Child Labour: Losing formative years

One in six children in the world today is involved in child labour, a complex and challenging issue that defies simple solutions. The Terre des Hommes approach to this problem is guided by the best interests of the child and by a commitment to children’s human rights as enshrined in the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Children do many different sorts of work in widely divergent conditions. The work takes place along a continuum. At one end of this continuum work can help the child to improve his or her situation without interfering with schooling, recreation and rest. At the other end, it is both destructive and exploitative. In reality much child labour falls into a grey area between these two extremes.

Those children working in exploitative and hazardous circumstances have no fair chance of a real childhood, an education or a better life. Today, 8.4 million children are trapped in slavery, trafficking, debt bondage, prostitution, pornography and other illicit activities.

Child labour takes place in a variety of industries and in many parts of the world. The vast majority of children involved work in the agricultural sector where they may be exposed to dangerous chemicals and equipment. Others are street children having to fend for themselves. Some are domestic or factory workers (information from the ILO). The largest single employment of girls is in domestic work. Child domestics never have a work contract and are thus at the mercy of their employers. They receive little or no pay, must carry out physically demanding tasks, are poorly fed and receive inadequate medical care.

Children work because their own survival and that of their families depends on it, and child labour persists even where it has been declared illegal, frequently surrounded by a wall of silence and indifference.

Terre des Hommes adapts its responses to the situation of individual children and their communities and acts in their best interests, running projects to protect children from being caught up in exploitative and harmful forms of labour and providing rehabilitation and care for those for whom prevention has failed. Terre des Hommes also provides support and education for working children in the absence of other alternatives, and assists them in making their voice heard so that their living conditions can be improved.

On the advocacy side, Terre des Hommes raises awareness about exploitative and harmful forms of labour and informs children about their rights and ways of implementing them.

World Day against Child Labour – Education the right response to child labour - June 12, 2008

Terre des Hommes International Federation takes the opportunity of the World Day against Child Labour to reaffirm its position that the worst forms of child labour, as defined by ILO Convention 182, as well as all exploitative and harmful forms of labour should be immediately eliminated and that any work children undertake, should be compatible with the principles of the best interests of the child and the right to education and should not jeopardise their future.

Terre des Hommes calls upon all stakeholders to strictly employ a human rights approach when addressing situations of child labour. Education plays a crucial role in this direction, as it enhances the child’s knowledge and life skills as well as it develops the sense of human dignity and self-confidence. The right to education means that children should be able to access education, and that such education should be of quality and correspond to the expectations of the children and their communities.

Terre des Hommes would like to remind all stakeholders that as stated by the Committee on the Rights of the Child, ‘education goes far beyond formal schooling to embrace the broad range of life experiences and learning processes’. In this context, the role played by the family, community and civil society remains crucial. States should and cannot ignore such a fact, which requires a truthful partnership regarding existing problems both in the formal and informal education. Terre des Hommes remains committed to support such an ongoing exchange and to link it up with State policies and practices.

Education should transmit to children respect for human rights, but unfortunately abuse and violence against children within the education system also occur, even though it remains often unreported. The first step in addressing it, is through open debates on violence and abuse against children within the education system, accompanied by transparent procedures of reporting and follow-up. Terre des Hommes has also evidenced that another reason why children drop out of school is that the education received does not correspond to the wishes and needs of the children and their communities. Terre des Hommes calls for improvements in the quality of education.

Some of our projects to combat the exploitation of child labour

India : Providing Alternatives to Child Labour

Resettlement colonies in East Delhi are feeder labour markets for the export oriented Indian garment units. The poor educational infrastructure and low quality of education is one of the major reasons for low enrolment and high drop-out rates in the area, which force children to enter the labour market. Terre des Hommes (Germany) aims to prevent child labour and traffi cking in source areas in Bihar as well as in the places to which children are migrating in Delhi. Additionally, it aims to strengthen the rehabilitation of child labourers by mainstreaming them in the education system and by providing alternatives. In three underserved worker settlements of Khicharipur, Shashi Gardern and Nandnagari in East Delhi, 12 learning centres for 300 children are run. In 28 sourcing hamlets belonging to the Musahar community in Bihar 28 support education centres currently enrol 700 children, and vocational training programmes support 180 young people.

Burkina Faso : Long-term Support for Child Domestics

In Burkina Faso, more than 50% of children work. To prevent child labour in poor families, Terre des Hommes (Switzerland) encourages women, who are the main breadwinners, to generate new and complementary incomes.

Domestic work is the most common activity for girls. Employed very young, they do not have any chance for an education. Hidden within the residence walls, they often become victims of psychological, physical or sexual violence. Terre des Hommes supports girls in domestic service through a long-term programme, set up with the aim of changing the social attitudes of employers, parents and the girls themselves. The Cobufade project began a study in 2006, in order to acquire better knowledge of the extent of domestic service and its associated risks in two urban districts of the capital. Results show that two thirds of families have had a domestic employee and that 21% of the girls are not registered, do not have a birth certificate and therefore cannot claim their rights; 77% of them came from rural areas, with a low level of education (5 years average).