermentation, electro-plating, chemical, pulp and paper, paints and pigment, drugs and pharmaceuticals, insecticides, fungicides, herbicides and other pesticides industries; power generating industries; glass and ceramics; grinding or glazing metals; extraction of oils and fats from vegetable and animal sources; manufacture, handling, processing of asbestos, benzene substances and operations involving carbon disulphide; dyes; highly inflammable liquids and gases; work in slaughter houses; work involving exposure to radioactive substances; ship breaking; salt mining; work in beedi-making or processing and handling of tobacco, psychotropic substances or alcohol; work at bars, pubs or places serving alcohol; and other hazardous processes specified in the schedule IX of the Building and other Construction Workers’ (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Central Rules, 1998.
It also notes that section 14 of the CAL(P&R) Act provides for penalties for any person who violates section 3A which includes imprisonment for a term of six months to two years, or with a fine of not less than INR20,000 (approximately US$266) and not more than INR 50,000 (US$665) or with both. In case of a second or subsequent offence of employing a child or adolescent, the penalties shall be increased. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the application in practice of section 3A of the CAL(P&R) Act, including statistics on the number and nature of violations reported and penalties imposed for the offences related to the employment of children under 18 years in the hazardous occupations listed under Part A of the Schedule.
Article 5. Monitoring mechanisms. 1. Anti-Human Trafficking Units (AHTUs). The Committee notes that according to the Annual Report 2018–19 of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA report), “Police” is a state subject and as such the registration, investigation and prevention of the crime of trafficking of persons is primarily the responsibility of respective state governments. However, the MHA has been supplementing the efforts of state governments by taking various steps for combating the crime of human trafficking. An Anti-Trafficking Cell has been established within the MHA for dealing with matters relating to trafficking in persons and functions as a focal point for communicating various decisions and follow-up on actions taken by the state governments to combat the crime of trafficking. The MHA report indicates that funds are being released for setting up Anti-Human Trafficking Units (AHTUs) in various districts of states from time to time. So far, 296 AHTUs have been set up in various states and proposals to establish 332 AHTUs have been approved by the MHA. The MHA holds periodical meetings of Nodal Officers of AHTUs to assess the situation of human trafficking in states and provides guidance to states and union territories.
The MHA report further indicates that financial assistance is also provided to states to raise awareness and to train various law enforcement agencies and stakeholders in combating trafficking of persons as well as for judicial colloquiums to train and sensitize judges and law officers on procedures for the speedy disposal of trafficking cases and taking stringent action against traffickers. In order to improve the effectiveness of tackling trafficking of persons, the MHA has issued various advisories to the states and union territories, including advisories on missing children; standard operating procedures on handling trafficking of children for child labour; and advisories on preventing and combating external trafficking. Furthermore, according to the information provided by the Government in its report of February 2017 to the Human Rights Council, in recognition of the special vulnerability of children to trafficking and related violations, the Government has launched operations to rescue missing children. Through Operation Smile and Operation Muskaan, over 28,000 children were rescued in 2015–2016 alone (A/HRC/WG.6/27/IND/1, paragraph 66). The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the activities of the Anti-Human Trafficking Units in identifying and combating trafficking of children. It also requests the Government to provide information on the number of cases of trafficking of children identified by the AHTUs in the various states and union territories; the measures taken to withdraw and rehabilitate them; and on the number of investigations, prosecutions, convictions and penalties imposed in this respect.
2. District and sub-divisional magistrates and vigilance committees. The Committee notes the Government’s information that under the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, the identification, release and rehabilitation of freed bonded labour is the direct responsibility of the concerned state government/union territory. The district and sub-divisional magistrates and the vigilance committees constituted under the Act have been entrusted with the duties and responsibilities for implementation of the Act. The Committee notes that in its observation of 2018 concerning the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No.29), the Committee noted the observations made by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) that endemic levels of debt bondage in the brick kiln industry affect a huge number of people, including children, with at least 125,000 functioning brick kilns in India employing an estimated 10 to 23 million workers. It also notes the detailed information provided by the Government on the activities undertaken by the various state vigilance committees in identifying cases of bonded labour. The Committee requests the Government to continue providing information on the functioning of the vigilance committees and the district and sub-divisional magistrates in identifying and monitoring cases of child bonded labour under the age of 18 years, including the number of cases identified and the number of prosecutions disaggregated by age and gender, convictions and penalties applied in this respect.
Article 6. Programmes of action. Ujjawala scheme: A comprehensive scheme for prevention of trafficking and rescue, rehabilitation and reintegration of victims of trafficking for commercial sexual exploitation. The Committee notes from the Government’s report that it has been implementing the Ujjawala scheme since December 2007 for combating trafficking of persons which covers five specific components: prevention, rescue, rehabilitation, reintegration and repatriation. This scheme was renewed in 2016 with its primary objectives being to prevent trafficking of women and children for commercial sexual exploitation through social mobilization, involvement of local communities and awareness-raising programmes, as well as to rescue and rehabilitate victims of trafficking. The scheme provides for the rehabilitation of victims that includes the provision of food, shelter, counselling, medical care, legal aid, education and vocational training as well as their reintegration into society. According to the Ministry of Women and Child Development Press Information Bureau, as of July 2019 there are 254 projects being implemented across the country under this scheme, including 134 protective and rehabilitative homes with a total number of 5,291 beneficiaries. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the concrete measures taken within the framework of the Ujjawala scheme across the country in combating trafficking of children and the results achieved in terms of the number of children prevented and withdrawn from trafficking and provided with assistance for their rehabilitation and social integration.
Article 7(2). Effective and time-bound measures. Clause (a). Preventing the engagement of children in the worst forms of child labour. Access to free basic education. The Committee notes that the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act of 2009 provides for free and compulsory education of all children aged 6 to 14 years. The information from the Government’s report indicates that the National Child Labour Project Scheme (NCLP scheme), which has been operational since its launch in 1988, aims to identify and withdraw children involved in child and hazardous labour, to rehabilitate them through the Special Training Centres (STCs) and mainstream them into formal education. According to the information from the official website of the Ministry of Labour and Employment (MoLE), to date, about 895,000 children have been mainstreamed into the formal education system under this scheme.
The Committee also notes from the Annual Report 2016–17 of the Ministry of Human Resource Development of India, that the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA)(Education for All), operational since 2001, has made significant progress in achieving near universal access and equity. Within this programme, a total of 204,740 primary schools, 159,415 upper primary schools and 826 residential schools in remote areas were approved. Under this scheme, transport facilities for children in remote habitations and school uniforms for children from disadvantaged communities and children living below the poverty line, are also provided. Special training for mainstreaming out-of-school children has also been initiated mainly for children from disadvantaged communities such as scheduled castes and tribes, migrants, working children, and other deprived children from religious minority groups through residential or non-residential courses. During the period from 2016 to 2017 special training has been provided to 1,129,000 children. Moreover, the Mid-Day Meal Scheme introduced to encourage poor children and girls to attend school covered 1,150,000 schools and over 100 million children in 2015–16. This report also indicates that the Government had initiated the process of formulating a New Education Policy focusing on accessibility, equity, affordability, quality and accountability.
The Committee further notes that according to the information from the Government’s report to the Human Rights Council of February 2017, the SSA (Education for All) is now being moved into the second phase with its focus on affordable and quality secondary education. This report also states that scholarships for schooling are provided through various schemes and measures to promote and facilitate access to education for children from the excluded and the marginalized groups, scheduled castes and tribes and other backward classes. Furthermore, the National Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) policy of 2013 permits universal and equitable access for all children in a decentralized manner (A/HRC/WG.6/27/IND/1, paragraphs 114, 116 and 118). According to Children in India 2018 – A Statistical Appraisal by the Social Statistics Division and Central Statistics Office of the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, the 2015–16 enrolment data reveals that the gross enrolment ratio was 99.2 per cent at the primary level and 80 per cent at the secondary level while the net enrolment ratio was 87.3 per cent at the primary level. The gender parity index has improved at all levels of education during 2005–06 to 2015–16 from 0.94 and 0.88 to 1.03 and 1.10 for primary and upper primary levels. Moreover, according to UNESCO statistics, the primary to secondary transition rate was 91.26 per cent in 2017. The Committee finally notes the information from UNICEF that the Right to Education Act has been instrumental in the reduction of the number of out-of-school children (OOSC) aged 6 to 14 years, from 13.46 million in 2006 to 6 million in 2014. Out of the 6 million children that are still out of school, a majority are from marginalized communities including scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and religious minority groups. The majority of the OOSC are concentrated in the six states of Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and West Bengal. The Committee encourages the Government to continue its efforts to improve access to free basic education of all children, including children from disadvantaged communities, children belonging to scheduled castes and tribes and children from religious minority groups. It also requests the Government to continue to provide detailed information on the concrete measures taken in this regard, including through the implementation of the NCLP scheme and the SSA scheme and to provide statistical information, disaggregated by age and gender, on the results achieved with regard to increasing school enrolment rates and reducing school drop-out rates and out-of-school children. The Committee further requests the Government to provide information on the progress made with regard to the adoption of the New Education Policy.
Clauses (a) and (b) Preventing and removing children from the worst forms of child labour and providing for their rehabilitation and social integration. 1. Child victims of trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation. The Committee notes from the findings of a study conducted by the Maharashtra State Commission for the Protection of Child Rights and the International Justice Commission entitled Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children in Mumbai: Findings in Public Establishments, Private Networks and Survivor Perspectives, 2017, that the country has emerged as a destination as well as an international supplier of trafficked women and children for commercial sexual exploitation. The biggest supply states include Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, while the biggest buying states include Maharashtra and West Bengal. According to this study, there are an estimated 100,000 minor girls in the sex trade in the State of Maharashtra. Children continue to be targeted for commercial sexual exploitation in religious centres or tourist destinations in India and are predominantly trafficked to Delhi, Gujarat, Kolkata, Mumbai, and along the India–Nepal border. The Committee requests the Government to take effective and time-bound measures to prevent the engagement of children in commercial sexual exploitation as well as trafficking for that purpose and to remove those who are victims of such forms of child labour and to provide for their rehabilitation and social integration. It requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken in this regard and on the results achieved in terms of the number of children withdrawn and rehabilitated.
2. Devadasi system. The Committee notes from the study on Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children in Mumbai: Findings in Public Establishments, Private Networks and Survivor Perspectives, 2017, presented by the Maharashtra State Commission for the Protection of Child Rights and International Justice Mission, that traditional customary prostitution like the temple prostitution whereby very young minor girls between the ages of 9 and 13 are dedicated for prostitution is prevalent in India. In this regard, the Committee refers to its observations of 2019 under the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No.29), where it noted with concern the prevalence of the devadasi system, a culturally sanctioned practice mainly in the States of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Maharashtra, under which lower caste girls were dedicated to local “deities” or objects of worship and once initiated as devadasi were sexually exploited by followers of the “deity” within the local community as they grew up. The Committee requests the Government to take the necessary measures to put an end to the practice of the devadasi system and to withdraw girls from such practices and to provide for their rehabilitation and social integration. It requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken and the results achieved in this regard.
3. Central Sector Scheme for Rehabilitation of Bonded Labourers. The Committee notes the Government’s information that the Central Sector Scheme for Rehabilitation of Bonded Labourer, launched in 1978 to assist states and union territories in identification, release and rehabilitation of freed bonded labourers, was revamped in 2016. Under this scheme, financial assistance is provided for rescued bonded labourers for their rehabilitation. For special category beneficiaries such as children, including orphans or those rescued from organized and forced begging rings or other forms of forced labour, a rehabilitation assistance of 200,000 rupees (approximately US$2,675) shall be provided and in cases of bonded or forced labour involving extreme cases of deprivation or marginalization such as children rescued from trafficking and sexual exploitation from brothels and massage parlours, the rehabilitation assistance shall be 300,000 rupees. In addition, the beneficiaries shall also be considered for benefits under other government schemes such as allotment of house-sites and agricultural land, provision of low-cost dwelling units, supply of essential commodities under a targeted public distribution system and education for children. This scheme also provides for the creation of a Bonded Labour Rehabilitation Fund at district level by each state, wherein the entire penalties recovered from the perpetrators of bonded labour upon conviction is deposited and may be used as immediate assistance for rescued labourers. The Government indicates that more than 3 million bonded labourers have been identified and rehabilitated under this scheme. The Committee requests the Government to continue its efforts to withdraw children from bonded labour, including through the implementation of the Central Sector Scheme for Rehabilitation of Bonded Labourers. It also requests the Government to continue to provide information on the implementation of this scheme as well as on the number of children who have been rescued from bonded labour and rehabilitated.
Clause (e). Special situation of girls. According to the Government’s report, the Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao (Save the Daughter, Educate the Daughter) (BBBP) scheme was launched in January 2015 with the aim of preventing gender biased sex selective elimination and to ensure the survival, protection, education and participation of the girl child. The Committee also notes the information from the BBBP scheme implementation guidelines, that the district-level action plans under this scheme include promoting universal enrolment of girls; operationalizing standard guidelines for girl child-friendly schools; ensuring toilet facilities for girls at school; and initiating campaigns to re-enrol girl dropouts in secondary schools. This scheme had been successfully implemented in 161 districts from states and union territories having child sex ratios below the national average. The Cabinet has approved the expansion of the BBBP scheme, which would include multi-sectoral interventions in 244 districts and advocacy, media campaigns and outreach in another 235 districts, thus covering all the 640 districts of the country having low child sex ratio as per the census of 2011. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the impact of the Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao scheme in preventing girls from engaging in the worst forms of child labour, including the number of girls who have been withdrawn from the worst forms of child labour and enrolled in basic education under this scheme.
Clause (d). Identifying and reaching out to children at special risk. Street children. The Committee notes that the Committee on the Rights of the Child, in its concluding observations of 2014, while noting that the State Party’s Integrated Programme for Street Children had benefited a number of children, expressed its deep concern at the large number of children in street situations in the country and the fact that a number of those children are treated as criminals instead of being considered as victims (CRC/C/IND/CO/3-4, paragraph 83). Recalling that street children are particularly exposed to the worst forms of child labour, the Committee requests the Government to take effective and time-bound measures to remove children from the streets and to ensure their rehabilitation and social integration, and to provide information on the results achieved.
Article 8. International cooperation and assistance. The Committee notes from the Annual Report 2018–19 of the Ministry of Home Affairs that India has signed bilateral Memoranda of Understanding with the Governments of Bangladesh, UAE and Cambodia on human trafficking. A Joint Task Force meeting of India and Bangladesh on Human Trafficking was held on 11–12 March, 2019 in New Delhi. Moreover, India is a signatory to the SAARC Convention on Preventing and Combating Trafficking in Women and Children for Prostitution. India has also ratified the United Nations Convention on Transnational Organized Crime (UNCTOC) and its Protocols namely: (i) Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children; and (ii) Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Air and Sea, supplementing the UNCTOC. The Committee encourages the Government to continue its international cooperation efforts to combat the worst forms of child labour, in particular trafficking of children under 18 years. It requests the Government to provide detailed information on the progress made with regard to combating trafficking of children and the results achieved through its bilateral and international cooperation agreements.
Application of the Convention in practice. The Committee notes the Government’s statement that child labour is an area of great concern and that the Government is committed to addressing the issue. It also states that the Government is following a multi-pronged strategy to tackle the problem of child labour comprising statutory and legislative measures, rescue and rehabilitation, universal primary education along with social protection, poverty alleviation and employment generation. The Committee notes that according to the statistics of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) of 2018, there were 3,039 cases related to procuration of minor girls under section 366A of the Penal Code; 50 cases of selling/buying of minors for prostitution under section 372 and 373 of the Penal Code; 26 cases under section 5 of the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act on procuring or inducing children for prostitution; and 44 cases related to publishing or transmitting of materials depicting children engaged in sexually explicit acts under the Information Technology Act. The Committee notes that no recent official reports or statistical information on the situation of children in the worst forms of child labour are available. The Committee requests the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure the availability of up-to-date statistical information on the worst forms of child labour in the country, including information on the nature, extent and trends of the worst forms of child labour, the number of children covered by the measures giving effect to the Convention, the number and nature of infringements reported, investigations, prosecutions, convictions and penal sanctions applied. To the extent possible, all information should be disaggregated by age and gender.
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