History & policy timeline

Laws, government declarations, movements and research on bonded labour in Nepal from 1926 to today, each with its source.

  1. 1926: Slavery abolished in Nepal. The government of Prime Minister Chandra Shumsher Rana abolishes slavery. Debt bondage in agriculture, including the Kamaiya system, continues. Sources: Kamaiya Freedom Movement (n.d.); Examining a Rights Based Approach to the Development of the Ex-Kamaiyas of Western Nepal (2004).
  2. 1990: Constitution prohibits slavery and serfdom. The 1990 Constitution of the Kingdom of Nepal prohibits slavery and serfdom, but no law follows to end bonded labour in practice. Sources: Kamaiya Freedom Movement (n.d.).
  3. 1998-07: ILO study of the Kamaiya system. The ILO publishes a study of the Kamaiya system of bonded labour in Nepal. Sources: The Kamaiya System in Nepal (1998).
  4. 2000-05-01: The Kamaiya freedom movement begins. Nineteen Kamaiyas petition the Geta VDC office in Kailali, demanding the government minimum wage from their landlord. By June, 676 Kamaiyas in five districts have filed petitions for freedom. Sources: Kamaiya Freedom Movement (n.d.).
  5. 2000-07-17: Government declares the Kamaiya system illegal. The cabinet decides to make the Kamaiya system of bonded labour illegal. By 2002, 32,509 Kamaiya families are identified in Dang, Banke, Bardiya, Kailali and Kanchanpur. Sources: Kamaiya Freedom Movement (n.d.); Liberation Induced Conflict (2014); Rehabilitation Status (n.d.).
  6. 2002: Bonded Labour (Prohibition) Act, 2058. The Act prohibits bonded labour, cancels outstanding bonded debts and provides for the rehabilitation of freed labourers. Sources: Bonded Labour (Prohibition) Act, 2058 (2002); Nepal Law Commission.
  7. 2002-01: Nepal ratifies the ILO Forced Labour Convention. Nepal ratifies ILO Convention No. 29 on forced labour. Sources: ILO press release, 4 September 2007.
  8. 2007-08-16: Parliament approves ILO Convention No. 105. Nepal's Legislative Parliament approves ratification of the ILO Abolition of Forced Labour Convention. Sources: ILO press release, 4 September 2007.
  9. 2008-09-06: Government declares the Haliya system abolished. The government abolishes the Haliya system of bonded labour in the western hills and cancels Haliya debts. About 20,000 people are affected. Sources: Freedom for 20,000 people as Nepal abolishes bonded labour practice (2008).
  10. 2010: Bonded Labour (Prohibition) Regulations, 2067. Regulations set out how the 2002 Act is to be implemented. Sources: Nepal Law Commission (the official file was not reachable online on 17 October 2026).
  11. 2013: National survey of forced labour in agriculture. An ILO survey of 12 districts finds forced labour in 12 per cent of households, rising to 94 per cent of Haruwa-Charuwa and Haliya households. Sources: Forced Labour of Adults and Children in the Agriculture Sector of Nepal (2013).
  12. 2013-06-27: Government declares the Kamlari system abolished. The government declares an end to the Kamlari system, under which Tharu girls were sent to work as bonded domestic servants. Sources: The History of Kamlari in Nepal (2014); Kamlahari Movement in Nepal (2018); The Himalayan Times, 9 September 2024.
  13. 2015-09-20: Constitution of Nepal: right against exploitation. The new Constitution guarantees a right against exploitation (Article 29), prohibiting trafficking and forced labour. Sources: Constitution of Nepal, 2015 (Constitute Project).
  14. 2021-01: National survey of brick-kiln labour. A national survey of 301 brick kilns finds 6,229 workers in forced labour and 1,035 in bonded labour, and 17,032 children in child labour. Sources: Report on employment relationship survey in the brick industry in Nepal (2021).
  15. 2022-07-18: Government declares Haruwa-Charuwa labourers free. Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba declares Haruwa-Charuwa agricultural bonded labourers free, the first such declaration for this group. Sources: The Harawa-Charawa's liberation (2023); The Freedom Fund, 18 July 2022.
  16. 2025-06-17: ILO analysis of freed Haliyas in Karnali. An ILO assessment in Surkhet, Jajarkot and Humla finds that almost all ID-card-holding families received some government rehabilitation support, but most did not receive the full package. Sources: Analysis of situation of the freed-Haliyas in Karnali Province of Nepal (2025).
  17. 2026-08-07: Nepal ratifies the Protocol to the Forced Labour Convention. Nepal deposits its ratification of the ILO's 2014 Protocol to the Forced Labour Convention. Sources: ILO news, 11 August 2026.