International Labor Organization

3 Pages 756 Words

The International Labor Organization (ILO) estimates that 250 million children between the ages of five and fourteen work in developing countries – at least 120 million full time. Sixty-one percent of these are in Asia, 32 percent in Africa, and 7 percent in Latin America. Most working children in rural areas are found in agriculture; urban children work in trade and services, with fewer in manufacturing, construction and domestic service. Only an estimated 5 percent of child laborers work in export industries.

Article 32 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child protects children from economic exploitation and work that is likely to be hazardous to the child’s development, or to interfere with the child’s education. It calls on states to take legislative and other measures, including sanctions and penalties, to guarantee this protection to children.

Those addressing the issue of child labor are sometimes divided on how to proceed and consider a range of different approaches. Some urge that child labor be eliminated quickly and aggressively, including through the use of trade sanctions when countries or industries fail to act decisively. Some call for reforming the conditions in which children work with a view toward gradual elimination. Some believe that work plays an important and positive role in children's lives and in their relations with their families, and seek reform, but not an end to child labor.

A simple approach of requiring employers to discharge all child workers can lead to devastating results for children removed from the workplace. Children discharged from work can find themselves on the street in prostitution or crime, or working in even worse conditions and for less pay. In tackling the issue of child labor, consideration of the immediate and direct consequences for working children and their families cannot be underestimated. The removal of children from the workforce can have devastating results fo...