ILO to seek new Convention aimed at abolishing extreme Forms of Child Labour
GENEVA (ILO News) - Backed by growing international support for abolishing extreme forms of child labour, the International Labour Organization (ILO) is to seek a new Convention and Recommendation aimed at bringing an immediate halt to hazardous, exploitative working practices that confront millions of children with daily, work-related stress, exposure to injury, illness and death, and deprive them of a normal life.
GENEVA (ILO News) - Backed by growing international support for abolishing extreme forms of child labour, the International Labour Organization (ILO) is to seek a new Convention and Recommendation aimed at bringing an immediate halt to hazardous, exploitative working practices that confront millions of children with daily, work-related stress, exposure to injury, illness and death, and deprive them of a normal life.
According to the results of recent national surveys contained in a comprehensive brief entitled "Abolishing Extreme Forms of Child Labour" and released worldwide by the ILO, at least one-third and in some countries, up to two-thirds of the children queried were employed in hazardous industries or sectors, including construction, mining, quarrying, transport or agriculture that are even dangerous for adults. In many instances, girls suffered more than boys, as they were more susceptible to injury and illness.
The ILO found that some 50 percent of working children surveyed described their work as stressful, up to 60 percent said they returned to their homes exhausted and up to 80 percent said they had no days off or free time.
"While we know and must accept that the ultimate eradication of child labour is contingent on growth and equitable forms of development, there are certain forms of abusive and exploitative forms of child labour for which there can be no alibi, whether economic or cultural," says ILO Director-General Michel Hansenne. "These can and must be identified, confronted and eliminated without further delay."
The brief has been issued prior to the International Labour Conference of the ILO on 2-18 June. The annual gathering of governments, and representatives of workers and employers will discuss the new Convention and Recommendation for the first time. On the basis of this year's discussion and subsequent comments by member States, the ILO will prepare a report for the 1999 Conference which can decide on the final adoption of new standards.
Among the events expected to highlight the issue during the Conference is a "global march against child labour" which began earlier this year in all the regions of the world, and will see hundreds of young people and activists converging on the ILO headquarters and the Conference venue at the United Nations Office in Geneva calling for the abolition of child labour.
The extent of hazardous child labour
The ILO surveys found that 25 percent of all children between the ages of 5 and 14 were economically active (27 percent of the boys and 22 percent of the girls). Of these, between 33 and 67 percent of the boys and 27 and 69 percent of the girls were employed in hazardous work. In the construction sector, 26 percent of working children sustained injuries or illnesses while on the job. In the mining and quarrying sector, the figure was 16 percent, in transport/storage/communication 18 percent and in agriculture 12 percent.
Some 70.4 percent of all working children in the countries surveyed are employed in agriculture, hunting, forestry and fishing, the study found, while other percentages, by sector, are: manufacturing (8.3percent); wholesale and retail trade, restaurants and hotels (8.3 percent); community, social and personal services (6.5 percent); transport, storage and communication (3.8 percent); construction (1.9 percent); and, mining and quarrying (0.9 percent).
Of the estimated 250 million child workers in developing countries who work full or part-time, 61 percent are in Asia, 32 percent are in Africa and 7 percent in Latin America. Although Asia has the largest number of child workers, Africa has the highest incidence at around 41 percent of children between 5 and 14 years old. The corresponding proportion in Asia is approximately one-half of the level in Africa (22 percent) and it is 17 percent in Latin America.
While most child labour is found in developing countries, industrialized economies are not entirely free of the scourge either. In Eastern and Central Europe, for example, child labour has been reappearing in the wake of social and economic dislocation caused by the transition to a market economy.
New standards to be debated
Discussion at the International Labour Conference - the annual meeting of the International Labour Organization - will focus on new international labour standards aimed at extreme forms of child labour: work that is likely to jeopardize the safety, health and morals of children; slavery and practices similar to slavery; and child prostitution and pornography.
Over the past few years, there has been growing interest in adopting new ILO standards which would focus on such child labour abuses. The decision of the ILO Governing Body to put the subject on the agenda of the Labour Conference was reinforced by a Resolution adopted by ILO member States at the 1996 Labour Conference stating that within the context of the progressive elimination of child labour, there was a need "to immediately proceed with the abolition of its most intolerable aspects...".
Member States reaffirmed this interest in replies to a questionnaire on the possible content of new standards. A record number of 116 governments, with an almost equal number of employers' and workers' organizations, expressed overwhelming support. The range of comments reflected a consensus that the persistence and seriousness of the child labour problem warranted renewed international action focused specifically on extreme or intolerable forms of child labour.
A new Convention on child labour
The Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138) and its accompanying Recommendation No. 146 are the most recent and comprehensive ILO instruments aimed at the abolition of child labour. They are the pillars of ILO action to promote improved national policy and legislation, and in designing technical cooperation to combat child labour.
Convention No. 138 is and will remain the fundamental international standard on child labour - its goal is the total abolition of child labour - but it also allows for progressive implementation and improvement. While it is recognized that eliminating child labour will take time, there are certain kinds of child labour which cannot be tolerated and require immediate action.
There has been growing international consensus that there should be a new standard focused on the worst forms of child exploitation which would make the intolerable the priority for national and international action.
New international standards would put into one legal instrument all extreme forms of child labour. This would not in any way make existing instruments less important, but would bring into a sharper focus the kinds of measures needed to suppress the most dangerous and hazardous work of children. New standards will reinforce the objective of Convention No. 138: the total abolition of child labour.
The proposal for a new Convention would require measures for the immediate suppression of all extreme forms of child labour; call for criminal penalties; specify that measures of prevention, removal of children from extreme forms of child labour, and rehabilitation of child victims are to be taken; and call for steps towards mutual cooperation or assistance in giving effect to the provisions of the Convention.
The proposed Recommendation would call for adopting national programmes of action which would protect the very young; protect girls; include measures for prevention, rehabilitation and social integration; raise awareness and mobilize society; establish monitoring mechanisms to ensure effective application: determine the most hazardous work; compile data; designate certain activities as criminal offences; and take effective enforcement measures.
"There is overwhelming support among ILO constituents for putting an end to the intolerable exploitation and abuse of children in hazardous work and conditions of slavery and practices similar to slavery," says Mr. Assefa Bequele, Director of the ILO's Working Conditions and Environment Department. "Such exploitation and abuse not only jeopardize the physical and mental well-being of children but are also gross violations of their human rights and dignity."
Why new standards for Child Labour?
- To identify priority areas of action in the fight against child labour.
- To focus on all extreme forms of child labour in one standard.
- To ensure that immediate action is taken to suppress extreme forms of child labour.
- To protect children and young persons in all countries, irrespective of the level of development.
- To call for more specific and effective action against extreme forms of child labour.