THE JOURNEY SO FAR

 It is okay for children to help their families in various ways that are neither harmful nor exploitative. Millions of children around the world help their families to survive.The situation changes to child labour when these children are used in ways that are exploitative or detrimental to both their physical and mental health.  According to the 2008 Resolution II adopted during the 18th International Conference of Labour Statisticians, the term ‘child labour’ covers:  The worst forms of child labour, including slavery; prostitution and pornography; illicit activities; and work likely to harm children’s health, safety or morals, as defined in ILO Convention No  Employment below the minimum age of 15, as established in ILO Convention No  Hazardous unpaid household services, including household chores performed for long hours, in an unhealthy environment, in dangerous locations, and involving unsafe equipment or heavy loads.

© A girl makes bricks at a factory in the Shahdra neighbourhood, north of Lahore, capital of Punjab Province.

 According to the UNICEF 2011 State of the World’s Children report, it is estimated that around 150millions of children age between 5 & 14 in developing countries, about 16% of all children in this age group, are involved in child labour.  Also, the International Labour Organization (ILO), throughout the world, around 215 million children under the age 18 work, many full time. In Sub-Saharan Africa, 1 in 4 children aged between 5 & 17 work, compared to 1 in 8 in Asia Pacific and 1 in 10 Latin America.

 Child Labour reinforces the intergenerational cycles of poverty  It impedes the progress being made towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals  Encourages drop out children of among school age

 Child labour continues to decline, but only moderately – a 3% reduction in the four year period covered by the new estimates ( ). In the previous report (covering the period 2000 – 2004), there had been a 10% decrease.  The global number of child labourers stands at 215 million, only seven million less than in  Among 5-14 year olds, the number of children in child labour has declined by 10% and the number of children in hazardous work by 31%. Whilst the number of children in hazardous work, often used as a proxy for the worst forms of child labour, is declining, the overall rate of reduction has slowed.  There are still 115 million children in hazardous work. There has been a 15% decrease in the number of girls in child labour and a 24% decline in the number of girls in hazardous work.

 Boys, however, saw their work increase, both in terms of incidence rates and in absolute numbers. The extent of hazardous work among boys remained relatively stable. There has been an alarming 20% increase in child labour in the years age group – from 52 million to 62 million.  Regarding children aged 5-14 in economic activity the Asian-Pacific region and Latin America and the Caribbean experienced a decrease in contrast to the same age group of children in Sub-Saharan Africa.  The situation is particularly alarming in Sub-Saharan Africa, where 1 in 4 children aged 5-17 are child labourers, compared to 1 in 8 in Asia-Pacific and 1 out of10 in Latin America and the Caribbean.  Most child labourers continue to work in agriculture (60 per cent). Only 1 in 5 working children is in paid employment. The overwhelming majority are unpaid family workers.  There has been considerable progress in the ratification of ILO standards concerning child labour, namely of Conventions 182 (on the worst forms of child labour) and 138 (on minimum age). However, one third of the children in the world live in countries that have not ratified these conventions. Source: ILO FACTS ON CHILD LABOUR 2010