IHC forms commission against bonded labour

Commission to submit report in one-month after completing audit of all the brick kilns in Islamabad

ISLAMABAD:

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has formed a fact-finding commission on child labour. The commission headed by Islamabad deputy commissioner will submit its report in one-month after completing the audit of all the brick kilns operating in the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT).

When the IHC on Saturday resumed hearing of a petition against bonded labor, Islamabad Deputy Commission Hamza Shafqaat appeared before the bench and told it that he had carried out a raid at a brick kiln in Islamabad and recovered both children and adults illegally detained by the kiln owner.

“The owner of the brick kiln was arrested after registration of a criminal case. The children and the adults who were illegally detained have also been presented in the court today,” he said.

IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah noted that the petition highlighted the prevalence of the detestable practice of bonded labour at the brick kilns.

“This [incident] appears to be a tip of the iceberg. Such a practice is the most detestable form of modern slavery. It’s persistence in the 21st century and that too in the capital of Pakistan is unimaginable and thus intolerable,” Justice Minallah said.

He said such a faceless market practice in any form and manifestation leads to the worst human rights violations and the constitutionally guaranteed rights. The victims, he said, are the poorest and most marginalized segments of the society who cannot even afford to have access to a court of law.

The judge noted that it is a constitutional duty of the state and its functionaries to reach out to every labourer so as to ensure that no one is illegally forced to work in the brick kilns.

 “In view of the gravity of the violations of constitutionally guaranteed fundamental rights and persistence of the abhorrent practice of bonded labour, this court appoints a commission to enquire and recommend measures in order to protect the rights of the labour employed in the brick.”

It said the commission shall conduct a survey and inspection of all the brick kilns in the ICT; collect the record and data of the labourers employed in the brick kilns and examine the laws enforced in the ICT relating to protecting the rights of the labour.

It will also examine the mechanism relating to registration of the labour employed within the ICT – whether in the industry or as domestic help and assess the enforcement of the enforced laws.

The commission will also ensure that the public functionaries take appropriate action to free those labourers who are found to be victims of bonded labour in any forum or manifestation. It may also take any other matter which needs to be considered for elimination of forced and bonded employment.

“The deputy commissioner is expected to ensure that the recovered children are dealt in accordance with their constitutionally guaranteed rights,” it added.

It said the court has been informed that the recovered children have not been enrolled in an educational institution despite the fundamental right guaranteed under Article 25-A of the Constitution. “This court expects that the state will ensure to fulfill its obligations towards the recovered children,” it added.