This report is a study of the reasons why bonded labor, a contemporary form of slavery, persists in India, Nepal and Pakistan. In particular, it examines the effectiveness of state interventions against bonded labor. This report reflects the main findings of research carried out by CEC, GEFONT and PILER between 2004 and 2006 into some of the obstacles to the eradication of bonded labor, the reasons why bonded labor persists, and into the interventions that have been made since anti-bonded legislation came into force in South Asia. It includes a number of recommendations which if fully implemented would lead to the eradication of bonded labor in South Asia.