research proposal on child labour in nepal

Policy Analysis of Child Labour in Nepal

The Government of Nepal is committed to addressing the issue of child labour and to making Nepal child labour free, as evidenced through continued enactment and implementation of laws, policies, rules, procedures, strategies and standards. The commitments made to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and in international fora further encouraged the government to set and reach the goal of child labour elimination. However, a significant number of children in Nepal continue to work in dangerous and harmful conditions, known as the ‘worst forms of child labour’. These forms of child labour are prevalent in the informal economy, which is generally outside the purview of governmental rules and regulation but which provides essential economic income to families living and working in Nepal.

CLARISSA (2023), Policy Analysis of Child Labour in Nepal, CLARISSA Policy Analysis 1, Brighton: Institute of Development Studies, DOI: 10.19088/CLARISSA.2023.006

Advocating for Change in Nepal’s Adult Entertainment Sector

Learning from life story collection and analysis with children who work in the worst forms of child labour in nepal, child labour, social protection and research: the need for a paradigm shift in nepal.

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Child labor situation in nepal: challenges and ways forward.

Year of Publication: 27 June 2023 | My Republica

Published by: CESLAM

Child labor continues to remain a pervasive problem even after three decades of collaborative efforts for its prohibition and regulation in Nepal. According to the Nepal Child Labor Report 2021 prepared by the International Labor Organisation (ILO), 1.1 million children aged 5 to 17 years are engaged in child labor (in 2018) compared to 2.6 million (in 1998). Whilst national statistics show some improvement, other studies have shown grave concern for children engaged in the hidden and exploitative forms of labor in Nepal. There is no denying that child labor compounded by social, cultural, economic, and political factors remains a grave concern for all stakeholders in the country.

On the occasion of the ‘World Day Against Child Labor’ on 12th June, the government and its development partners are hosting several events throughout the month. This article discusses some pertinent issues and offers pragmatic suggestions to make this year’s slogan ‘Social Justice for All: End Child Labor’ a reality.

Why is eliminating child labor a priority?

Children forced to work in exploitative labor conditions are not only deprived of their fundamental rights to education, health, childhood development, sports, safety, and protection (as enshrined in Nepal’s Constitution) but it also directly impacts their physical, social, and emotional development. Several legislations and policies: Child Labor Prohibition and Regulation Act (2000), The Labor Act (2017), the Children’s Act (2018), and Muluki Civil Code (2017) among others recognize child labor as a human rights violation. As a signatory to various international treaties, Nepal is committed to achieving the targets of sustainable development goals (particularly SDG target 8.7) and even developed a roadmap for eliminating the worst forms of child labor by 2030. Despite all these efforts, a significant number of children are still working as child laborers in various sectors, enterprises, and informally. To achieve this goal, all levels of the government, CSOs and the private sector need to work collaboratively to push forward the child protection agenda and support vulnerable children and their families.

First and foremost, in the federalised structure of Nepal, several existing policies and mechanisms envisioned by the Children’s Act 2018 need adaptation and contextualization. As such, there is a dire need to define the worst forms of child labor and update the list of hazardous work including hidden forms of child labor and economic exploitation. The limited labor inspectors cannot monitor the entire country. Strong emphasis should be given to building capacities of local bodies including child rights committees that should actively participate in key decisions made for working children.

Second, it is imperative to strengthen the child protection mechanisms at the local, provincial, and federal levels that have specific mandates and enhanced financial, technical, and human resource capacities to address the issue of child labor properly. While it is praiseworthy to see an increasing number of child welfare authorities assigned to the local municipalities, there is a massive need for their capacity development. The provision of child funds with clear guidelines is critical that specify roles and mechanisms to support vulnerable children. Only after having all these mandatory provisions, the government’s vision to enforce child labour-free declaration campaigns can sustain.

Third, the need for a proper data management system and the use of data and evidence for combating child labor is significant.There is a plethora of studies done on child labor. However, they are seldom used as tools for advocacy and guide the development of plans and programmes. One of the ground-breaking participatory action research programmes - Child Labor Action Research Innovation in South and South-Eastern Asia (CLARISSA) collected and analyzed the life stories of 400 Nepali children working in ‘dohori’ restaurants, dance bars, spa-massage parlors, eateries and guest houses. The research highlighted several factors besides the poor economic condition such as family conflict, alcoholic parents, sickness and death of family members, extramarital affairs of parents and peer influence as the key drivers that pushed them into child labor. The findings of such studies will be instrumental in developing specific interventions sensitizing parents and guardians, teachers, and employers, on the risks of child labor as well as encouraging them to value children’s participation and protection of children.

Fourth, it is notable to support the initiative led by Nepali children and youths engaged in the worst forms of child labor in building their agencies. On 16-20 January 2023, representatives of committees/associations of working children from 16 countries (including Nepal) gathered in Kigali Rwanda demanding better policymaking and practice from the local to the global level. The development actors should promote such events and foster the exchange of learning and sharing of best practices, and innovative approaches to address the issues of child labor within and amongst all concerned line departments and agencies.

Last and most important, there is a great scope to strengthen inter-governmental coordination with the National Child Rights Council and specify the role and responsibilities of concerned departments within the Ministry of Labor, Employment and Social Security, Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Women, Children and Senior Citizens and Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs in the monitoring of the labor situation and mobilize resources to support the rescue and rehabilitation efforts. National and international NGOs need to support system strengthening based on their global and national expertise and work with agencies at all levels to develop strategic plans to address child labor. Private businesses also have a critical role to safeguard their business and showcase ethical work and ensure a decent working environment for all.

Published on: 27 June 2023 | My Republica

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Child Labor and Forced Labor Reports

Moderate Advancement

In 2022, Nepal made moderate advancement in efforts to eliminate the worst forms of child labor. The Government of Nepal announced the liberation of the Haruwa-Charuwa agricultural bonded laborers and promised to establish a recovery program and provide restitution for this group. The police also removed 27 children exploited as bonded laborers from brick kilns in southern Nepal and the Nepal Child Rights Council provided assistance to 11,696 children across 47 districts through 417 children's homes. However, children in Nepal are subjected to the worst forms of child labor, including commercial sexual exploitation, sometimes as a result of human trafficking, and forced begging. Children also perform dangerous tasks in producing bricks. Nepal's law related to child trafficking is insufficient because it does not clearly criminalize recruitment, harboring, receipt, or transportation in the absence of force, fraud, or coercion. The law prohibiting the use of children in illicit activities is also insufficient because it does not prohibit the use of children in the production of drugs. In addition, the Ministry of Labor, Employment, and Social Security lacks sufficient resources and labor inspectors to adequately enforce laws related to child labor. Moreover, the government did not publicly release information on its criminal law enforcement efforts.

Table 1 provides key indicators on children’s work and education in Nepal.

Source for primary completion rate: Data from 2021, published by UNESCO Institute for Statistics, 2023. (1) Source for all other data: International Labor Organization's analysis of statistics from Labour Force Survey (LFS), 2017–2018. (2)

Based on a review of available information, Table 2 provides an overview of children’s work by sector and activity.

† Determined by national law or regulation as hazardous and, as such, relevant to Article 3(d) of ILO C. 182. ‡ Child labor understood as the worst forms of child labor per se under Article 3(a)–(c) of ILO C. 182.

Nepali women and girls are subjected to commercial sexual exploitation, sometimes as a result of human trafficking, both within and outside Nepal, including to India, the Middle East, Asia, and Sub-Saharan Africa. (13,19) Traffickers use the open border between India and Nepal to transport women and children for sex trafficking. (13) One study found that 17 percent of workers in the adult entertainment sector are under age 18, and 62 percent of adult women in that industry started as minors, some as young as 7 years old. (20)

More than half the children working in Nepali brick kilns are from India. (5) Children engaged in the production of bricks are exposed to hazardous working conditions, including carrying heavy loads and using dangerous machinery. (5) Most child labor occurs in the informal sector, including brick kilns.(7) Research indicates that climate-related disasters have often led to child labor, including increased levels of child labor following the 2017 floods in southern Nepal. (21) Moreover, children in Nepal's unregistered shelters are exploited in forced begging and children are trafficked into exploitative or fraudulent orphanages, which suffer from lack of government oversight, where they are used to solicit money from foreign donors. (22,23)

Some children, particularly girls, face barriers to accessing education due to a shortage of sanitation facilities, geographic distance, costs associated with schooling, need to complete household chores, and an absence of parental support. (24-26) In Nepal, lack of separate toilet facilities for girls deters them from attending school, especially when they are menstruating. (24) Barriers to attending school for school-age boys include pressure to find employment or migrate to work outside of Nepal, and issues with drugs and alcohol. Children with disabilities face additional barriers to accessing education, including denial of school admission. (7) Furthermore, pandemic closures affected nearly 9 million children and a substantial number of children from rural areas suffered from learning loss due to an unavailability of alternative learning modalities. (8,17,27) School closures during the pandemic disproportionately affected girls, who are expected to perform household services, and children with disabilities. (8) Refugee children in Nepal face legal obstacles regarding access to education resulting from lack of official recognition and official documentation by the Nepali government. (8,28) The government, however, allows NGOs to provide primary and secondary-level schooling to refugee children without documentation. (28)

Nepal has ratified all key international conventions concerning child labor (Table 3).

The government has established laws and regulations related to child labor (Table 4). However, gaps exist in Nepal’s legal framework to adequately protect children from the worst forms of child labor, including a lack of prohibitions for using children in the production of drugs.

* Country has no conscription (36)

The minimum age for hazardous work is not consistent with international standards because it does not prohibit children aged 17 from engaging in hazardous work. (29) Furthermore, the types of hazardous work prohibited for children do not include brickmaking and stone breaking, sectors in which there is evidence that work involves carrying heavy loads and being exposed to hazardous substances. (5,29) However, Nepal's National Master Plan on Child Labor (2018–2028) has identified children working in brick kilns as a group particularly vulnerable to hazardous child labor. (39,40) In addition, the law related to child trafficking is insufficient because it does not clearly criminalize recruitment, harboring, receipt, or transportation of children in the absence of force, fraud, or coercion. (32,41) The law prohibiting the use of children in illicit activities is insufficient because it does not prohibit the use of children in the production of drugs. (42) Furthermore, although the Constitution prohibits the recruitment of children by non-state armed groups, there is no specific legislation penalizing this practice. (36) Nepal ratified the Palermo Protocol in 2020 and the government is in the process of aligning its legal framework for human trafficking with international standards, including broadening its definition of human trafficking and better addressing child trafficking. (10,43)

The government has established institutional mechanisms for the enforcement of laws and regulations on child labor (Table 5). However, gaps exist within the operations of enforcement agencies that may hinder adequate enforcement of their child labor laws.

Labor Law Enforcement

In 2022, labor law enforcement agencies in Nepal took actions to address child labor (Table 6). However, gaps exist within the operations of the Department of Labor (DOL) that may hinder adequate labor law enforcement, including insufficient human resource allocation.

† Data are from July 2020 to July 2021. ‡ Data from July 2021 to July 2022.

Only 11 of 28 labor inspector positions in Nepal are currently filled, and these inspectors oversee a workforce of approximately 8.7 million workers. (8,49,50) The ILO and NGOs report the number of labor inspectors and inspections in Nepal is insufficient given the size and population of the country. (8,50) During the reporting period, inspectors did not receive adequate training or refresher on laws related to child labor or hazardous work for children. (8) Reports confirm that funding for the Ministry of Labor, Employment, and Social Security (MoLESS) remains low and indicate that addressing child labor is a low funding priority for the government. (8) According to NGOs, more than 70 percent of child labor occurs in the informal sector, including in companies with fewer than 10 employees and those that are not registered with the government. (8,10,23) However, the government conducted most of its labor inspections in the formal sector and rarely conducted unannounced inspections. (8)

NGOs report that the fines and employer-paid compensation outlined in the Child Labor (Prohibition and Regulation) Act are not adequate deterrents to child labor violations. (8,10) Cases are also often resolved through negotiation, and MoLESS encourages mediation over prosecution, resulting in mild punishments for perpetrators. (8,41) In addition, business owners reportedly pressure labor inspectors to settle disputes outside courts and officials request bribes to move cases forward. (8) Furthermore, NGOs stated that officials are sometimes paid to not move child labor cases forward, or parents are given nominal compensation to abandon cases. (8) While the Supreme Court compiles case data on cases heard by the labor court, it does not disaggregate data regarding child labor. (22)

Criminal Law Enforcement

In 2022, criminal law enforcement agencies in Nepal took actions to address child labor (Table 7). However, gaps exist within the operations of the criminal enforcement agencies that may hinder adequate criminal law enforcement, including insufficient allocation of financial resources.

In 2022, the Government of Nepal announced the liberation of the Haruwa-Charuwa agricultural bonded laborers who belong to impoverished and marginalized Dalit communities. The ILO previously estimated that over 120,000 adults and children were in forced Haruwa-Charuwa labor. (51) Although the Bonded Labor Prohibition Act of 2002 abolished bonded labor in Nepal, the Haruwa-Charuwawere not previously part of government liberation or victim services programs. (30,51) As part of the Haruwa-Charuwa freedom proclamation, the government also promised to establish a victim services program and provide restitution for this group. (52)

Within the federalist government structure, child rights committees, which are formed at the provincial and local levels, coordinate with Nepal Police on child labor issues. (8) However, the government lacks both the human resources and financial capacity to enforce laws prohibiting crimes related to child labor or to maintain a centralized database of criminal cases involving child labor, including child trafficking. (8,10,11,53) The Nepal Police do, however, collect and disaggregate data related to human trafficking cases; in fiscal year 2021–2022, the Nepal Anti-Human Trafficking Bureau (AHTB) reported identifying 209 trafficking victims and temporarily detaining 284 suspected traffickers. However, 109 suspected traffickers absconded, and only 174 suspected traffickers were officially arrested. (54) Moreover, during the reporting period, AHTB conducted trainings for 66 police personal on investigating human trafficking and legal procedures. (55)

The government convicted fewer traffickers during this reporting period compared to the previous year, and corruption as well as official complicity in trafficking crimes remains a concern. The AHTB and other enforcement agencies lacked resources to coordinate with NGOs or victims and were unable to register cases against traffickers. (23) Moreover, most human trafficking cases were treated as labor violations that MoLESS resolved with minor fines rather than opening criminal investigations. (56) The AHTB lacked a victim-centered approach to handling serious cases, and law enforcement relied on civil society to identify trafficking cases, undermining evidence collection and prosecution efforts. (23)

According to reports, in November 2022, Nepal Police released 38 Indian nationals, including 27 children, who had been exploited as bonded laborers in brick kilns in southern Nepal. (57) However, the government did not make efforts to investigate and prosecute suspects for bonded labor crimes and did not provide data on other bonded labor cases. (23) Moreover, cases of bonded labor are rarely reported to the police. (56)

The government has established a key mechanism to coordinate its efforts to address child labor (Table 8). However, gaps exist that hinder the effective coordination of efforts to address child labor, including efficacy in accomplishing mandates.

The government has established policies related to child labor (Table 9). However, policy gaps exist that hinder efforts to address child labor, including updating existing policies to better align with the constitutional transition to federalism.

‡ The government had other policies that may have addressed child labor issues or had an impact on child labor. (10)

The Fifteenth National Plan of Nepal (2019/2020–2023/2024) includes ending child labor as one of its objectives and makes necessary legal provisions to end all forms of child labor and increase the target number of inspections for child labor in each Nepali fiscal year, which begins and ends in July. (8,10,67)

Nepal's new federalist structure replaced all districts with newly drawn provinces. There are 753 new municipalities from 77 districts along with new local governance. (68) However, Nepal requires improved coordination across all levels of government and guidance on responsibilities to effectively address gaps in implementation of services under the new federalist structure. (68) The absence of new policy frameworks for a multitude of issues and a lack of data to inform actions have reduced child labor abuses to a low priority. (68)

In 2022, the government funded and participated in programs that include the goal of eliminating or preventing child labor (Table 10). However, gaps exist in these social programs, including the inadequacy to address the problem in all sectors.

For information about USDOL’s projects to address child labor around the world, visit https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ilab/ilab-project-page-search

† Program is funded by the Government of Nepal. ‡ The government had other social programs that may have included the goal of eliminating or preventing child labor. (10,11,55,72,73)

The government of Nepal allocated $35,380 (45.3 million rupees) for activities to eliminate child labor in fiscal year 2022–2023. Activities include contributions to the Child Labor Elimination Fund and the Rehabilitation Fund, awareness programs against child labor, and consultations with local governments to declare municipalities free of child labor. (8) Although Nepal has programs that target child labor, gaps exist in these social programs, including a lack of programs that support child victims of commercial sexual exploitation and children working in the production of bricks.

Based on the reporting above, suggested actions are identified that would advance the elimination of child labor in Nepal (Table 11).

• UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Gross intake ratio to the last grade of primary education, both sexes (%). Accessed March 15, 2023. For more information, please see "Children's Work and Education Statistics: Sources and Definitions" in the Reference Materials section of this report. http://data.uis.unesco.org/
• ILO. Analysis of Child Economic Activity and School Attendance Statistics from Labour Force Survey (LFS), 2017–2018. Original data from Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey 5 (MICS 5), 2014. Analysis received March 2023. Please see "Children's Work and Education Statistics: Sources and Definitions" in the Reference Materials section of this report.
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• Government of Nepal. Nepal School Sector Development Plan/School Education Sector Plan–Budget Review Meeting 2022. Asian Development Bank. June, 2022. https://www.britishcouncil.org.np/sites/default/files/schoolsectordevelopmentplantechnicalassistance_q2_newsletter_2022.pdf
• U.S. Embassy- Kathmandu official. E-mail communication to USDOL official. March 18, 2020.
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Advancing social justice, promoting decent work ILO is a specialized agency of the United Nations

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Call for request for proposal

The ILO invites request for proposal (RFP) from qualified partner/research organizations to conduct research on forced labour (FL) and child labour (CL) in the agriculture sector in Siraha and Saptari Districts of Province 2, Nepal. The activities will focus on assessment of FL and CL in Province 2, especially in Siraha and Saptari districts.

5 August 2021

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Ending forced and child labour in nepal’s brick industry - need for a holistic approach.

On the eve of the International Year for the Elimination of Child Labour, a new survey on Employment Relationship in the Brick Industry in Nepal unveils important information on forced labour, bonded labour and child labour in the sector. The report calls for a concerted effort by all key stakeholders – government, industry employers and workers – to work for decent work agenda in the country’s brick production industry.

Nepal has made remarkable progress in fighting traditional bonded labour practices. Nepal became a pathfinder country of the Alliance 8.7 that is working to accelerate progress towards Sustainable Development Goal 8.7: take immediate and effective measures to eradicate forced labour, end modern slavery and human trafficking and secure the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labour, including recruitment and use of child soldiers, and end child labour in all its forms by 2025.  However, new evidence collected through an Employment Relationship Survey, jointly carried out by the CBS, ILO and UNICEF, indicates that bonded and forced labour still exist in the country’s private sector, including in the brick industry.

The report, first nationally representative research on the brick industry in South Asia, captures major findings that will inform government, industry and other stakeholders’ efforts to end child and bonded labour practices in the sector. It also highlights the linkages between internal and cross-border migration and vulnerability to child labour and economic exploitation.

The survey exposes prevalence of labour exploitation with 6,229 (3.5%) workers in forced labour among the 176,373 manual labourers in the brick kilns (including family members). An estimated 34,593 children (between ages of five and 17) are living in brick kilns. Children account for approximately 10% (17,738) of total workers, and 96% of these working children (17,032) were identified as being in child labour.

"The study, first of its kind in Nepal, and jointly conducted  by CBS, ILO and UNICEF has highlighted the important insights about the child labour situation in the brick kiln industry, which would greatly contribute to monitor child labour related policies and programs implemented by the government of  Nepal" said Nebin Lal Shrestha, Director General of the Bureau.

The research also found that migrant workers represent a high proportion of workers in the brick kilns: only 22% of total workers are originally from the same district as where the kiln is located; 32% of the workers come from other districts of Nepal, and 46% of the workers have migrated from India. Rolpa, Rautahat, Dang, Kailali and Sarlahi are the top 5 source-districts of Nepali brick kiln workers that supply nearly 46% of workers in different kilns across the country. 

“The report highlights important statistics on decent work-deficit that leads to forced and child labour situation in Nepal, and while the challenges to overcome it are multi-faceted, ILO Nepal is committed to supporting the government and the development partners through its programmes by implementing preventive as well as responsive measures,” said Richard Howard, Director of the ILO Country Office for Nepal.

In terms of payment modality, over three quarters (75.7%) of the workers receive an advance payment from the naikes (labour contractors), and 3.5% - directly from the employers. The advance payments having no clarity on repayment usually tends to turn as debt for next years thereby increasing vulnerability to forced labour.

Illiteracy was found to be an important vulnerability factor for child and forced labour. This could have direct impact on the awareness of the labour laws and regulations amongst workers and employers. The survey revealed that only 4% of workers were aware of current minimum wage rate; 4% say they are aware of labour law or rules. Membership in trade unions is almost non-existent. Employers’ knowledge of the legal framework is more common: 66% of employers are aware of the Labour Act; 42% of the Animal Act; 88% of the Child Labour; and 63% of the Security and Health Act.

“As we enter the International Year for the Elimination of Child Labour, this report is a reminder of the critical need to strengthen concerted action to eliminate the worst forms of child labour in all sectors of society. This new evidence will inform and guide government policy makers, brick kiln industry stakeholders and development actors in their collective action to tackle economic exploitation of children and their families. UNICEF is committed to continued collaboration with the Government of Nepal, and industry leaders to ensure children are removed from the industry, and to support children and their families to access social rehabilitation and protection services. Above all, we must work together to ensure that the cost of producing construction materials is not borne by the children of Nepal” said Elke Wisch, UNICEF Nepal Representative.

This research is part of a broader ILO project entitled From Protocol to Practice: A Bridge to Global Action on Forced Labour (the Bridge Project)*. The main aim of the Bridge Project is to support global and national efforts aimed at combating forced labour under the ILO Protocol and Recommendation on Forced Labour (2014).

The report is a joint initiative of the International Labour Organization (ILO), as part of a USDOL-funded ILO project, and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), in collaboration with the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), Government of Nepal.

* Funding for the report, is partly provided by UNICEF and the United States Department of Labor under cooperative agreement number IL -27592-15-75-K-1 (the Bridge Project). 100 per cent of the total cost of the Global Bridge Project is financed with Federal funds, for a total of 17,395,138 US dollars. This material does not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the United States Department of Labor, nor does mention of trade names, commercial products or organizations imply endorsement by the United States Government.

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