Child labour robs children of childhood,
impedes development
UNICEF
6/12/2006 3:02:39 PM
12 June 2006
Many child labourers deprived of
school, healthcare and protection from violence
NEW YORK, – Hundreds of millions of
children are forced to work when they should be learning and
playing, which deprives them, their families and nations the
opportunity to develop and thrive, UNICEF said today.
“Children who are compelled to work
are robbed of childhood itself,” UNICEF Executive Director Ann M.
Veneman said today on the International Day Against Child Labour.
“The majority of child labourers are hidden from view and beyond the
reach of the law. Many of them are denied basic health care,
education, adequate nutrition, and the protection and security of
their communities and families.
Worldwide, there are an estimated 246
million children engaged in child labour. Some 180 million children
aged 5–17 (or 73 per cent of all child labourers) are believed to be
en¬gaged in the worst forms of child labour, including working in
hazardous conditions such as in mines and with dangerous machinery.
Of these children, 5.7 million are forced into debt bondage or other
forms of slavery, 1.8 million are forced into prostitution or
pornography and 600,000 are engaged in other illicit activities.
Veneman said that education, which is
a critical component of the protective environment that is needed to
shield children from exploitation, is a powerful means of preventing
child labour.
Removing barriers to school enrolment
is the focus of the School Fee Abolition Initiative launched in 2005
by UNICEF and the World Bank. UNICEF also works with the
International Labour Organization and other partners to promote
policies, raise resources and put in place practical measures to
combat child labour.
One such programme is the
UNICEF-supported Basic Education for Hard to Reach Urban Children (BEHTRUC)
project in Bangladesh, which has provided non-formal education to
346,500 working children, half of whom are girls, since 1997. The
children, as young as eight and as old as 14, were primarily doing
domestic work or toiling in factories. The government supports the
programme with a network of 151 non-governmental organizations and
provides stipends to the children’s families to compensate them for
the lost income.
In addition to being denied
education, children who work are frequent victims of maltreatment,
physical and psychological violence or abuse by supervisors,
co-workers and outsiders. Violence against children in the workplace
is one of five key areas to be addressed in UN Secretary General’s
Study on Violence Against Children, a global report to be issued in
October.
UNICEF’s efforts to protect children
from child labour and other forms of exploitation focus on creating
a protective environment for children. In a protective environment,
people at all levels of society work individually and together to
enforce protective laws, develop the necessary services, equip
children and those who work with children with the information and
skills they need to prevent and respond to abuse, and challenge all
forms of discrimination.
“Combating child labour requires
political leadership and broad-based partnerships,” Veneman said.
“It is everyone’s responsibility. Parents, community leaders, the
private sector and governments – must all take responsibility to
ensure that children are not exploited in the workplace.”
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