Eradicate child labour

Child labour is almost synonymous with poverty. The factors responsible for the high incidence of child labour in Nepal as in many other countries of the third world are poverty, illiteracy, inadequate schools and the attitudes of parents themselves. The child labour issue has come to the fore because of the work of various international organisations and NGOs concerned. The media has also played its part. Coverage of the issue by the German media a few years ago shook the carpet industry in this country. The government has introduced direct measures to prevent child labour but it has never implemented them effectively. As a result, children, especially from the low caste and poor families, continue to work in transport, servicing and repair, cultivation and manufacturing and at plantations and processing plants. Had successive governments taken stock of the situation and chipped away at the problem with determination, the situation in this country would have been better than what it is today. Even the poor would not be stressing that their children should work in order to develop useful skills instead of taking advantage of formal education which is often not available. It is a fact that child labour is a source of income for poor families which have precious little by way of economic resources. For the poor, there are few sources of bank credit, government loans or other credit resources and even if these are available, only a few poor families qualify. Families need money to survive and children can bring additional income.

Child labour is also synonymous with exploitation. Child Workers In Nepal Centre (CWIN) estimates that there are over 77,000 child labourers in the country. Of the total, 10 percent are below ten years old and 70 percent are between 11 to 14 years. One-third of them do not get paid while 20 percent work more than 12 hours and that too in hazardous conditions. Besides, 50 percent of the child labourers have been the victims of sexual abuse and domestic violence. These are no doubt alarming facts that cannot be ignored. It is difficult to cite currently how many children have been engaged in child labour. This difficulty is attributed to the fact that the government has neither collected relevant data nor has it analysed adequately the reasons behind the incidence of child labour. While poverty has been cited as the main reason for child labour, lack of schools, social security and ineffective laws have also contributed to the high incidence of child labour in the country. The caste system is another factor that has forced children from the lower castes to work at an early age compared to those of the upper castes. All the relevant policies that the government has put in place are in accordance with the constitution, and support the eradication of child labour. Yet, the problem remains as grave as ever. Enforcement of the law is the weak link in the chain. The growing ranks of child labourers also attest to this.

Bhutanese refugee verification exercise

By Mandal J N

The breakthrough at 10th foreign ministerial level bilateral talks led by Foreign Minister Chakra Bastola and his counterpart Jigme Y Thinley, the Foreign Minister of the Royal Government of Bhutan (RGOB) on December 25, 2000 in Kathmandu was a historic landmark for both governments as well as for the Bhutanese refugees. The two governments which were at loggerheads till the 9th round of talks have finally agreed to carry out verification of the refugees in the seven camps in Eastern Nepal who have been languishing there for the last 10 years. Those who were concerned with the issue and watching developments closely have welcomed it.

The bilateral talks on the protracted Bhutanese refugee issue started in April 1993 and dragged on till December 2000. The stalemate was due to RGOB taking an adamant stand that the people in the camps are not Bhutanese refugees. It was alleged that the people living in the camps are economic migrants who had been evicted by the government in accordance with its laws or poor Nepalese from India and Nepal who were attracted by the facilities provided at the camps. On the other hand HMG had no responsibility other than providing shelter and security on humanitarian grounds. Thus there was a fear of stateless people being created by the impasse. The checkered talks have unnecessarily dragged for 7 years. By now the problem would have been solved if good sense had prevailed.

Bhutan has at last relented to verification after coming under tremendous pressure from the International Community. While the international community showed concern about the Bhutanese refugee problem, our immediate neighbour India remained a stoic observer. The Bhutanese refugees came in through India and have to go back through it in the event of repatriation. Every one opines that for a peaceful and permanent solution, the involvement of India is of paramount importance, the facts being that India is the major donor country for Bhutan and the latter’s security and foreign policy is guided by the Indo-Bhutan Treaty of 1949.

In the beginning when the refugees trickled in and set up their shanties on the banks of the Maidhar River, nobody expected that their numbers would soon multiply to thousand. The refugees started flocking into Nepal in hundreds of thousands after RGOB started a crackdown inside Bhutan and evicted them from the southern districts in September-October 1990.

Unable to cope the plight of the refugees, HMG requested UNHCR to provide them humanitarian assistance. UNHCR responded and immediately started to establish organized camps in the two districts of Morang and Jhapa. Today there are 7 camps with about 99, 260 refugees living in them.

In order to resolve the problem, HMG has initiated a dialogue with RGOB in 1993. Up to the 9th round, the talks were futile because of the intransigent RGOB position. However, to the surprise of everybody the 10th round of talks held in Kathmandu concluded in an agreement to verify the people in the camps. Both the parties agreed to form a Joint Verification Team (JVT) and finally visited the camps in Jhapa and Morang to acquaint themselves with the physical location of the camps and also to review the logistics and security arrangements. A five-member Bhutanese delegation led by Dr Sonam Tenzing and a five-member Nepalese delegation led by Ms Usha Nepal arrived in Jhapa on February 27, 2001. The JVT visited all the seven camps and the refugees welcomed them wholeheartedly. The team members talked with the refugees. The team was impressed not only by the peaceful atmosphere despite the sufferings of the refugees but also by the concern expressed by some refugees about the deteriorating situation inside Bhutan, especially the threat to the security of sovereignty of the nation posed by the United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) and the Bodo National Democratic Force (BNDA), militant groups from India’s Assam state taking shelter inside Bhutan. The Bhutanese refugees want to resolve the problem as soon as possible and re-integrate into the mainstream of nation building and defend the country from all threats.

After the end of the camp visit and the final round of the JVT meeting concerning all logistic arrangements including the setting up of the JVT office, the Bhutanese team left for Bhutan to come back with all paraphernalia required to start the physical verification of the refugees in the camps. As agreed and scheduled the Bhutanese team totalling 17 members including 5 drivers arrived in Jhapa on March 11, 2001.

It took time for the JVT to establish its office and settle down, all the speculation and anxiety of the refugees ended when pragmatic verifications started in the morning of 26th March 2001 at the office of the Joint Verification Team at Damak (Jhapa). The verification started from Khudunabari, which is the latest camp to open. It was quite a scene when ten families boarded the bus arranged by the JVT to ferry them to the Damak office and back to the camp. The outskirts of the JVT office premises were not free of anxious refugees who had come to see the beginning of the verification. A large crowd gathered outside the fence and equally jostling in the crowd were the media persons. The verification process started at 9:30 AM, first with the familiarization and the next step with the filing up of the proforma by individuals. Then the interview began.

Perhaps the verification of the Bhutanese refugees is the first of its kind in refugee history and as well as in UNHCR maintained refugee camps in the world. Therefore, it is a new exercise and experience for HMG and RGOB. The JVT could finish verifying only two families on the first day and the remaining seven returned frustrated, having had to wait without food for more than 9 hours. Gradually the speed has picked up and now the JVT can finish 10 families in a day. This is not upto the expectations of the refugees who would like to cover at least 30-40 families a day so that the whole process could be finished in two and half years. The JVT also has not set a time frame for completion of the whole verification exercise. If the rate of 10 families a day remains fixed then it is going to take not less than 7 years to cover the seven camps. This too is on the assumption that there will not be any disruptions and the team works five days a week. But this seems impossible to achieve in view of the present political scenario in Nepal and the frequent calls for strikes and bandhs. Whether the old refugees will get the opportunity to return home or not is not certain.

The change of team leader on the Nepalese side did not hamper the verification work. Sushil Jung Bahadur Rana, Chief District Officer (CDO) of Jhapa, took over as Nepalese team leader from Ms Usha Nepal who has retired from service. In general it is hoped that there will be flexibility and a review of the mechanical strategy to expedite the exercise and finish it as early as possible. Otherwise it is going to be an indefinite exercise involving lots of financial resources and manpower, and for the refugees, a loss of time.

The JVT has arranged two buses to transport the refugees from the camps to the JVT office in two shifts. The buses are hired from a local transport at the rate of NRs 3000 per day per bus. This will be very costly if the verification exercise takes a long time. Therefore, it will be cost effective in the long run if the JVT buys its own vehicle for transporting the refugees. The Refugee Co-Ordination Unit in Chandragadhi and subordinate staff in the camps are rendering every help to the JVT without any incentive to run smoothly the verification exercise and avoid any distress among the refugees. So as altogether 174 families totalling 1,073 individuals have completed their verification formalities as of April 20, 2001. Out of that the number, of nuclear families stand at 293.

Though the progress of the work is slow it has begun and has to reach an end point somewhere. We are sure that both the governments are genuinely concerned about the plight of the refugees and would make their best efforts to end it as early as possible. The Bhutanese refugees have waited for this for ten years and any intention of causing further delay would dishearten them. And on the other hand HMG cannot bear the burden forever. Irrespective of any category, all genuine Bhutanese must have their right to return to their homeland-Bhutan.

In this electronic age

By Sarita Bahety

With the advent and fire like spread of technology, changes in our lifestyles are inevitable. Today, in this techno savvy world, computers have become quintessential objects, no more are they branded as luxury items. Of course, they have made our lives hell of a lot easy. Right from emails to e-commerce, the world has e-volutionised , thanks to these modern computers which offer us the latest of everything. The only need is to log on to the net. Being "online" a person can do so many things without even bothering about the physical location of the place from where he/she is operating.

There is just the need to click the button and with that flick click one can nearly view the whole of the globe. Literally, the world has shrunk, indeed shrunk quite a lot, in fact much more than what you and I’ve expected.

But, as they say every coin has two sides. This hi-tech machine has changed our lives completely . Gone are the days when I used to write letters to relatives and acquaintances, seal them with lots of warmth and those stamps which we used to store in a petite box. Of course, emails are there for our convenience. It ensures that the mail, which is sent, reaches the most remote parts of the world as well. In this world of information and technology, more aptly referred to as IT world, dissemination of information is a must. But can electronic mail duplicate the warmth of hand written letters. Perhaps not. Even people living together like to share tits and bits of life by forwarding mail messages instead of actually spending some time with each other. Writing letters used to be fun. In fact it was more of a learning process. The friendly postman would deliver those letters with as much affection as we send them with. Receiving letters used to be a wonderful experience, and enjoyable it was to read those carefully written words, cherished longer, forever.

Again the PC is a source of entertainment too. Be it listening to your favourite track or watching the movie of your choice, it’s just a click away. The Internet is the ultimate source of everything one needs. And everything literally means everything. Perhaps that might concern parents who are busy in their hectic schedules with no time for their children. As far as children are concerned, they find computers their second best friends, the first being the all time favourite TV or "Idiot Box". Gone are the days when kids used to play outdoor with friendly neighbours, used to talk to them, share sweet nothings. Today, the times have changed, children are happy playing those fast and stimulating computer games which are usually simulations of motor bikes races or thrilling fighter aircraft in action. In all, the truth is, they are spending more time indoors with a coke in one hand and munching potato chips and crunching corn. Are we trying to make the younger generation couch potatoes? No, Certainly not. Definitely the young should be taught to make the best possible use of technology and not merely become slaves of it.

In fact, more stress should be laid on outdoor activities. Parents should spend time with their children and with the Mother Nature. Exposure to gadgets should be there to enhance their understanding and not to kill their creativity by over exposing them to this media tool. It’s high time, such ill effects are thought of and appropriate action taken so that young are not merely reduced to couch potatoes, to say the least.

Poverty alleviation and role of civil society

By Sangram S Lama

It is indeed very difficult to define the term "Civil Society" to everyone’s satisfaction. Everyone agrees however that it is a good thing to have, and it may be defined as comprising organizations which engage in public advocacy, serve as a watchdog of the government performance, analyze policy issues, mobilize constituencies in support of policy dialogue and act as agents of reform in strengthening democratic governance. It can also be called a site where society enters into a relationship with the state and civil society cannot ask for a democratic state if it itself is undemocratic. A democratic state requires a democratic civil society.

Civil Society is a galvaniser of social and cultural energy, democratic and transparent institutions and equity seekers for the people. It is therefore more than just a society which connects individuals with the public realm and the state. Civil society can influence the government by enhancing political responsiveness by aggregating and expressing the desires of public associations. It should be noted here that the mere existence of the civil society alone is surely not enough. An inert civil society tends to lead to an unresponsive state whilst only a politically motivated and self-conscious civil society places limits upon state power as politics is about the dialogues and contentions that societies have with the state. In the Nepali context, it has to be clear how we can characterize present civil society like how autonomous is the non-state sphere and does our associations life generate thrust and democratic participation? Hence a broad and open debate about civil society and its relationship with democracy and government needs to take place if the term is to have any analytic and influencing utility.

After the restoration of democracy in 1990 through a popular movement, the Nepali constitution guaranteed the fundamental principles of multi-party democracy, people’s sovereignty, constitutional monarchy, fundamental human rights and rule of law. More than a decade has now been completed since the restoration of democracy but the living standard of the poor and rural people is declining sharply day by day and the life of the common man is becoming miserable. Everyone talks openly about the deteriorating law and order situation, rampant and widespread corruption, bad governance and the Maoist People’s War. The Maoists have been conducting their violent activities since the past couple of years and it was just few months back that they observed the 6th anniversary of their movement.

So far, more than 1,500 people have been killed and no one knows how and when this violent insurgency will end. All political parties, leaders, intellectuals, think tanks and the common people have been saying that it is a national problem and therefore the government and the Maoists should solve it through a dialogue in a peaceful manner. But so far, this has not been materialized. In view of this, writer believes that we should involve the Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) to bring the government and the Maoists to the negotiating table to solve this crisis amicably.

For this, civil societies should act as a neutral, pro-active and honest mediator to create an environment for dialogue. Whilst doing this, there must not be any room for political bias. The government and the Maoists should support the initiation taken by civil societies. Their energy and initiative should be encouraged by all to improve the law and order situation and to eradicate the widespread corruption in the country.

They should also promote democratization by supporting the underprivileged, poor and backward and the ethnic groups, and by supporting constitutional law, and election related and human rights activities, including good governance in the country.

The existence and importance of CSOs have been recognized by the government particularly since the restoration of democracy. This is a positive step which should be appreciated by all CSOs. Given this new openness in His Majesty’s Government, it is vital to change the working practice of civil societies as well. They required to be more transparent and accountable in regard to the sources and uses of financial resources.

Some argue that civil societies are often driven by donors and lack their own initiatives and sense of direction, making it difficult for the government to keep track and coordinate their efforts and activities. On the part of the government also, it is still unclear what it expects from them. Experience shows that the government tends to control their activities by mandating cumbersome procedures for registration, killing the effectiveness and drive of their success. In the light of the above, if the government is willing to create an atmosphere to foster a partnership with civil society, it should act as a facilitator not a controller by formulating policies and programmes to involve them in poverty reduction, effective and inclusive decentralisation, good governance and sustainable rural development.

The Government should also take a leading role to coordinate all the activities of donors and civil society which include the identification of common targets and their strength, and build a consensus on priority working areas, the drafting and active implementation of civil societies’ code of ethics and standards based on internationally accepted norms and values, joint review and redrafting of relevant laws and regulations. The government should also review the cumbersome procedures for registration and the reporting system, ensuring that the rules are revised so that the CSOs can develop their own constitutions within the set guidelines. It is desirable to develop the information system for increasing the coordination, efficiency, transparency and accountability of civil society. This could include a database, impact assessments of their efforts and activities.

As the limitations of state-sponsored, project-based and top-down development became apparent, the government and the donors must pay attention, focusing on private, professional and development organisations and the voluntary sector as potentially viable alternatives to the conventional approaches to the participatory and bottom-up development. This is particularly true and possible as CSOs have demonstrated the efficiency and capabilities to reach the backward, poor and disadvantaged people more effectively than the public agencies . They can perform better on many aspects of development activities and managing resources from private sources. CSOs have the ability and genuine drive to carry out projects and programmes on a national scale in order to influence national policies and institutions which are most likely to be more pragmatic, effective and sustainable to uplift the living standard of grassroots people. This would contribute effectively in achieving the goal of poverty reduction in the country.