Child Labor in the 21st Century

1
Child Labor in the 21st Century

• The Well-Being of Children in
• The Contemporary Global System

2
Labor Well-Being

• Rapid change in the contemporary global system
  clearly has its benefits
• Material well-being
• Human rights
• Just as clearly, it has heavy costs
• Traditional means of sustenance are not available
  to billions
• Jeopardy within the global economy is a serious
  problem

3
Re-emergence of Slavery

• Because some people are powerless and others are
  willing to exploit them, a new slavery has
  emerged
• Bonded workers
• Trafficking in women and children
• Illegal immigrants

4
Slavery Distinctions

• Chattel Slavery
• Legal
• People held deeds to other people
• Slaves were investments, therefore the slave
  owner had an incentive to keep the slave healthy

• The New Slavery
• Illegal
• People controlled rather than owned
• Slaves are disposable
• Continuing supply of desperate people to take
  advantage of or parents to pay off

5
Examples of Child Slavery

• Boys as soldiers, girls as wives
• Bonded workers who never leave the work site
• Sex slaves, mainly but not only girls
• Domestic workers

6
International Labor OrganizationConvention 182

• Addresses the worst forms of child labor
• Slavery
• Sex work
• Child soldiers
• Dangerous work
• Work that prevents the proper development of
  children

7
International ApproachTo Eliminating Child Labor

• Problem cannot be overcome with policies that are
  limited to domestic economies
• Global trade creates income opportunities for
  people able to exploit the labor of children
• Allowing the worst forms of child labor is unfair
  competition for legitimate workers
• Only a global attack has a chance of succeeding

8
Culture, Childhood Child Labor

• In all cultures, children work
• The issue the types of work and conditions of
  work
• Clearly in poorer countries, some families need
  the income of children
• Clearly in poorer countries, some education is a
  waste of time

9
Cultural Issues

• Who is a child?
• What should a child be allowed (be forced?) to
  do?
• How much education should be required for all
  children, and how should it be funded?
• Who decides, and when is it decided, who gets
  further education?

10
International Protection

• The general instruments
• Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Covenant
  on Economic, Social Cultural Rights, Covenant
  on Civil Political Rights
• Child specific instruments
• Convention on the Rights of the Child
• Convention on Womens Rights
• ILO instruments
• Conventions 138 and 182

11
US Participation in the Elimination Of Child
Labor

• Thanks to Iowas Senator Harkin, the US in many
  ways is in the vanguard of the attack on
  inappropriate child labor
• But the US has still ratified neither the
  Convention on the Rights of the Child nor the
  Convention on Economic, Social Cultural Rights
• How about the country you are studying?
• UICHRs Child Labor Rights Initiative