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Child Labor

OVERVIEW The International Labor Organization defines child labor as work that deprives children of their childhood, potential and dignity, and work that is harmful to physical and mental development. It is widely recognized as work that children shouldn’t be doing because they may be too young, or if they are of the proper age to work, because it is dangerous or otherwise unsuitable for children. Child labor typically refers to work that is mentally, physically, socially or morally dangerous and harmful to children; and interferes with their schooling by depriving them of the opportunity to attend school; obliging them to leave school prematurely; or requiring them to attempt to combine school attendance with excessively long and heavy work.1

Child labor is an urgent problem for many children around the world. On average, one in seven children can be classified as a child laborer. In June of 2015, UNICEF estimated that there were approximately 150 million children worldwide engaged in child labor.2 Child laborers especially vulnerable to long-term impacts of child labor, and are at high risk of illness, injury and sometimes death, in addition to the negative mental and social impacts that

harsh labor can have on children.

In least developed countries the influence of child labor is great, with

nearly one in four children ages 5 through 14 engaging in labor that is detrimental to their health and development.3 Child labor tends to be concentrated in the informal sector of the economy, but the types of work can include agricultural labor, mining, manufacturing, domestic service, construction, begging, force labor and sexual exploitation.

1 "ILO." What Is Child Labour (IPEC). International Labour Organization. Web. 27 Jan. 2016. 2 "Prevalence of Child Labour." UNICEF - UNICEF STATISTICS. Web. 27 Jan. 2016. 3 UNICEF STATISTICS.

"Few human rights abuses are so widely condemned, yet so widely practiced. Let us make child labor a priority. Because a child in danger is a child that cannot wait.” Kofi Annan, Former UN Secretary General

A child laborer in the fashion supply chain in Uzbekistan. Photo courtesy of the Guardian online.

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HISTORY OF THE ISSUE

Child labor has been an important topic throughout most of human history, with employment records of child labor dating back to the late 1700’s with the development of factories and power-driven machines.4 As early as 1832 American working groups were officially condemning child labor, with the first US state-level child labor law passed just four years later requiring factory children to attend school a minimum of 3 months per year. However, the first organized group to advocate against child labor wasn’t established until 70 years later in the United States, when Jane Addams founded the Juvenile Protective Association in 1901.5 The International Labor Organization (ILO) was founded in 1919 driven by one of their central goals to abolish child labor. Throughout the 20th century many prominent international organizations in addition to the ILO adopted this goal of regulating child labor to eventually end the widespread practices of child labor. The first international action relating to child labor was taken at the Minimum Age Convention in 1973, which set a general minimum age for admission to employment at 15 years old and the minimum age for hazardous work at 18.6 The inclusion of child labor standards in international law has grown since this first conference, although many international organizations and governments around the world are still seeking to stop the practices of harmful child labor.

CAUSES OF CHILD LABOR

Barriers to education Basic education is not free in all countries and is not always easily accessible for children, specifically in developing nations and remote rural areas. Even where schools may be available, the quality of education may be poor. For many families, schooling is unaffordable, or may not be perceived as a viable alternative to work.7

4 "A History of Child Labor | Scholastic.com." Scholastic Teachers. Scholastic. Web. 5 "Timeline of Child Labor Developments in the United States."Stopchildlabor. Web. 6 Timeline of Child Labor. 7 "Causes of Child Labor." International Labor Organization, 2011. Web.

A UN.org advertisement combating child labor. Graphic from UN.org online.

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Cultural tradition Often stemming from a lack of education, parents are typically more likely to support a cultural norm in which labor is seen as the most productive use of a child’s time.8 Many societies are bound by the cultural tradition that expects children to help other members of the family with work, sometimes at a young age. Market demand Many employers prefer to hire children as an alternative form of labor, paying lower wages or even no compensation at all. It is easier for employers to let go of child laborers if the need for labor changes, and children performing hazardous work are less likely to complain of poor working conditions or demand better treatment. Poor enforcement of laws National laws and policies to protect children do not always align with the international standards. The resulting differences in enforcement of these laws intended to regulate the workforce often leads to the continuation of child labor in many countries around the world. Poverty Poverty is the most compelling reason why children work. Poor families use their money to buy food, and the income that comes from working children may be necessary for a family’s survival. For many families in abject poverty, there is no alternative to their children working.

This graphic, courtesy of National Geographic online, shows the overarching trends in child labor worldwide including the regional breakdown, total number and family employment.

INTERNATIONAL ACTIONS

Following the 1973 Convention on the Minimum Age for Admission to Employment the international community took action to address the issues fueling Child Labor. In 1999 the UN hosted Convention No. 182 on the Worst Forms of Child Labor, which defined these worst forms to include practices similar to slavery, the use of a child for prostitution, the use of a child for illicit activities, and work which is likely to harm the health, safety, or morals of children.

8 UN News Centre.

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The International Labor Organization is one of the largest bodies that handles the regulation of child labor and tracks the progress made in combating these practices. In November 2006, the ILO declared that 183 Member States of the organization had set the goal to eliminate all worst forms of child labor by 2016. The UN seeks to combat this problem by working collaboratively between different UN agencies, connecting the ILO to a wider network that aims to promote concern with child labor such as UNICEF and IPEC.9 This network came together in 2010 at the Child Labor Conference, in The Hague in May 2010. The Dutch Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment organized this conference in close collaboration with the ILO, UNICEF and the World Bank.

BLOC POSITIONS

Asia and the Pacific Asia-Pacific is recognized as an active economic zone, but is also home to more working children than any other region in the world. The region has almost 78 million, or 9.3% of child population, involved in child labor. Child laborers are a prominent part of many aspects of the economy, and the ILO has called for increased education as a key to solving this issue. Sub-Saharan Africa Sub-Saharan Africa continues to be the region with the highest incidence of child labor, with 59 million children – over 21% of child population – in hazardous work. Despite a global decline of child labor, Sub-Saharan Africa continues to be the region where progress has been the slowest and least consistent. Latin America and the Caribbean There are 13 million (8.8%) of children in child labor in Latin America and the Caribbean. The ILO generally attributes this number to high rates of unemployment, informality and discouragement in the workforce.

9 "Convention on the Rights of the Child." Amnesty International USA. Web.

This graphic shows regional distribution of nations at risk for high levels of child labor, with red being the most extreme. Business Insider.

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Middle East and North Africa In the Middle East and North Africa, 9.2 million children are engaged in child labor, which is 8 percent of all children in the region.10 Many countries in the region have made great strides in eliminating child labor, and those that faced the least progress were significantly effected by large-scale conflict. Europe and North America The majority of the countries in Europe and North America are minimally affected by child labor today, often leading the efforts to end children performing hazardous work.

CASE STUDY

Child Labor in India Child labor has been a problem in India throughout the country’s history. It is very common for families to migrate from rural areas seeking employment in industries, leading to children working in hazardous environments doing work such as carpet making, spinning mills, and cottonseed production. Human trafficking and other worst forms of child labor are also prevalent in the Indian economy. The reliance on child labor stems from extreme poverty – in a country of 1.2 billion people, 400 million of them are very poor.11 In an effort to counter the economic incentive for child labor, the government turned to education, passing legislation guaranteeing free, compulsory primary education.

10 "Middle East & North Africa." Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor -. Department of Labor. Web. 11 "Child Labor: India's Hidden Shame - BBC News." BBC News. 5 Feb, 2014. Web.

Fast Facts:

• 1989- The United Nations General Assembly adopts the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), the most comprehensive document on the rights of children. It is the longest U.N. human rights treaty in force and unique in that it not only addresses the granting and implementation of rights in peacetime, but also the treatment of children in situations of armed conflict.

• 2000 – The International Labor Organization’s Convention 182 becomes international law. This convention defines and condemns the worst forms of child labor, which include slavery, forced recruitment for armed conflict, prostitution, trafficking, and any other “work which, by its nature… is likely to harm the health, safety or morals of children.”

• 2013 – The International Labor Organization releases quadrennial estimates that reveals a drop of 47 million child laborers over the last four years internationally, leaving 168 million youth still in child labor and 85 million trapped in hazardous work.

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Despite this accomplishment, many children in India still face barriers to education that often lead them to child labor, specifically in its worst forms, agriculture and manufacturing. Another obstacle in overcoming child labor in India is the disagreement between state governments and national bodies. The Indian Constitution gives state governments primary responsibility for the enforcement of labor laws, but since there is no national minimum age for employment, there are differences in enforcement and practice. Although India has shown considerable progress in recent years

to solve the issue child labor, the process of drafting and passing legislation has impeded the effort to eradicate child labor. In 2012, legislation was proposed to prohibit work for children under the age of 14, ban hazardous work for children under age 18, and increase penalties for violations of the law related to child labor, but this proposed legislation is still pending approval by the Parliament. These failures in law enforcement are not the only reason that child labor is especially common in India. Market demand is another force driving children to enter into hazardous opportunities for work, as the Indian economy continues to grow.

However, India shows true potential for correcting the issues that have allowed child labor to continue. The government has established several social protection programs to address the root causes of child labor, and launched an online human trafficking portal to coordinate state and national efforts through the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Did you know that June 12

each year is World Day

Against Child Labor?

Children working in India, where child labor is not completely illegal. Photo courtesy of the Wall Street Journal.

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LINKS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH

International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labor

http://www.ilo.org/ipec/programme/lang--en/index.htm

United Nations Resources for Speakers

http://www.un.org/en/globalissues/briefingpapers/childlabour/index.shtml

World Day Against Child Labor

http://www.un.org/en/events/childlabourday/background.shtml

UNICEF Data

http://data.unicef.org/child-protection/child-labour.html

Amnesty International

http://www.amnestyusa.org/our-work/issues/children-s-rights/convention-on-the-rights-of-the-child?id=1101777&n1=3&n2=78&n3=1272

International Labor Organization

http://www.ilo.org/global/standards/subjects-covered-by-international-labour-standards/child-labour/lang--en/index.htm

QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER:

• How can the global community work together to eliminate harmful child labor? • How can international organizations, such as the ILO, the UN, and UNICEF, create

solutions that apply to all nations, even ones at different stages of eliminating child labor?

• What must be included in a resolution to progress the goal of ending child labor? • What is your country’s responsibility in the reduction of child labor? Are they

leaders in combating the issue or in need of assistance to address it? • Who can your country work with throughout the resolution process to advance

the goal of ending child labor worldwide?