Human Rights (Hansard, 24 April 1998)

§ Sir John Stanley
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement identifying which articles of which international human rights agreements to which the UK is a signatory are breached by countries where adults and children are used as bonded labour. [39356]

§ Mr. Tony Lloyd
We regard bonded labour as an intolerable form of labour akin to slavery, forced labour and compulsory labour. The international human rights instruments to which the United Kingdom is a party and which specifically prohibit or require the suppression of slavery, forced and compulsory labour are as follows

(a) The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Article 8 of the Covenant states that no one shall be held in slavery; that slavery and the slave trade in all their forms shall be prohibited; that no one shall be held in servitude; and that no one shall be forced to perform forced or compulsory labour;
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(b) The United Nations Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery, the Slave Trade, and Institutions and Practices Similar to Slavery. Article 1 of the Convention requires States parties to take all practicable and necessary legislative and other measures to bring about progressively and as soon as possible the complete abolition or abandonment of, among other institutions and practices, debt bondage, serfdom and any institution or practice whereby a child or young person under the age of 18 years is delivered by either or both of his natural parents or by his guardian to another person, whether for reward or not, with a view to the exploitation of the child or young person or of his labour.

(c) The International Labour Organisation Convention (No 29) Concerning Forced Labour. Article 1 of the Convention requires each State party to suppress the use of forced labour or compulsory labour in all its forms within the shortest possible period;

(d) The International Labour Organisation Convention (No 105) Concerning the Abolition of Forced Labour. Article 1 of the Convention requires each State party to suppress and not to make use of forced or compulsory labour.

Any State which ratified these human rights instruments would be in breach of its legally binding obligations if it did not fulfil its undertakings in respect of these Articles.

§ Sir John Stanley
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is his policy towards the proposed new international convention banning the worst abuses of child labour to be discussed at the International Labour Organisation meeting in June; and if he will make a statement. [39676]

§ Mr. Tony Lloyd
We strongly support the development of a new International Labour Organisation Convention to eradicate the most intolerable forms of child labour. We will be participating very actively in the discussions to draw up the new instrument and we will seek to ensure that when adopted in 1999 it will be effective in terms of the progressive elimination of all extreme forms of child labour.

§ Sir John Stanley
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which aspects of the Government's human rights policy are his Department's responsibility. [39678]

§ Mr. Tony Lloyd
This Department has overall responsibility for the Government's international human rights commitments. It works in partnership with other departments in Whitehall including the Department for International Development, which is responsible for the rights of poor and disadvantaged peoples in poorer countries; DfEE, which has lead responsibility within Whitehall for the UK's policy within the International Labour Organisation; DTI; the Home Office; and the Lord Chancellor's Department.