NetNews Usenet Archive 1992 #16/NN_1992_16.iso/spool/misc/activism/progress/5406

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From: [e-mail] (Rich Winkel)
Subject: ILO finds child labour biggest source of child abuse
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/** headlines: 97.0 **/
** Topic: LABOUR: ILO finds child labour bigg **
** Written  3:17 pm  Jul 23, 1992 by ggundrey in cdp:headlines **
From: George Gundrey <ggundrey>
Subject: LABOUR: ILO finds child labour bigg

/* Written 12:11 am  Jul 23, 1992 by newsdesk in cdp:ips.englibrary */
/* ---------- "LABOUR: ILO finds child labour bigg" ---------- */
Copyright Inter Press Service 1992, all rights reserved.  Permission to re-
print within 7 days of original date only with permission from 'newsdesk'.

Title: LABOUR: ILO finds child labour biggest source of child abuse

washington, jul 21 (ips) -- as many as 25 per cent of all children
between the ages of 10 and 14 are working in many third world
regions, according to the 1992 world labour report released here
tuesday by the international labour organisation (ilo).

''child labour is the single most important source of child
abuse and child exploitation in the world,'' says ilo director -
general, michel hansenne.

the report says that while most children are employed in
agriculture, many others work in factories, as domestic servants,
in family-run businesses, as street hawkers, and in prostitution.

it says youngsters working as domestic servants -- especially
those who live in the homes of their employers -- may be the most
vulnerable and exploited children of all, experiencing isolation
and a profound stunting of their psychological growth.

the ilo says child labourers are often exposed to high risks,
and many develop life-long injuries and deformities.

it points to child carpet-weavers in india who work long hours
under conditions which ruin their eyesight and lead to deformed
backs and limbs, and to young pencil-makers who breathe in
hazardous slate-dust which condemns them to early disability and
death from tuberculosis and other lung disease.

further, many children, the report states, are infected with
the aids-related human immunodeficiency virus (hiv) through sexual
abuse by their employers, or through forced prostitution.

while it is hard to say just how many children are  working,
hansenne estimates the figure is ''in the hundreds of  millions''.

the numbers are greatest in asia, where some 67 million
children are estimated to be working, accounting for up to 11 per
cent of the total labour force in some nations, says the report.

in africa, 20 per cent of all the children are forced to work
in some nations. in nigeria, for instance, an estimated 12 million
children work . and in latin america, up to 26 per cent of the
children in some countries work. (more/ips)

labour: ilo (2)

the ilo predicts that by early next century, more children
will be employed in the urban informal sector than in agriculture,
a trend already well advanced in latin america.

child exploitation is a major problem in africa and latin
america as well, says the report, which is quick to point out that
child labour is also a problem in the developed world, especially
in italy and spain. an estimated 100,000 children work in spain,
most of them on family farms, claims the report.

the ilo distinguishes child labour from the normal, healthy,
''round-the-house'' style of work. ''child labour defines a
condition of children being exploited, or overworked, or deprived
of their rights to health and education, or just deprived of their
childhood''.

many governments are seeking ilo advice on how to curb  child
labour. these include brazil, peru, egypt, india, pakistan,
kenya, the philippines and thailand. yet a conspiracy of silence
still prevails among the children, parents, employers and even
governments in many developing nations, the report notes.

poverty is the most significant cause of child labour, but the
report suggests the problem persists for a variety of reasons.

with adequate education being scarce or too expensive, many
children are left with nothing to do, and the only way they can
help their families is through labour, according to the report.

employers see children as a source of cheap labour, yet the
paltry wages the children receive create a large jump in family
income, according to the ilo. the report says governments often
turn a blind eye to child labour because of the foreign exchange
earned by some industries that employ children.

''in the long run, child labour generates poverty,'' since up
to one-fifth of some populations are disabled or uneducated as a
result of labouring as children, says gunn. ''this puts a major
brake on development.''

several million children work in southern asia in child- bonded
labour, and the most common situation is one in which  parents
accept a loan, then, unable to repay, agree to let the  children
work off the debt. in practice, the debt never decreases,  only
rises, as a result of usurious interests rates and outright
fraud, says the report.

the ilo says all governments, if they cannot eliminate child
labour completely, should at least remove all children from
abusive labour and institute compulsory primary school education.

while the ilo is working with governments to create child-
labour legislation,  the study recognises that it will take a long
time for many poor nations to eradicate the problem.  ''we are
saying, 'set yourselves a target and work towards it','' gunn told
ips. (end/ips/lt/jl/yjc/92)

** End of text from cdp:headlines **