Picture book on child labour
Embrace
A picture book on combating the worst forms of child labour in shrimp and seafood processing industry in Thailand. It records some lively and notable moments of NGO partners and beneficiaries in action during the period of project implementation.
During the first half of 2014, three photojournalists travelled around seafood industry areas to document the work of the five local non-governmental organizations that have been, working for years to combat the use of child labour in Thailand’s seafood and shrimp industries as partners of the International Labour Organization.
Thailand has ratified the ILO Convention No.182 on the Worst Forms of Child Labour and the ILO Convention No. 138 on the Minimum Age for Admission to Employment and Work. According to the ILO, the term “child labour” is often defined as work which deprives children of their childhood, their potential and their dignity, and is harmful to their physical and mental development. It refers to work which 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 hours and heavy work. In its most extreme forms, child labour involves children being enslaved, separated from their families, exposed to serious hazards and illnesses and/or left to fend for themselves on the streets of large cities – often at a very early age. Not all work done by children should be classified as child labour and targeted for elimination. Children’s participation in work which does not negatively affect their health and personal development or interfere with their schooling is generally regarded as contributing to the children’s development and the welfare of their families.
Although child labour continues to exist in Thailand, local non-governmental and governmental organizations have made great progress. A small part of this effort has been documented by the photojournalists and published in this book in recognition of their contributions and as an inspiration for society to participate in future actions.
Thailand has ratified the ILO Convention No.182 on the Worst Forms of Child Labour and the ILO Convention No. 138 on the Minimum Age for Admission to Employment and Work. According to the ILO, the term “child labour” is often defined as work which deprives children of their childhood, their potential and their dignity, and is harmful to their physical and mental development. It refers to work which 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 hours and heavy work. In its most extreme forms, child labour involves children being enslaved, separated from their families, exposed to serious hazards and illnesses and/or left to fend for themselves on the streets of large cities – often at a very early age. Not all work done by children should be classified as child labour and targeted for elimination. Children’s participation in work which does not negatively affect their health and personal development or interfere with their schooling is generally regarded as contributing to the children’s development and the welfare of their families.
Although child labour continues to exist in Thailand, local non-governmental and governmental organizations have made great progress. A small part of this effort has been documented by the photojournalists and published in this book in recognition of their contributions and as an inspiration for society to participate in future actions.