A/HRC/24/43 22. Malaysia is currently the world’s second largest producer of palm oil. According to a recent report, in order for Malaysia to “meet the growing global demand for cheaply produced palm oil, some producers are relying on forced labor and other forms of modern slavery”.14 Agricultural work is not an attractive form of employment for the majority of Malaysians. Therefore, men, women, and children – primarily from Indonesia and Philippines – migrate to Malaysia in order to work on these plantations. Many of these workers are undocumented, poor and isolated, making them extremely vulnerable to contemporary forms of slavery. The Secretary General of Indonesia’s Commission for Child Protection reported that tens of thousands of Indonesian migrant workers and their children had been “systematically enslaved” on Malaysian plantations. The number of Indonesian children in forced labour in Sabah, Malaysia, is estimated to be as high as 72,000. Children born at the plantations are not issued birth certificates, preventing them from attending school and forcing them to stay at the plantations and work. 15 23. ILO has reported that 69 per cent of child labour occurs in the agricultural sector, where there is a high incidence of the worst forms of child labour. 16 Because agricultural work is generally low-paid, carried out by temporary and migrant workers and occurs in isolated rural areas subject to little government oversight, both child and adult agricultural workers are vulnerable to contemporary forms of slavery. 24. A number of sources have reported that children are subjected to contemporary slavery in Ghanaian fisheries by “fisher-entrepreneurs”17 or middlemen who take them far from their homes to work in fisheries. Recruiters reportedly deceive families with promises of educational opportunities in exchange for a few hours of work each day. Children are also often promised cash or in-kind payments for their labour, such as a cow for boys or a sewing machine for girls.18 Parents may be offered an advance for their child’s work, thus placing the child in a situation of debt bondage. Lake Volta is a popular destination for child slaves, as fishery resources have been depleted and children are considered cheap sources of labour.19 Tasks in the fishing sector are gendered: boys paddle canoes, pull in nets and carry fish; girls sort, pack and transport fish; and both boys and girls are often tasked with deep-water diving to clear entangled nets. Children usually work six to seven days a week, at least 12 hours a day, and fishing expeditions can last for many days. These children are exposed to dangerous working conditions, long hours, sexual and physical abuse, and even death due to drowning, snake bites or physical abuse at the hands of boat or equipment owners.20 25. According to recent reports, migrant workers in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland are subject to contemporary forms of slavery in the construction sector. By nature, work in this sector is seasonal, time-sensitive and temporary, qualities that can lead to poor working conditions. Construction companies also 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Accenture (for Humanity United), Exploitative Labor Practices in the Global Palm Oil Industry. ILO Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations, observation concerning ILO Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182): Malaysia, adopted 2009, published 99th ILC session (2010). Available from www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/en/f?p=1000:13100:0::NO::P13100_COMMENT_ID:2309483. ILO, The end of child labour: within reach, Global Report (Geneva, 2006). Dela Afenyadu, “Child Labour in Fisheries and Aquaculture, A Ghanaian Perspective”, presented to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) workshop on child labour in fisheries and aquaculture in cooperation with ILO, Rome, 14–16 April 2010, p. 6. Available from www.faoilo.org/fileadmin/user_upload/fao_ilo/pdf/WorkshopFisheries2010/WFPapers/DAfenyaduChild_Labo urGhana.pdf. Ibid., p. 6. See ILO and FAO, FAO-ILO Good Practice Guide for Addressing Child Labour in Fisheries and Aquacutlure: Policy and Practice (2011). Afenyadu, Child Labour in Fisheries and Aquaculture, p. 9. 7