INTERNATIONAL
EVENTS TO MARK WORLD DAY AGAINST CHILD LABOUR
12 JUNE 2005
(ILO news) –
Removing more than one million children who work in mines
and quarries from one of the worst forms of child labour will
be the focus of events around the world marking the World
Day Against Child Labour on 12 June.
In Geneva, Switzerland, where
the International Labour Organization’s annual conference
is in session, the World Day will be observed on Friday, 10
June, at a special event highlighting the commitment of concerned
governments and representatives of workers and employers in
the mining industry to join with the ILO in inaugurating a
global initiative to eliminate child labour in small-scale
mines and quarries.
The World Day Against Child
Labour was established by the ILO in 2002 to raise the visibility
of global and local efforts against child labour and highlight
the global movement to eliminate the practice, particularly
its worst forms. According to the ILO, there are nearly 250
million child labourers worldwide. Approximately one million
of these children work in mining and quarrying. This is considered
a Worst Form of Child Labour under ILO Convention No. 182,
which covers “work in hazardous environments, where
children are exposed to toxic chemicals, dangerous machinery
or extreme heat.” Convention No. 182, adopted in 1999,
and Convention No. 138 on the Minimum Age, adopted in 1973,
are among the ILO’s most widely ratified conventions.
“Children who work in
mines and quarries are directly in harm’s way, risking
their health and safety – and indeed their lives,”
said Juan Somavia, Director-General of the ILO. “These
children carry too heavy a burden. It’s up to us to
lift this weight from their shoulders. We can get children
out of mines and quarries and into schools.”
Nearly all children involved
in small-scale mining and quarrying are in so-called artisanal
work sites located in remote, hard-to-reach areas, making
them difficult to regulate and hindering efforts to assist
the children working there. Children as young as five can
be found working in and around mines and quarries. Most often,
children enter the mining and quarrying sector because they
and their families are poor or because there are no educational
facilities. The areas where the small-scale mines exist offer
few alternatives for employment, and children are expected
to share the burden of earning income for the family.
In some mines, children work
as far as 90 metres beneath the ground with only a rope with
which to climb in and out, inadequate ventilation and only
a flashlight or candle for light. In small-scale mining, child
workers dig and haul heavy loads of rock, dive into rivers
and flooded tunnels in search of minerals, set explosives
for underground blasting and crawl through narrow tunnels
only as wide as their bodies. In quarries, children dig sand,
rock and dirt; transport it on their heads or backs; and spend
hours pounding larger rocks into gravel using adult-sized
tools to produce construction materials for roads and buildings.
The health risks range from
spinal injuries and deformities from carrying loads that are
too heavy to potentially fatal rock falls and chronic diseases.
These are compounded by the environmental hazards, such as
the soil, water and air that may be contaminated with toxic
substances like mercury or other heavy metals. Clean drinking
water, health services and schools are often unavailable,
especially in the more remote areas. Even where schools and
clinics are available, work obligations often prevent child
labourers from enjoying their benefits. In addition, such
work often puts children at risk for involvement in the drug
and alcohol trade and in prostitution, which are also considered
worst forms of child labour under C. 182.
The ILO has set specific standards
concerning mining, most recently through the Safety and Health
in Mines Convention, 1995 (No.176), and Recommendation, 1995
(No.183). In 1999 and 2002, ILO tripartite meetings on mining
recommended active measures against child labour in small-scale
mining. Since then, the ILO’s International Programme
on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC) has undertaken a
number of technical cooperation projects to demonstrate how
child labour in mining and quarrying can be stopped.
The ILO believes the problem
of child labour in small-scale mines can be solved. The number
of children involved is large but not overwhelming, and work
sites, while remote , are concentrated in particular areas.
IPEC’s pilot projects in Mongolia, Tanzania, Niger and
the Andean countries of South America have shown that the
best way to assist children in this sector is to work with
the children’s own communities, improving the viability,
safety and environmental sustainability of the small-scale
mining economy, and improving future prospects of the children
through accessible, decent schools, training and basic services.
While no empirical
research has been done, anecdotal evidence in Sri Lanka suggests
that older children between 14 and 18 work in sand mining.
As quarrying and mining has been identified as a hazardous
form of child labour and is included amongst a list of 50
hazardous forms, it is important to further establish this
and take necessary action. Marking world day against child
labour in Sri Lanka, the ILO sponsored a meeting for media
personnel to raise awareness on child labour, especially its
worst forms and hazardous forms. The media was also sensitized
on the importance of child friendly reporting procedures and
the penal code offences that could be committed by misreporting.
A poster on the theme for this year has been reproduced in
the local languages and will be distributed throughout the
year.
For more information:
Shyama Salgado,
National Programme Manager : C/o ILO-IPEC Project Office,
131/4 Thimbirigasyaya Road,
Colombo 5:
Tel: 2592304/2507900
Fax: 2502692:
e-mail: slsipec@sltnet.lk
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