Interface Meeting on Rehabilitation of Rescued Child Labour as per Action Plan for abolition of Child Labour in Delhi September 4, 2013 Venue: Indian Institute of Public Administration, Conference Hall, 1st Floor, Indraprastha Estate, Ring Road, New Delhi-110002 Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights 5th Floor, ISBT Building, Kashmiri Gate, New Delhi Ph:011-23862685, 23862691 CONTENTS S.NO. DESCRIPTION PAGES 1 Foreword....................................................................................................................1 2 Report of the Interface with Chairpersons of State Commissions to .....................3-17 facilitate rehabilitation of child labour/bonded child labour rescued under the Action Plan for Abolition of Child Labour in Delhi 3 Programme Schedule .............................................................................................18-19 4 Background Note: Rehabilitation of Child Labour/Bonded Child Labour ..............20-24 rescued in Delhi 5 Presentation from Labour Department, Delhi Police and Department of .............25-33 Women and Child Development 6 Hon'ble High Court of Delhi judgment in W.P. (Crl.) No.82/2009, .........................34-64 W.P. (Crl.) No.619/2002 and W.P. (Crl.) No.879/2007 dated 24 December 2010 7 Sample copy of Child Welfare Committee order for wage recovery ......................65-66 8 Action Plan for Abolition of Child Labour in Delhi-2010 including .......................67-102 Hon'ble High Court of Delhi judgment in W.P. (C) 9767/2009 and W.P. (Crl.) 2069/2005 dated 15 July 2009 9 Protocol on Prevention, Rescue, Repatriation and Rehabilitation of ..................103-120 Trafficked and Migrant Child Labour 2008 (Ministry of Labour and Employment, Govt. of India) 10 Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) on Investigation of Crimes of ...................121-166 Trafficking for Forced Labour 2008 (UNODC) 11 Standard Operating Procedure to handle Trafficking of Children ........................167-175 for Child Labour - measures to be taken for rescue of trafficked child labourers' and action against the traffickers/employers 2013 (Ministry of Home Affairs, Govt. of India) FOREWORD elhi is fortunate to have a detailed Action Plan for abolition of child labour for the city. It is an Action Plan put together under the aegis of DNCPCR and was endorsed for implementation by the Hon'ble High Court of Delhi. The Action Plan spells out the role of stakeholders and lays down comprehensive procedures to facilitate abolition of child labour. While several systems are in place for the implementation of the Action Plan, it cannot be denied that the processes involved suffer from several bottlenecks at different levels. It was in this context that the Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights thought it fit to organize an Interface Meeting of State Commissions for Protection of Child Rights in order to facilitate sharing of the status of implementation in terms of achievements as well as problems faced by different stakeholders. The intention was to afford all concerned an opportunity to collectively revisit the approach to abolition of child labour, in order to arrive at a more effective implementation module. The Interface Meeting was attended by the Chairperson NCPCR, Ms. Kushal Singh as well as Members NCPCR Sh. Dubey and Sh. Tikoo. The deliberations benefited from the views of the officers of the departments of labour, women and child development, Divisional Commissioner's office, Delhi Police, Child Welfare Committee in addition to the Chairpersons/ Members of a number of State Commissions for Protection of Child Rights (Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Orissa and Chhattisgarh) The report is an attempt to put in one place not only the deliberations of the Interface Meeting and its recommendations but also document the number of useful papers, presentations, court orders, Standard Operating Procedure/ Protocols and other relevant notes on the issue of prevention, rescue, repatriation, rehabilitation of trafficked and migrant child labour. The Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights acknowledges the important contribution of Member, DCPCR Sh. M.M. Vidyarthi in organizing the Interface Meeting and also coordinating the completion of this detailed report. I am sure the Interface Meeting and its deliberations/ recommendations have clearly brought out the important role which both the NCPCR and the State Commissions for Protection of Child Rights have in reviewing policies and procedures relating to abolition of child labour and monitoring the status of implementation of the same. DCPCR would consider its efforts rewarding if the Interface results in strengthening of the mechanism of rehabilitation of child labour in source states and in Delhi and also in facilitating development of improved interstate coordination in this regard. Arun Mathur Chairperson, DCPCR February, 2014 REPORT OF THE INTERFACE WITH CHAIRPERSONS OF STATE COMMISSIONS TO FACILITATE REHABILITATION OF CHILD LABOUR/BONDED CHILD LABOUR RESCUED UNDER THE ACTION PLAN FOR ABOLITION OF CHILD LABOUR IN DELHI I. Introduction Delhi has been witness to influx of a large numbers of migrants from different states especially those facing abject poverty. The phenomenon of poverty in these states driven the migration as well as trafficking of children for labour. While some children run away from home to explore life in Delhi, most others are lured with false promises by agents, placement agencies and middlemen and end up in getting into exploitative work situation in Delhi. As per 2001 Census, the number of child labour in Delhi was 41,000. Numerous cases of exploitation, physical and sexual abuse as well as death of children at the work place were reported in the last few years necessitating action by government as well as civil society organizations. While efforts were made both by government as well as non government organizations, there were largely a response on case to case basis and highlighted the absence of a comprehensive redressal strategy to deal with the problem. The honorable High Court of Delhi took cognizance of the issue in WP (Crl.) 2069/2005, WP(C) 4125/2007 and WP(C) 4161/2008 and directed the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights to submit a comprehensive plan of action for the abolition of child labour in Delhi. The plan submitted by NCPCR was formalized for implementation by the High court vide its judgment dated 15 July 2009. The said Action Plan spells out the role of stakeholders and lays down comprehensive procedures to facilitate abolition of child labour. The implementation of the said Action Plan is monitored by the High Court of Delhi. The DCPCR tracks the status on a monthly basis and has also instituted a study on the impact of the implementation of the Action Plan for abolition of child labour in Delhi. The Action Plan referred to rescue of working children above 14 years of age under the legislative framework of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000 along with rescue of children below 14 years from hazardous and non hazardous employment. With the implementation of the Action Plan in Delhi, while processes have evolved at district level, the bottlenecks have become obvious over a period of time. I.I Features of the Delhi Action Plan for Abolition of Child Labour, 2009 The Action Plan for abolition of child labour in Delhi recognizes that working children in Delhi include: (i) Out-of-school children living with their parents and (ii) Children who have come from other States without their families The said plan lays down two strategies for abolition of child labour in Delhi. The first strategy is an 'area-based approach' which addresses all children in the age group 6-14 years living with their parents in an identified area, whether they are in school or out-of-school. All out-of-school children would be regarded as engaged in some form of work and being deprived of their right to education. Children in schools are to be monitored so that they do not drop out and join the labour pool. The second strategy was to be adopted mainly in the context of migrant child labor who are away from their families and have little or no linkage with the community. It involves a process of identification, 3 rescue, restoration and rehabilitation of child labour. While the two strategies are different, they are not mutually exclusive. The strategy for Unaccompanied Migrant Child Labour in Delhi is based on “Protocol on Prevention, Rescue, Repatriation and Rehabilitation of Trafficked and Migrant Child Labour” issued by Ministry of Labour and Employment, Government of India, 2008. This strategy suggested the constitution of a Steering Committee on Child Labour at the State level and District Level Task Force on Child Labour at District Level. The Action Plan stipulates that the strategy of rescue of children should be preceded by a campaign through the media by the department of Labour and DWCD. It also refers to proactive surveillance by the labour department. The Action Plan also specifies the composition of the rescue team and role of each stakeholder. The rescue team consists of the Sub divisional magistrate, labour department, police and civil society organizations. The Action Plan also refers to the inclusion of the District Social Welfare Officer, Nodal officer of SJPU, deputy education officer ( zonal) of MCD and the senior most officer of the factory licensing department of MCD and CWC in the rescue team. The rescue team is supposed to have a pre rescue meeting to discuss and decide on the logistics and role distribution. The Delhi Child Labour Action Plan describes procedures for major and minor rescue operations, the major being those with more than 10 children. The involvement of the district child labour task force is mandated in all major rescues while minor rescues can be coordinated by the labour department with the police on the day when the case is reported. The Delhi Action plan mandates the labour department to recover Rs 20000 from the employer soon after the rescue and clarifies that conviction is not a prerequisite to recovery.