HYDERABAD, June 7: An orientation meeting held in the office of Strengthening Participatory Organisation (SPO) on Thursday called for activating the District Vigilance Committee (DVC).

The meeting organised by the Child Rights Committee of Society for Protection of Rights of Child (Sparc) was attended by members of the DVC, provincial coordinator on bonded labour Sparc, Gul Sadia of Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), Dr Hyder of the Green Rural Development Organisation (GRDO) and others.

The meeting was informed that around eight million people fall in the category of bonded labour in agriculture, mining, fishing and domestic work. It described domestic worker as the worst form of bonded labour and deplored that under the existing criminal justice system police were not so sensitised to take care of such issues.

Lack of understanding of issues regarding bonded labour on the part of police was also discussed in the light of Sparc’s efforts to resolve the problem.

It was further informed that Sparc had held interactive meetings with police officers in training academies in Karachi and Saeedabad. It was also disclosed that the matter was taken up with police authorities to get bonded labour laws included in the course of police training so that under-training policemen could have better idea of the situation.

It noted that the FIRs for violation of bonded labour laws were not being lodged by police, while liberated haris found it hard to reintegrate in the society as there was none to ensure their rehabilitation.

It was proposed that a planned struggle should be launched to ensure that liberated haris are rehabilitated after they are liberated or escaped from bondage.

It also noted that the DVC remained non-functional in Hyderabad district although it was formed by the outgoing Nazim. A room was allotted to the DVC's legal aid cell but it could not be made functional.