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ILO and Japan (in Japanese) |
I am very pleased to be given the opportunity to speak along with the representatives of the government, the employers' organization and workers' organization on behalf of NGO. It is also a great honor to speak in front of distinguished and experienced women forerunners. The ACE, the Action against Child Exploitation, which has become a specified nonprofit organization this year is tackling with the issue of elimination of child labour that deprive children of their rights. We have been collaborating in some areas with the ILO. Today, I would like to make three points in relation to child labour.
1. Continuity of partnership with NGOs
Some examples of domestic partnerships: Our press conference on soccer balls and child labour dubbed the World Cup Campaign was held with the attendance of Ms. Mitsuko Horiuchi, the Director of the ILO Office in Japan and Mr. Abe, Director of International Department of the Japan Trade Union Confederation (JTUC-RENGO). In the past four years, we have been holding events in cooperation with the ILO to raise public awareness on the World Day against child labour. Some previous speakers pointed out that the ILO should be make itself better known to younger people, and so, as far as child labour is concerned, we have already been active in that pursuit. For example, about 150 young people, 50 more than the auditorium capacity, participated in the Youth Workshop on the theme of trafficking on 12 June 2003. This meeting triggered cooperation and partnership among the ILO and a number of NGOs that address child labour in Japan. Last year, we founded the Child Labour Network, a platform to share information and develop action against child labour. On the World Day against Child Labour this year, the Network organized and conducted a March against Child Labour after the ILO Workshop, to which about 150 people participated.
As for cooperation overseas, the output document of the ICFTU Congress that was held in Miyazaki in 2004 noted in its paragraph on child labour the partnership with the NGOs, and referred to the Global March Network against Child Labour. Global March Network, to which ACE participates, was the first NGO to be present at the ILO Conference when they were discussing the adoption of Convention No. 182 on the worst forms of child labour. It is often the case that the IPEC activities around the world are conducted with the participation of the local NGOs.
Business production bases are now becoming much smaller in scale and child labour is used in such establishments. Children's voices are not represented in the ILO tripartite structure. The NGOs are the one who can represent their views, so the NGOs views need to be reflected.
2. Providing information and coordination (government, business, trade unions, NGOs, citizens and other ILO offices)
The ILO has been sending out a lot of information on child labour but few are in Japanese. The ILO Office in Japan has been active in public awareness raising through translation of booklets and creation of Japanese brochures, and we hope the Office will continue such efforts. As for coordination, the Office coordinated with the ILO Office in India to organize a study tour for trade unionists as part of their campaign to combat child labour and to observe ILO child labour projects carried out by IPEC in cooperation with trade unions and employers. We were given the opportunity to participate in this tour. Actually, many activities are jointly carried out by the ILO constituents and other organizations. Providing information and coordination are important so as to publicize child labour, for instance to inform the fact that as many as 264 million children are engaged in child labour, and to increase the number of people who will work together on this issue.
3. Promotion of international cooperation
Child labour is deeply rooted in poverty. Promotion of basic education, which is one of the Millennium Development Goals, will not be easily attained unless we address child labour. The U.S. Government in collaboration with the Government of India and through the ILO, co-funded half of the 40 million dollar project. The Netherlands Government is now drafting a policy paper on child labour to be positioned in its international cooperation. The Japanese Government has provided support to the Asian Regional Conference for five years, but the ODA contribution directed to child labour issues cannot be described as large. We, as a NGO, would call on the Japanese Government to enhance their efforts, but would also look to the ILO Office in Japan, as a catalyst for inter-governmental cooperation, to urge and promote Japanese government's cooperation on child labour.
The Declaration of Philadelphia states that "Poverty anywhere constitutes a danger to prosperity everywhere" and I understand the ILO is an organization that conducts international cooperation, further tackling issues related to human security as well as issues that encompass more than one country. Child Labour perpetuates poverty. Working children who miss schools grow up to be parents without good jobs and their children will also become child laborers. This is a vicious cycle. Unless we cut off this sequence, it will have effects on other areas of ILO work such as reducing unemployment or improving working conditions. It could be said that eliminating child labour would lead to the solution of all other issues.
In addition to the three points mentioned above, I would like to add that response to globalization is another issue expected from the ILO. The WTO coordinates the economic interests among countries, but the ILO needs to play a role in reflecting the voices of the workers. In the context of globalization, a lot of expectations are held with the ILO.
Thanks to our recent collaboration with the ILO Office in Japan, we have received increased media coverage that helped raise awareness on child labour issues. We hope that the ILO will continue to support our activities, and at the same time we will aim to strengthen our collaboration with the ILO.