FIGHTING THE INTOLERABLE: A Human Rights Approach Against Child Labor

By Julio Bracero-Rodriguez

Imagine the following scenario. A 14-year old girl from the district of Cojutepeque, El Salvador, gets up every morning at 5:00 a.m. to get ready for work. After fixing breakfast for her family, she hops on a bus to make the 90-minute trip to San Salvador, the capital, where she works as a maid at the house 'de alguien que tiene mucho pisto' (of someone who has a lot of money). Part of her job requires her to cook meals for a family of seven, take care of two young boys, ages two and six, and clean a two-story house. Her patron does not allow her to go to school. Even if she did, she would have no time to study, much less to keep up with rest of her eighth grade classmates. Her employer has tried to sexually abuse her. She was able to attend night classes for a while, but most of her monthly US $26 goes to her family. She finishes work at 7 p.m. and, after the 90-minute trip back home, she has to prepare dinner for her family. Then she goes to bed, only to wake up the next morning and do it all over again.

Unbelievably, she is not alone. All over the world children are forced to work, giving up their childhood and risking their education, their health, and even their lives. They work under hazardous conditions in mines; are harmed by the chemicals used in agriculture; and are crouched for endless hours at looms to make carpets. Some toil for 12 hours a day in dark and silent factories, overworked and underfed. They are enslaved in domestic service and abused in the commercial sex trade. Their bodies are maimed and their minds traumatized from wars and civil conflicts. Child domestics in Central America, the fishing platforms (or jermals) in the straits of Malacca, the cocoa industry in Cote d'Ivory, child soldiers in Liberia, and the global network of the commercial sex trade - the examples are too numerous to mention and too egregious to ignore.

According to the International Labor Organization (ILO), there were some 352 million children aged five to 17 years engaged in some form of economic activity in the world in 2000 ¹. About 246 million of these children were engaged in what the ILO defines as child labor. Of these 246 million, nearly nine million were involved in the worst forms of child labor that are listed in ILO Convention No. 182. The majority of child labor is reported in developing countries. The ILO states that the Asia-Pacific region, the most densely populated of the world, accounts for the largest number of working children in the five-to-14 years age category at 127 million. It is followed by sub-Saharan Africa, and Latin America and the Caribbean with 48 million and 17 million, respectively. The problem in terms of the percentage of total children is most acute in sub-Saharan Africa (29 percent). Despite the overwhelming prevalence in the developing world, industrialized countries are not free of child labor. According to ILO estimates, there are more than 2.5 million children employed under illegal conditions in the developed world.

The consequences of this phenomenon are the same everywhere. Child labor has a direct impact on children's health and severely violates their basic rights, such as the right to an education, to be protected from discrimination and economic exploitation, and to have access to basic healthcare.

Child labor also perpetuates poverty. Many working children do not go to school and most grow up to become unskilled adults trapped in low-paying jobs. In turn, they look to their own children to supplement the parents' income, thus furthering a vicious cycle of poverty.

Child labor is not a new problem. While industrialization and technological advancements have brought a wave of progress through much of the world, it has left many millions behind. For example, in the last couple of years, huge supermarkets, American fast-food companies and an ever-expanding mall complex - the aptly named Plaza Mundo (World Plaza) - have been built in the city of Soyapango in El Salvador. Across the street from the mall, there are busy street markets that stretch for blocks. It is here that poor Salvadorans shop for goods, and it is here that Juan de la Cruz, a 9-year-old boy, first started working as a street vendor. Juan de la Cruz (left) with an unidentified friend. July, 2005. "I live with my parents and my brother and my sister, and I started selling two weeks ago," said Juan in an interview with me that took place in July 2005. "It was my idea. My mother works on the street selling clothes and I wanted to help her by selling candy. There are other children selling, so I guess it is ok." Parents usually ignore the full consequences of child labor. "In the case of Juan de la Cruz", says Victor Serrano, "ISNA could perfectly summon the mother - certainly not for criminal charges the first time - but to educate and make her aware of the dangers her child faces wandering alone in the street, such as getting hit by a car, being abducted, or being the victim of violence by adults, especially if he is carrying money. Not only the physical dangers, but the time it takes away from his formation, which will be important in his adult life."

Causes of Child Labor

Poverty creates and perpetuates the conditions for child labor. Most children work because their families are poor and their labor is necessary for survival. Some studies ² show that many poor households derive 20 to 35 percent of their income from child labor, most of which is spent on food. Victor Serrano ³ of the El Salvador Institute for the Integral Development of Childhood and Adolescents (ISNA) states that "in 2001, there were about 223,000 children between the ages of five and 17 working, representing 11.5 percent of the children of El Salvador." A lack of schooling, war, and disease are equally important causes of child labor, with poverty found all too oftenat the heart of these issues. HIV/AIDS, for example, has added insult to injury by heightening the labor crisis for children, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. By wiping out young adults, HIV/AIDS creates millions of orphaned children, who are forced to work in order to survive. With more than 13 million children under the age of 15 orphaned worldwide, communities and governments are stretched beyond their capacity to care for them. For many children, their options are reduced to hardship and labor, and they often find themselves becoming the caretakers of their families.

By creating these unfortunate circumstances, poverty and inequality open doors for the massive exploitation of children by patrons and companies seeking easy profits. Children are often employed and exploited because, compared to adults, they are more vulnerable, cheaper to hire, and less likely to demand higher wages or better working conditions. Families are lured towards letting their children work with false promises of a decent pay and three meals a day. Yet, four in five children work without pay, according to the ILO ⁴, and those that are paid receive much less than the prevailing rates in their localities, even compared to the legal minimum wages. The younger the age of a working child, the lower the wages are for him or her. A large majority of unpaid children are family workers engaged in domestic service and agriculture, especially in rural areas.

The desire for profits and unscrupulous business practices, compounded by weak governmental oversight and lax corporate regulations, further perpetuate this environment of exploitation and, therefore, child labor. The reason is simple: child labor is big business. While there are no official figures on how much profit is reaped from child labor, the United Nations (UN) estimates that the profits from human trafficking - $9.5 billion in 2003 alone - rank it among the top three revenue earners for organized crime, after drugs and arms ⁵. In 10 years, it is expected to become the top source of revenue. At least one million children worldwide are trafficked and forced into the world of commercial sexual exploitation, entrapped in a network that stretches from Southeast Asia to Latin America.

Variable gender beliefs throughout the world also contribute to the propagation of child labor, as women and girls can be particularly vulnerable to exploitation. In many cultures, girls are expected to become domestic workers; as a result, child labor, as a maid or servant, is considered a natural progression for most of them and is often seen as more valuable than education. Many girls are kept from attending school or forced to drop out, leading them eventually toward exploitative labor. Of the more than 110 million children worldwide out of school, nearly two-thirds are girls.

Finally, there are cultural factors to consider as well. Many parents question the value of a formal education and want their children to follow in their footsteps instead. For example, when government officials and local organizations visit rural communities in El Salvador to discuss the dangers of child labor, some locals question their motives. Serrano explains that "many farmers state they started working hard at a very young age, [and] it taught them a work ethic, responsibility, and work skills, so it could not be such a bad thing. They also say that working early keeps children out of gangs and other vices." Some farmers let their children finish the sixth grade and then take the children out of school and make them work in the fields. "From early on, we are taught that Salvadorans are hard workers so children have to carry that responsibility while growing up."

Working Towards Solutions

If poverty is the main determinant of child labor, then education is the solution. Education empowers, strengthens, and protects children in various ways. A great number of studies⁶ show that households with more education enjoy better health, both for adults and for children. Some economic advantages associated with education are better housing, cleaner water and latrine facilities, a more balanced diet, and greater labor market opportunities and choices for young men and women. Moreover, school attendance provides a wider social network and brings greater awareness of the outside world. Education is particularly beneficial for women. According to The World Development Report of 1993, published by the World Bank, maternal education has a greater impact on the reduction of child mortality than paternal education. The elimination of child labor and its replacement by universal education, for both boys and girls, will yield enormous benefits that are resistant to economic quantification.

A comprehensive and phased approach with a strong emphasis on education and rehabilitation is the best way to tackle child labor. That said, it remains without question that the worst forms of child labor, such as forced labor, pornography and prostitution, and illicit activities, should be banned. However, the outright banning of child labor itself, without educational and economical interventions from governments and international bodies, does not solve the problem and may make it even worse. For example, a 1997 study by the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) found that 5,000 to 7,000 Nepalese children turned to prostitution after the US banned that country's carpet exports in 1992. However, between 1997 and 1999, the Nepalese government and UNICEF carried out an educational program that benefited 239,000 children. The key to such interventions is to combine efforts with other programs that help families reduce their dependence on child labor. Such programs provide incentives for keeping children in school, set up training programs to counter adult unemployment, and help family enterprises become more efficient.

Other countries have made tremendous advances in reducing child labor. UNICEF, the ILO, and the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) reached an agreement in 1995 to end child labor in Bangladesh's garment factories. The government of Vietnam passed a law preventing child prostitution and rehabilitating affected girls under age 18. In 1997, the landmark Atlanta Agreement created a public-private program for the reduction of child labor in the soccer ball-stitching industry in Pakistan. This program was implemented by the ILO's International Program for the Elimination of Child Labor (IPEC) and UNICEF in partnership with the Save the Children-UK, local nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and the sporting goods industry. It provided for child labor monitoring and social protection programs, including education, awareness, and formation of local groups in villages to increase income generation for families.

The Declaration of the Rights of the Child boldly states: "Mankind owes to the child the best that it has to give…" Let us work to ensure ours' is the last generation of child laborers.

JULIO BRACERO-RODRIGUEZ is a medical student at Ponce School of Medicine, Puerto Rico and plans to pursue a career in pediatrics, with a special emphasis on primary care and global health. He has contributed extensively to both issues of Global Pulse, always tackling difficult but important issues. He can be reached for comment or questions at bracero5@yahoo.com.

Footnotes:

1. The results of this research were published in April 2002 in the report Every child counts: New global estimates on child labor and served as statistical input for A future without child labor: Globa Report under the Follow-up to the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work. Both are available on the ILO website.

2. Himes, J. R., et al. (1994), Child Labor and Basic Education in Latin American and the Caribbean: A Proposed UNICEF initiative. Innocenti essays no. 6. Florence: UNICEF International Child Development Center.

3. Serrano, Víctor. Personal Interview. July 19, 2005.

4. Statistics on Working Children and Hazardous Child Labor in Brief. By Kebebew Ashagrie, International Labor Office, Geneva. First Published 1997, revised April 1998..

5. US Department of State. 2004. Trafficking in Persons Report. Washington, DC, USA.

6. Gastal, Ana Claudia. Health Benefits of Eliminating Child Labor. International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labor, ILO. June 2003..

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1919 - International Labor Organization (ILO) adopts first international treaty on child labor, the Minimum Age (Industry) Convention No. 5, prohibiting children under the age of 14 from working in industrial establishments.

1948 - Universal Declaration of Human Rights - sets forth the human rights and fundamental freedoms of all men and women in all nations.

1959 - Declaration of the Rights of the Child states that children, by reason of their physical and mental immaturity, need special safeguards and care in order to develop physically, mentally, morally, and spiritually in conditions that protect their freedom and dignity.

1973 - Minimum Age Convention 138 adopted by ILO binds all ratifying countries to pursue a national policy for the abolition of child labor and to progressively increase the minimum age for employment, the age for work that is least likely to jeopardize the health, safety, or morals of young persons. According to the convention, that age is 18. To date, 120 countries have ratified C138.

1989 - Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), the landmark and first legally binding international instrument to incorporate the full spectrum of human rights for children, including civil, political, economical, social and cultural rights. It specifically states that "countries must recognize the right of the child to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health and to facilities for the treatment of illness and rehabilitation of health, and that no child should be deprived of his or her right of access to such health care services." It goes on to state that children have the right to be protected "from economic exploitation and from performing any work that is likely to be hazardous or to interfere with the child's education, or to be harmful to the child's health or physical, mental, spiritual, moral or social development." To date, 191 countries have ratified the CRC - every country in the world except the United States and Somalia.

1999 - Worst Forms of Child Labor Convention 182 adopted by ILO - calls for immediate and effective measures to prohibit and eliminate the worst forms of child labor: all forms of slavery, sale and trafficking of children, debt bondage, use of child prostitution or pornography, use of children in armed conflict, use of children in illicit activities such as the production and trafficking of drugs, and any work that is likely to harm the health, safety or morals of children.