Northern Ireland Assembly

Ms Morrice:

I voice the support of the Women's Coalition, which joins all others in favour of the motion, and I commend Mr McGrady for bringing the matter to the Assembly. The House must look outward, as well as inward, and address these serious issues, which affect the rest of the world.

I have listened intently to what has been said this afternoon and Mr McGrady's point that this scourge on society in the Third World is very important. Mr Shannon raised the issue of ensuring that fair trade runs hand in hand with this. I hope that in his winding-up speech Mr McGrady will consider this and the importance of recognising the different ways in which we can help to stop this type of exploitation. It can be done on an individual basis by buying produce that is fairly traded or by calling on the United Nations and other bodies to act immediately to end the practice of bonded labour.

Education is also a major issue because bonded labour is often linked to illiteracy and the problems of people in Third World countries on the Indian subcontinent and in Africa and Latin America. People there are not aware of their rights and are, therefore, unable to take action to defend those rights. Even in Northern Ireland, a so-called educated society, there are many people who are not aware of their rights. Therefore, in Third World countries, and particularly in rural and isolated communities, it is vital to help to educate people to understand and to stand up for their rights.

We have described the problems associated with bonded labour and how they occur. For example, if there is a family event which has cultural and religious importance, such as a christening or a wedding, the head of the family will borrow money, usually from a landlord, and will sign a bond to work to repay that debt. Often people do not understand what they are signing. There are examples of people signing for their four-year-old children to work 12 hours a day to pay off a £12 debt. "Intolerable" is not even an appropriate word. It is an atrocious practice. It is a form of slavery and pure exploitation and it is the most vulnerable people who find themselves in these situations.

Mr McGrady raised the problems facing women and children. Landlords can sexually exploit women who become tied to these schemes. People get stuck, and they have nowhere to go. It happens mostly in isolated rural communities among people who are desperate and have very low self-esteem.

Education is one important way out. We must look at lack of education and the need to fill that educational gap. Putting children into labour at an early age denies them an education so this practice feeds on itself. The more children who are used in this way, the less educated they are and, as a result, the more they become tied into this practice.

There is also a need for us in Western society to educate our children and ourselves. As Mary Nelis said, at Christmas the children want Nike. These products are considered to be something they need and want. They do not realise that children can be exploited through the making of many of these products. It is very important that our society is educated about such matters.

Anti-Slavery International has been urging the UN Commission to focus on several points. First, UN states should ratify the international instruments which prohibit the use of bonded labour and develop specific legislation to define and outlaw the offence of debt bondage, if they have not already done so. It is an unlawful activity, and something should be done about it. Secondly, states should be encouraged to carry out detailed regional surveys to help identify and rehabilitate bonded labourers. Thirdly, states should ensure that those responsible for keeping individuals in debt bondage are charged and prosecuted in accordance with domestic legislation. Finally, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights should become the focal point for both the co-ordination of activities and the dissemination of information in the UN system on the suppression of contemporary forms of slavery. This should help to ensure that slavery issues, such as bonded labour, are mainstreamed throughout the UN system.

This is the development of civil society. Civil society groups need resources to develop and to be able to stand up for human rights on a global scale. It is an issue that affects the most vulnerable people in the chain. Most people think that slavery was abolished 200 years ago. There are no chains attached to the ankles and necks of the men, women and children who work in these terrible conditions. But there are chains. They may be invisible, but they are just as intolerable.

I support the motion.

Dr Hendron:

I wish to congratulate Mr McGrady for bringing this important motion before the Assembly. Certainly, other issues have been debated in the House in relation to the Third World. Nevertheless, this is a very important one.

5.00 pm

About two years ago I was among a group invited to North Korea by Trócaire to make an assessment of the famine there and the terrible poverty and suffering. North Korea has a large degree of slavery and bonded labour. It was to be seen everywhere. In recent times there have been changes in that country because of its developing friendship with South Korea.

As a young lad I used to hear my grandfather talking about the "farmer's boy", about whom many jokes were told. These were young boys from big families who had to wander off to other parts of the country for what was supposed to be employment. The term "farmer's boy" meant that they slept in a shed and were given food and clothes. They had to pay that off by working some 12 hours a day. It is not so long since that practice existed in Ireland, both North and South.

Mr McGrady said that he has also put this motion forward to the House of Commons. I am very pleased to hear that there is already great support for it there. I am sure that he will, either directly or through the Executive, put the motion to the Scottish and Welsh legislatures, so that these islands, including the Republic of Ireland, can speak with one voice.

Article 4 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states:

"No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms."

There are at least 27 million slaves in the world today. That is more than twice the number of people taken from Africa during the 400-year transatlantic slave drive. Slaves today are not bought and sold at public auctions, nor do their owners hold legal title to them. Many people, as Mr McGrady said, get into debt at a time of family crisis. They end up pledging their labour, or even selling a child into slavery, in return for having their debts paid off. This does not happen only in India, Pakistan, South America or Mexico. We hear of street children who are taken away, sometimes murdered, sometimes brought into slave labour.

I am aware of the International Labour Organisation conference in June 2001. I know that organisations such as Trócaire are encouraging the principles that all Governments should allow independent assessment of the extent of bonded labour in their own countries, and that all those involved in developing and enforcing laws on bonded labour should be properly trained.

Mr McGrady's purpose is to put pressure, through this Assembly, the House of Commons and other parts of these islands, on the European Union to sponsor a resolution at the United Nations for their High Commissioner for Human Rights to condemn the practice of bonded labour.

Mr McGrady:

I thank all those who have participated in the debate. They obviously have a deep knowledge of all aspects of the problem of bonded labour. Their detailed knowledge indicates a concern to try, in some way, to light that proverbial candle. We in this Assembly must spread some light, an ever-increasing incandescence, throughout the rest of Europe and the world. That may sound presumptuous, but I am convinced that we have a voice on the world stage. In many other areas we have shown the ability to influence world opinion and there is no reason why, from this small beginning today, all the parties united together cannot carry this forward onto the larger stage and with greater effectiveness. I very much appreciate the contributions, which showed a great depth of knowledge not only about bonded labour but also of the ramifications which created it and result from it. They are myriad, stretching over continents.

I thank Mr Shannon for his participation and for drawing attention to other diverse aspects of bonded labour, the effects of fair trade, which were also referred to by Ms Morrice. He referred to the plight of small farmers who are deprived of a reasonable income for many of their products, which we enjoy at little cost in relation to our level of income. They are suffering as a result of our luxury lifestyles. He also rightly referred to the horrendous consequences of world debt, created by the exploitation of the native habitats, cultures and tribes to the point of extinction, simply to obtain greater profits for the multinationals.

That leads me to what Mrs Nelis said about multinationals and their responsibility for many of the problems that have been imposed on numerous communities throughout the world. There is the exploitation of their natural resources, the destruction of their natural way of life and of their harmony with nature. These communities are at one with nature, while we are destroying the goose that lays the golden egg for our current luxurious standard of living. Mrs Nelis went on to talk about the responsibilities of multinationals. Those responsibilities are evident in many of our luxuries, as well as in the cheap labour practices adopted by multinationals in the manufacture of many commonplace products that we use on a daily basis.

The Member referred to the ramifications of this tragedy - the sale of arms, the murders of young children and many other facets of international trade. She is absolutely right. Action is required - not words. She made the point that we need to take action here as well as abroad. We cannot, and must not, allow ourselves to be hypocritical in our approach to this problem. We must take the appropriate actions here that are on a par with the exploitation taking place abroad.

Mr Neeson made a valuable contribution in relation to how we perceive and treat immigrants. He drew a parallel between the disregard we can sometimes have for those of other cultures that come among us - that, in a sense, can explain but not forgive the cold approach we sometimes have - and the lack of concern for our fellow human beings in many other areas. As he said, it is a matter of international social policy, and I agree that such a policy does not currently exist. Token gestures are being made in different directions at different times, but there is no international thrust across the social strata that create these problems - not only bonded labour but also others that I have referred to. I also agree with Mr Neeson that the issue should be promoted not only on the floor of the United Nations but also at the World Trade Organisation.

My Colleague Patricia Lewsley gave a detailed definition of the horrible aspects of child abuse - the poor factory conditions, the long hours and the arduous and hazardous conditions under which these young people have to work from an early age. She mentioned rehabilitation; once this issue has been addressed, it cannot be let go. These people must be taken out of their bonded labour and put into rehabilitation to prevent them falling into the same trap all over again. Rehabilitation equals prevention, and prevention is much better than cure. That is a very important point.

Ms Jane Morrice touched on the question of the international aspects of fair trading. If the general public or any Assembly Member were to examine the details of what is happening in some countries and the activities of the multinationals (funded by the World Bank) they would be absolutely horrified to see the consequences on indigenous peoples and customs.

Education is important and must be discussed because people are unaware of their rights. Ms Morrice emphasised the need for education in this and other areas. She stated that those working under a bonded slavery system with its associated horrors should be educated, but people in Western society should also be educated as to how they create and contribute towards bonded labour. I agree that a great deal of research and action will have to be taken to explain, propagandise and get the message across that we can no longer tolerate such conditions.

Dr Hendron spoke of his experiences in North Korea. I know that he was shocked by the conditions he found there. For a long time North Korea was hidden behind an information curtain from which little emerged. I remember Germans standing on the international zone between North and South Korea. The international forces told me that in winter soldiers from the North Korean army foraged in the countryside for basic food, looking for rough grazing and berries to sustain them. If these were the sort of conditions the army had to endure, what of the ordinary people? I agree that you can cast your eye over international scenes, you can tut-tut and pooh-pooh, but forget what has happened in your own community.

He referred to the common practice of the "farmer's boy". I am too young to remember that, but I am sure that he does. [Laughter] I have heard of it and read about it in the history books. Unless society is careful, it can perpetrate such injustices, because if something is a custom, it is not noticed or criticised officially.

I agree that this debate and the action that we hope will result must be broadcast throughout Europe. We must begin with Westminster, the Scottish Parliament, the Welsh Assembly and Dáil Éireann as a way of spearheading a concerted and universal - or at least Western European - thrust to address these issues.

5.15 pm

Once again I thank the Members for their participation. They all indicated support for the motion, and I have not heard any voice in opposition. I thank them for their wealth of knowledge and their eloquence.

Question put and agreed to.

Resolved:

That this Assembly is appalled by the United Nations estimate that some 20 million people are living in slavery around the world under the bonded-labour system; expresses its concern over the repeated failures of Governments such as those of Pakistan, India and Nepal to take adequate measures to eradicate the use of bonded labour in their countries; calls on the British and Irish Governments to work with their European Union partners to sponsor a resolution at the next United Nations Commission on Human Rights condemning this practice; and urges the International Labour Organisation to ensure at its conference in June 2001 that independent and comprehensive surveys of the extent of bonded labour are carried out in countries where it persists.

Adjourned at 5.16 pm.

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