NHRC seeks MEA report on Odisha workers held captive in Thailand

The National Human Rights Commission has sought a report from the Ministry of External Affairs after media reports claimed that six workers from Odisha were held captive in Thailand without pay or proper food for six months

New Delhi: The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has taken suo motu cognisance of a media report that at least six Indian workers from Odisha’s Kendrapara district have been held captive by their employer without salary and proper food for the last six months in Thailand.

The incident reportedly came to light on February 17, after the victims recorded a video message describing their plight.

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In the video, they alleged that they were being confined inside a factory, subjected to physical and mental torture, and denied wages and adequate food.

Observing that the contents of the news report, if true, raise a serious issue of violation of human rights of the victims, the apex human rights body has sought comments from the Union Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on whether assistance could be extended to the families of the affected workers.

The NHRC has asked the MEA to submit its response within a week.

According to the media report published last week, the workers had travelled to Thailand in August last year through a labour contractor who had promised them employment with a good salary. However, upon reaching the country, they were allegedly forced to work for nearly 12 hours a day in a plywood factory without payment of wages or adequate food.

In their video appeal, the workers further alleged that their employer had confiscated their passports and appealed to Indian authorities to facilitate their safe return to the country.

Established under the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993, the NHRC, an autonomous statutory body, is an embodiment of India’s concern for the promotion and protection of human rights. Its primary role is to protect and promote human rights, defined as the rights relating to life, liberty, equality, privacy and dignity of individuals guaranteed by the Constitution or embodied in international covenants and enforceable by courts in India.

The apex human rights body has the power to take suo motu (on its own motion) action based on media reports, public knowledge or other sources, without receiving a formal complaint of human rights violations.