Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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Question 156: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will provide an update on such work as is taking place at the United Nations or through its agencies to deal with the issue of bonded labour and, in particular, child bonded labour; and Ireland's role in contributing to these efforts. [6972/06]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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Article 42 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child recognises the right of the child to be protected from economic exploitation and from performing any work that is likely to be hazardous or to interfere with the child's education, or to be harmful to the child's health or physical, mental, spiritual, moral or social development. The main UN agency dealing with the issue of bonded labour — a form of forced labour where workers are tied or "bound" to their employer, often through forms of indebtedness — is the International Labour Organisation, ILO. The ILO, founded in 1919, is the only surviving creation of the Treaty of Versailles, which brought the League of Nations into being. It became a specialised agency of the UN in 1946 and seeks to improve working and living conditions through the adoption of international labour conventions and recommendations setting minimum standards in such fields as wages, hours of work and conditions of employment. It also conducts research and technical co-operation activities to promote democracy and human rights, alleviate poverty and protect working people. The ILO is unique in the UN system, given its tripartite organisation comprising representatives of governments, employer groups and worker groups.

The ILO's work on bonded labour and child bonded labour takes place in the framework of its international labour standards, which are international legal instruments. The Forced Labour Convention 1930 (No. 29), the Abolition of Forced Labour Convention 1957 (No. 105), as well the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention 1999 (No. 182) and the Minimum Age Convention 1973 (No. 138) are the main ILO standards in this area. ILO global reports on forced labour in 2001 and 2005 have highlighted the continuing importance of the issue. The 2005 report estimated that the number of victims of forced labour is 12.3 million. The reports also highlight the forced labour dimensions of human trafficking. The ILO has also played a critical role in highlighting the plight of over 246 million children in child labour and has sought to tackle this issue through its International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour, IPEC. Ireland strongly supports the work of the ILO and was elected as a deputy member of its governing body for a three-year term in June 2005.

The Government, through its official aid programme, supports the ILO special action programme to combat forced labour. Total Government funding for this programme between 2003 and 2006 will amount to €1.6 million. The programme tackles issues of bonded labour in Asia, forced labour and human trafficking in Europe and forced labour among indigenous peoples in Latin America. The programme has had considerable impact worldwide in galvanizing international action on forced labour. The Government has also provided support of more than €600,000 to an ILO programme in Albania, Moldova and Ukraine, which focuses on employment, vocational training and migration policy measures to prevent and reduce trafficking in women.

In his address to the international labour conference last June, my colleague, the Minister responsible for labour affairs, Deputy Killeen, reiterated Ireland's intention to continue supporting the ILO's work in this area and urged other donors to do likewise. Ireland and the EU have also raised this important issue at meetings of the UN Commission on Human Rights.