A South Asian sub-regional consultative workshop on Combating Trafficking in Children for Labour ExploitationÓ was held in Oct., 1998. It was attended by participants from Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan & Sri Lanka. The objectives were to: present the national studies on trafficking in children for labor exploitation in Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan & Sri Lanka; share experiences among countries on what has been done at the policy & operational level to combat trafficking in children; & identify relevant activities at the national, bi-lateral & sub-regional levels, as well as action programs that could be integrated in the U.N. framework for action.

At least two hundred thousand women and children from South-East Asia are trafficked annually. This figure represents nearly one third of the global trafficking trade. This study reviews what is known about trafficking in the region and provides a thorough overview of the viewpoints that have been developed within South-East Asia. It also discusses problems faced in the fight against trafficking and highlights priority areas for the development and implementation of counter trafficking programmes and initiatives.

This book both considers labour migration in its totality, showing how the divide between illegal and legal migration is often blurred, and also examines how governmental and international measures to counter illegal migration are translated into action on the ground, and what impact on all kinds of migration they have in practice.

Based on operational reviews in nine countries of Central and West Africa as the first phase of the ILO-IPEC sub-regional project "Combating trafficking in children for labour exploitation in West and Central Africa", discusses the influence of tradition and customs on the causes and consequences of trafficking and initiatives to combat the problem.

Child labour is a serious and contentious issue throughout the developing world and it continues to be a problem whose form and very meaning shifts with social, geographical, economic and cultural context. While the debate about child labour practice in developing countries appears to be motivated by growing competition in labour intensive products brought about by globalization, studies on this issue are both sparse and lopsided. This important book aims to shed light on this debate by documenting the experience of South Asian developing countries which have experienced rapid income and export growth. Based on evidence from Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, this volume aims to improve our understanding about the link between trade, growth and child labour practices, as well as management of child labour in developing countries.