A/HRC/31/56 through State practice, with local governments and municipalities employing manual scavengers.50 73. This rigid and stratified allocation of work results in Dalits having not only limited job opportunities, but also lower wages, 51 particularly in rural areas.52 74. In Japan, the Buraku face job discrimination. Hiring detectives to investigate the background of job applicants is reported to be common.53 Research highlights that, if investigations result in the person being considered as Buraku in origin, the individual is likely not to be further considered in the selection process. Despite the amendments to the Basic Resident Registration Act and to the Family Registration Law to restrict access to the family registry (Koseki), professionals who have access, including public notaries, lawyers and judicial scriveners, are allegedly often paid to obtain such information. 54 Intersectionality between caste and contemporary forms of slavery 75. Discrimination based on caste increases the vulnerability of affected groups to contemporary forms of slavery. 55 Research indicates that forced and bonded labour is widespread within caste-affected communities, despite legal bans.56 In South Asia, Dalits comprise the majority of people subjected to domestic bonded labour, and a large number of victims of trafficking in persons, sexual slavery and other forms of labour exploitation are members of low castes.57 76. In Nepal, in the agricultural sector, Haliyas (“ones who plough”) are labourers effectively caught in a debt bondage system. They plough the land, a task considered dirty.58 They are often forced to take out loans from landowners to cover personal expenses and are charged exorbitant rates of interest, making their debts extremely difficult to pay back and effectively trapping them in a never-ending cycle of submission. According to civil society reports, despite criminalization by the Government in 2010, the practice still persists and there is currently no legislation in place for the rehabilitation of Haliyas. 59 77. In Pakistan, Dalits, who are mainly minority Hindus, are disproportionately affected by forced and bonded labour, particularly in the Sindh and Balochistan provinces. 60 78. In Mauritania, the Haratine are the ethnic group most associated with slavery, suffering from discrimination, marginalization and exclusion as the “slave caste”, although 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 See A/HRC/15/55 and Corr.1, para. 75. ILO, Equality at Work: Tackling the Challenges (2011), pp. 43 and 44. “Caste-based discrimination in South Asia”, p. 5. Kenzo Tomonaga, “The International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination and Buraku discrimination” in Descent-Based Discrimination (International Movement against All Forms of Discrimination and Racism, 2004), pp. 47-48. Buraku Liberation League and International Movement Against All Forms of Discrimination and Racism – Japan Committee, report to the Human Rights Committee on disclosure of evidentiary materials for just and fair justice systems, and the right to privacy and the Japanese family register system “Koseki Seido”(2013). See A/HRC/24/43, para. 15. Bethan Cobley, “International consultation on caste-based discrimination” (International Dalit Solidarity Network, 2012), p. 21. See A/HRC/17/40, para. 33. See A/HRC/24/43, para. 16. Asian Legal Resource Centre, submission to the universal periodic review of Nepal (2015), p. 4. Anti-Slavery International, Poverty, Discrimination and Slavery: The Reality of Bonded Labour in India, Nepal and Pakistan (2008), p. 14. 15