§ Lord Brockwayasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will draw the attention of the appropriate organ within the United Nations to the employment of children of seven years of age as gravel carriers in a hydro-electric project in Nepal financed by the United Nations Development Programme.
§ The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (Lord Carrington)This project is financed by the United Nations Capital Development Fund (to which Britain does not contribute) and is managed directly by the Government of Nepal. I understand that officials of the fund have been aware for some time of the employment of children, as part of whole family units engaged on the project; but that a previous attempt to stop this led to the withdrawal of the relevant familes and a shortage of labour which brought the scheme to a halt. A United Nations staff member is visiting Nepal this week to investigate the problem further.