NEPAL: Child Labour in the Nepalese Carpet Sector: A Rapid Assessment (2002)

An assessment to explore the relationship between child labour and the Nepalese carpet industries.

Following a number of studies and research projects, the government of Nepal and the ILO/IPEC identified Nepalese carpet factories as the location of one of the worst forms of child labour. The evidence provided by previous studies, however, was insufficient to prove whether the work of children in carpet factories is actually .one of the worst forms of child labour. This Rapid Assessment was done as an attempt to fill gaps in existing knowledge, and further explore the relationship between child labour and the wider carpet economy. The findings are drawn from an analysis of the state of the Nepalese carpet sector and the complex relationship to processes and causes. The study combines a profile of child labourers and their families with an analysis of the conditions in which children work. This report also includes a review of existing interventions to combat child labour.