ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This report was written by Zama Coursen-Neff,
counsel to the Children's Rights Division of Human Rights Watch, based
on her research in India in March 2002. Smita Narula, senior researcher
for the Asia Division at Human Rights Watch, contributed to the research.
The report was edited by Smita Narula; Lois Whitman, executive director
of the Children's Rights Division of Human Rights Watch; and Ian Gorvin,
consultant in the Program Office of Human Rights Watch. James Ross,
senior legal advisor, provided legal review. Michael Bochenek, Widney
Brown, Arvind Ganesan, and Carol Pier also reviewed the report and provided
helpful comments. Tamara Enhuber provided additional research assistance.
John Emerson designed the map. Veronica Matushaj, Patrick Minges, and
Dana Sommers provided production assistance.
Human Rights Watch would especially like
to thank the following individuals and organizations for their generous
and valuable assistance in the course of researching this report: M.
John of India Community Development Service Society, Movement for Alternatives
and Youth Awareness, People's Watch, Lenin Raghuvanshi of People's Vigilance
Committee for Human Rights, Gilbert Rodrigo of Legal Resources for Social
Action, and Vikasa.
Human Rights Watch is also grateful to
Manu Alphonse of the Tamil Nadu People's Forum for Social Development,
Swami Agnivesh of the Bonded Labour Liberation Front, the Campaign Against
Child Labour, the Centre for Education and Communication, Concerned
for Working Children, Ossie Fernandez of the Human Rights Advocacy and
Research Foundation, Joseph Gathia of the Centre of Concern for Child
Labour, Prakash Louis of the Indian Social Institute, Mahaveer Jain,
Professor B.N. Juyal, Professor Babu Mathew, Vivek Pandit, Mathews Philip
of the South India Cell for Human Rights Education and Monitoring, Kiran
Kamal Prasad of JEEVIKA, Helen R. Sekar, Kailash Satyarthi of the South
Asian Coalition on Child Servitude, Alakh N. Sharma of the Institute
for Human Development, Professor Sukhadeo Thorat, and R. Vasantha of
WENA-GUIDE. Human Rights Watch also thanks the government officials
who agreed to be interviewed for this report.
Most of all, we thank the many children
who spoke with us, recounting their personal experiences of hardship
and bondage. Without them this report would not have been possible.
Finally, we acknowledge with appreciation
the support of the Ford Foundation and the Ladenburg Foundation, which
provided funding that has enabled Human Rights Watch to pursue caste
and gender-related research and advocacy in India; and the Oak Foundation
and the Independence Foundation, which support our work on children's
rights.
Human Rights Watch
Children's Rights Division
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The staff includes Kenneth Roth, executive
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Nations representative. Jonathan Fanton is the chair of the board. Robert
L. Bernstein is the founding chair.
Its Children's Rights Division was established
in 1994 to monitor and promote the human rights of
children around the world. Lois Whitman
is the director; Jo Becker is advocacy director; Michael Bochenek
and Zama Coursen-Neff are counsel; Clarisa
Bencomo and C. Anthony Tate are researchers; and Dana Sommers and Colin
Relihan are associates. Jane Green Schaller is chair and Roland Algrant
is the vice-chair of the advisory committee.
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