Child labour, caste-based discrimination, poverty closely interlinked in India: U.N. Special Rapporteur Tomoya Obokata

United Nations Child labour, caste-based discrimination and poverty are closely inter-linked in Indi

Child labour, caste-based discrimination and poverty are closely inter-linked in India, according to a U.N. report which highlighted contemporary forms of slavery, including severe discrimination against Dalit women in South Asia due to which they are systematically denied choices and freedoms in all spheres of life.

Human Rights Council Special Rapporteur Tomoya Obokata in his report on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences, said that deep-rooted intersecting forms of discrimination, in combination with multiple other factors, are the main causes of contemporary forms of slavery affecting minorities.

They are often the result of historical legacies, such as slavery and colonisation, systems of inherited status, and formalised and State-sponsored discrimination, he said.

Mr. Obokata said in the report to the U.N. General Assembly on August 17 that child labour (among children 5 to 17 years of age), including its worst forms, exists in all regions of the world.

In Asia and the Pacific, the Middle East, the Americas and Europe, between 4% and 6% of children are said to be in child labour, and the percentage is much higher in Africa (21.6%), with the highest rate in sub-Saharan Africa (23.9%).

“In India, child labour, caste-based discrimination and poverty are closely interlinked. Child labour among minority and migrant children have also been reported in Angola, Costa Rica, Honduras and Kazakhstan, in various sectors,” the report said.

The report also notes that systematic discrimination has profound implications for the ability of affected individuals and communities to live a life of dignity and enjoy human rights on equal footing with others.