Child Labour: A more differentiated view

Child Labour: A more differentiated view

Kindernothilfe is a member of the Deutsches Forum Kinderarbeit (the German Anti Child-Labour Forum). This is an alliance of six organisations that joined forces in 2000. They work and campaign together for a more differentiated treatment of the issue of child labour and to achieve the implementation of the rights of working children.

Picture: Christoph Engel 

There is no one form of child labour
There are about 218 million working children and young people across the world between the ages of 5 and 14 years old. Approximately 126 million 5 to 17 year olds work under the most terrible conditions. Nevertheless, it is necessary to differentiate as the forms and causes of child labour are extremely varied.

The Anti Child-Labour Forum is critical of the fact that the latest report of the International Labour Organisation of June 2006 only makes a feeble attempt to offer a differentiated picture of the child labour issue: "Child labour is not always child labour. The ILO does not pay enough heed to this aspect. Although one finds constant references to differentiation, these are ignored in the summarising statements."

Kindernothilfe in the Global March
The Global March was a highlight of Kindernothilfe's involvement in combating child labour. On 17 June 1999 in Geneva, 174 membership countries of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) adopted "The Convention Concerning the Prohibition and Immediate Action for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour" Kindernothilfe offered highly committed backstopping in the deliberation and decision making processes. This was preceded by the global campaign "Global March Against Child Labour" which involved some of the children affected as well as a wide public, trade unions and many organisations including Kindernothilfe.
The new convention (ILO No. 182) stipulates that the ratifying countries are to take active measures against

• all forms of slavery of children;
• debt-bondage (the payment of the parents' debts through the labour of their children);
• the trafficking of children;
• prostitution and pornography with children;
• the compulsory recruitment of children for use in armed conflicts;
• and all forms of exploitation or endangering of children;

Over and above this they undertook to enable the girls and boys in question to have immediate and free access to primary education and vocational training programmes and/or provide these. To render account on developments, all signatories must periodically submit reports on the situation and measures taken by their governments.