A/HRC/33/46 34. Also in India, the Centrally Sponsored Scheme for Rehabilitation of Bonded Labourers, introduced in 1978, establishes that the cost of rehabilitation grants is to be assumed on an equal basis by the central Government and the states, and provides Rs. 20,000 in compensation per labourer. 35. In Nepal, the Bonded Labour (Prohibition) Act, 2058 (2002) abolished bonded labour in the country. 52 The 2002 Act makes null and void all the debts contracted by persons in debt bondage and requires the establishment of freed bonded labourer rehabilitation and monitoring committees in a number of districts. The 2002 Act provides for penalties and fines for perpetrators. In 2010, the Ministry of Land Reform and Management presented a haliya system (prohibition) bill, setting out the rights of freed haliya, and establishing a rehabilitation fund, a case litigation and appeal process, and provision for punishment. However, the bill has not yet passed into law. In May 2011, the Government issued the “Freed haliya rehabilitation and monitoring guidelines”, which mandated district-level task forces to update the information on freed haliya and to distribute identification cards to them within six months of their being identified. 36. In Pakistan, the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1992 abolished bonded labour throughout the country. The Act prohibits any loan or advance under the bonded labour system, or compelling a person to render any form of forced labour. It also extinguishes all obligations to repay any bonded debt and provides for 2 to 5 years’ imprisonment for perpetrators and/or the imposition of a fine of PRs. 50,000. The law mandates provincial governments to set up district vigilance committees, for implementation of the law and the rehabilitation of bonded labourers. The Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Rules, 1995 established the responsibility of various implementing agencies and mandated the setting up of a fund for the rehabilitation of freed bonded labourers. In 2001, the Government developed the National Policy and Plan of Action for the Abolition of Bonded Labour, in which the Government committed itself to eradicating bonded labour and developing the rehabilitation fund. 53 37. In Mauritania, Act No. 2015-031 of 10 September 2015 criminalizes slavery and punishes slavery-like practices including debt bondage. 54 The Act provides for the possibility of third parties (those who have benefited from legal personality for at least five years) taking legal action and being a party in the proceedings (section 23). 38. In Germany, subjecting a person under the age of 21 to debt bondage is penalized under the Criminal Code (section 233 (1)) with a term of imprisonment of between 6 months and 10 years.55 In Australia, the offence of debt bondage is penalized by 4 years’ imprisonment, under section 271.8 of the Criminal Code. 56 Furthermore, the Government of Australia has adopted the National Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking and Slavery 2015-2019, which includes actions to combat debt bondage. Other measures include the setting up in 2015 of Task Force Cadena to tackle serious incidents of illegal work, visa fraud and worker exploitation, with a focus on industries such as food production and agriculture, and the establishment of the Ministerial Working Group Protecting Vulnerable Visa Holders to consider policy options to protect vulnerable foreign workers in Australia. 52 53 54 55 56 14 Submission from Anti-Slavery International. Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research, “Effectiveness of interventions for the release and rehabilitation of bonded labourers in Pakistan”, p. 11. ILO, “Application of international labour standards 2016 (I): report of the Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations”, p. 200. Submission from Germany. Submission from Australia. GE.16-11363