VZCZCXRO2407
RR RUEHBI RUEHCI
DE RUEHNE #0022/01 0071229
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 071229Z JAN 10
FM AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 9084
RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHDC
INFO RUCPDOC/USDOC WASHDC
RUEHCG/AMCONSUL CHENNAI 5463
RUEHCI/AMCONSUL KOLKATA 4681
RUEHBI/AMCONSUL MUMBAI 4485
RUEHKA/AMEMBASSY DHAKA 2607
RUEHLM/AMEMBASSY COLOMBO 2209
RUEHIL/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD 6552
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 8714

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 NEW DELHI 000022 
 
STATE FOR G/TIP MARK TAYLOR; G LAURA PENA/DAVID YOUNG 
DEPT LABOR FOR ILAB MEUGENIO 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ELAB PGOV ETRD KTIP KOCI PHUM SOCI USAID IN
SUBJECT: NEW CONVERGENCE PROJECT CONTINUES U.S.-INDIA PARTNERSHIP TO 
ERADICATE CHILD LABOR 
 
¶1.  SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Labor (USDOL)-funded project, 
"Converging Against Child Labor: Support for India's Model," 
provides new momentum for the partnership between the U.S. and India 
in eradicating child labor.  Implemented by the International Labor 
Organization (ILO), the USD 6.85 million convergence project builds 
on the previously successful USD 40 million U.S.-India INDUS Child 
Labor Project.  The successor project explicitly aims at child labor 
trafficking and seeks to leverage the benefits of existing GOI 
welfare schemes at the grassroots level.  A pre-launch stakeholder 
workshop in Bhopal attended by Poloffs provided insights into the 
strong level of commitment by state government officials.  The 
Government of India (GOI) and ILO plan to formally launch the 
project in early 2010.  The project demonstrates the value of 
seeking partnerships with the GOI to help it overcome India's 
societal problems. END SUMMARY. 
 
CONVERGENCE MODEL TAKES UP AFTER INDUS 
----- 
 
¶2.  The U.S. Department of Labor (USDOL) is providing USD 6.85 
million in funding for a child labor project in India.  The project, 
"Converging Against Child Labor:  Support for India's Model," builds 
on the tremendous success of the USD 40 million joint USG-GOI Indus 
Child Labor Project that ended in March 2009, after rescuing over 
100,000 child laborers.  The selected sites for the project are: 
Bihar (Sithamari and Katiyar), Gujarat (Vadodara and Surat), 
Jharkhand (Ranchi and Sahibganj), Madhya Pradesh (Jabalpur and 
Ujjain), and Orissa (Cuttack and Kalahandi).  The International 
Labor Organization (ILO) will implement the new project, which seeks 
to prevent and eliminate hazardous child labor, including the 
trafficking and migration of children for labor.  The project will 
demonstrate a sustainable convergence model at the grassroots level 
that leverages the benefits of various GOI social welfare programs 
(tapping into millions of dollars of additional funds).  The goal is 
to tackle child labor more effectively by supporting economic 
rehabilitation of families in tandem with educational rehabilitation 
of children.  The project targets over 48,000 current and potential 
child laborers between the ages of 5 and 17. 
 
¶3.  The ILO began preliminary project work by convening state-level 
stakeholder workshops in Patna, Bihar and Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh in 
December, and will hold similar meetings in Gujarat, Orissa, and 
Jharkhand in early 2010.  The GOI and ILO expect to formally launch 
the project in February or March 2010.  Embassy Poloffs attended the 
stakeholder workshop in Bhopal on December 21-22, 2009, which 
comprised approximately 60 attendees.  Participants included 
representatives from various state agencies, unions, and NGOs in 
addition to experts from colleges.  The participation of senior 
state officials was a demonstration of the Madhya Pradesh state 
government's strong commitment to the project and to eradicating 
child labor.  State Labor Minister Jagannath Singh inaugurated the 
workshop, while Labor Secretary Sewaram and Labor Commissioner 
Pramod Kumar Das participated in the entire two-day workshop. 
Several participants recalled the tremendous success of the INDUS 
project and expressed hoped that the new project would achieve 
similar gains.  Some participants asked the ILO and state government 
officials to ensure that the project had sufficient consultation 
with and support from the community at the grassroots level. 
 
TRAFFICKED AND MIGRANT CHILD LABOR 
---- 
 
¶4.  A principal objective of the project is the prevention of 
trafficking and migration of children for labor.  This is the first 
time a child labor project has explicitly recognized the problem of 
trafficking of children for labor, and demonstrates recognition by 
the GOI and Indian states of this issue.  During the workshop, state 
officials admitted that migration of children, especially during the 
agricultural season, was a problem and that the Madhya Pradesh 
wanted to learn ways to better handle it.  In closing remarks, Labor 
Commissioner Das stressed that the project would be very useful in 
helping Madhya Pradesh further tackle child labor, and Labor 
Secretary Sewaram exhorted participants to actively participate to 
derive the project's full benefits. 
 
 
COMMENT:  PARTNERING WITH INDIA WORKS 
----- 
 
¶5.  The GOI's continuing focus on child labor is significant since 
 
NEW DELHI 00000022  002 OF 002 
 
 
children form the most vulnerable segment of bonded and forced 
laborers in India.  State governments' active participation in 
addressing the problem is crucial in India's federal system.  The 
GOI sees the convergence project as an important building block to 
further advance its goal of eliminating child labor.  The project's 
holistic approach and focus on leveraging various GOI welfare 
programs at the grassroots level have not been attempted in the 
past.  If successful, the GOI plans to expand the model to other 
districts that suffer from child labor.  The convergence project not 
only continues the U.S.-India partnership against child labor but 
demonstrates the value in seeking to partner with the GOI to help 
India overcome its societal problems. 
 
 
ROEMER