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It
is my great honour to welcome all of you to
Bangkok
.
This
is the first inter-regional planning workshop for the second phase of “Asia-Pacific
Economic Cooperation Awareness Raising Campaign:
Eliminating the Worst Forms of Child Labour and Providing
Educational Opportunities.”
In
addition to my colleagues in the ILO, it gives me great pleasure to see
here our key country-level, implementing partners from the labour and
education sectors in
Indonesia
,
Mexico
,
Peru
,
Philippines
,
Thailand
and
Vietnam
. These
include APEC government focal points, representatives from Ministries of
Labour and Education, employers, teachers’ unions, and civil society
groups.
The
fact that all of you have taken the time to be here shows your commitment
to promoting opportunities and improving the lives of the most vulnerable.
Child labour today
Today,
there are nearly 246 million child labourers worldwide, two-thirds of them
in the Asia Pacific region.
The
majority of this is child labour in its worst forms. As well as work that
is simply hazardous, this includes slavery, trafficking, debt bondage and
other forms of forced labour, forced recruitment of children in armed
conflicts, prostitution, pornography, and other illicit activities.
All
over the world, children are being forced to undertake work which damages
them psychologically and physically and deprives them of their childhood.
You know all too well the harsh predicaments facing these children and
their families in your own countries.
There
is now unprecedented international support for both the elimination of the
worst forms of child labour and the achievement of universal, quality,
basic education.
All
of you represent countries that have ratified the ILO Convention 182 on
the Worst Forms of Child Labour. This convention now has more than 150
ratifications and has led to the accelerated growth of the the largest
technical cooperation programme on this issue:
IPEC, or the International Programme on the Elimination of Child
Labour.
Poverty and education
Child labour is both a cause and consequence of poverty.
The key to breaking the vicious cycle, that traps millions into a lifetime
of poverty and deprivation, is basic education and skills development.
Good quality education and training, relevant to the needs of the local
economy, can allow poor families to escape the poverty trap. This benefits
not just families, but communities and nations as a whole.
History has shown how instrumental
education has been to the abolition of child labour, establishing a
skilled work force and promoting development based on principles of social
justice.
When dealing with the problem of child labour, it is important to look at
it as part of an entire life cycle. Every individual should have a fair
chance to fully develop and make smooth transitions - from childhood to
youth, to adulthood and working-life, and to old age.
There is a clear need to focus on decent and productive employment for
young people, and the school-to-work transition. In
this region, eighteen per cent of the population, or about 605 million
people, are between 15-24 years. Another 30 per cent are below 15 years.
Youth unemployment rates are three to six times higher than adult
rates.
The APEC initiative
Like
the ILO, APEC has consistently recognised the crucial connection between
education and economic growth. The region will not be able to sustain
growth and economic development if a segment of its youth cannot achieve
their full potential.
In
2001, this regional initiative was launched. This was in response to
demand within APEC to do something about the worst forms of child labour
and the lack of educational opportunities for the poorest children.
This
initiative was endorsed by the APEC Human Resources Development Working
Group with the ILO as the executing agency and financial support from the
United States Department of Labor. In
the next session, you will be able to discuss in more detail the
background to this initiative, the key achievements and lessons learned.
Phase one
The first phase has shown strong stakeholder
involvement and an impressive breadth of materials and activities on a
limited resource base. As a result the United States Department of Labor
has provided additional financial support.
Our task now is to see how we can make an even greater
impact, both at regional level and in our own countries.
We will also examine how we can work more closely with APEC, both
at regional and country levels. This
will be crucial if we are to make a significant impact.
There will a valuable opportunity tomorrow morning to discuss this
further with the presence of Dr. Chira Hongladarom Lead Shepherd of the
APEC HRD Working Group and all the APEC government focal points here
today.
The next phase
In this next phase we hope to see stronger links between efforts to
eradicate child labour and promote human resources development, and
economic growth. Skills training, youth employment and the Asia Pacific
Skill Development Programme are all relevant to what we are trying to
achieve. We should also exploit any synergies between this initiative and
our efforts to promote Decent Work for women and men at all stages of
life.
You will have a chance to explore these themes, and others, tomorrow, with
Lin Lim, the ILO’s Deputy Regional Director.
It will be remiss of me if I do not take a moment to mention the massive
earthquake that took place off the coast of
Sumatra
on
26 December 2004
.
It caused a wave (tsunami) of such force bringing death and
destruction to a large part of our region.
The countries will need to respond to the loss of lives and
livelihoods, displaced populations as well as the children who are
vulnerable to the worst forms of child labour and trafficking.
The ILO estimates over 1 million job losses in
Indonesia
and
Sri Lanka
. We have
been very active in addressing the devastation caused by the tsunami with
immediate support to these countries.
We are now beginning to respond to the recent request by the Indian
government. Let me also say
how grateful I am to those of you from
Indonesia
who have come for this workshop despite the hardships you are currently
experiencing in your country. This
shows your strong commitment to improving the lives of the most
vulnerable.
I believe you will have a very worthwhile and fruitful exchange of ideas
over the next three days. And I hope you will enjoy the opportunity to map
out a future implementation framework among such a stimulating group.
I look forward to hearing the results.
We will also have the chance to chat in a more informal environment this
evening, at the welcome reception.
To
conclude, I look forward to working with all of you for a future where
children are not forced to work in hazardous conditions. Where they have
the opportunity to learn and time for play.
Let us work together for a childhood with hope of a future where
dreams can come true. A future
where no child is left behind.
Thank you.
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