CHILD LABOR IN AFGHANISTAN[1]
Fast Facts:
· Approximately, 78% of children in urban areas are enrolled in primary school[2]
· Approximately, 10% of children are engaged in child labor[3]
Child Labor in Afghanistan:
Many Afghan children engaged in child labor face the worst forms of labor including the recruitment and use of children for military purposes, forced labor in the production of bricks, and dangerous work in agriculture.
Dangerous Conditions:
Children working in agriculture may use dangerous tools and transport heavy loads alone or in groups over vast distances, while being exposed to abuse. Furthermore, children are exploited through slavery and child soldiering. As a result, they face physical and mental abuse.
Child Labor and Education:
Afghanistan faces high rates of in-state violence, which led to serious abuses against children. These include the killing and injury of children in attacks on schools. These conditions make it more difficult for children to attend school on a regular basis.
What is Afghanistan doing about child labor within its borders?
The Government is working to reduce the numbers of children illegally entering the Afghan National Police (ANP) and Afghan Local Police (ALP)as child soldiers.
CHILD LABOR IN ALBANIA[4]
Fast Facts:
· Approximately, 98% of children are enrolled in primary education[5]
· Approximately, 12% of children are engaged in child labor[6]
Child labor in Albania:
Children that are engaged in child labor in this country face some of the worst forms of child labor including forced begging, going door-to-door and forced to be on the streets. Children also work on the street as drug runners. Children also work in textile, garment, and footwear factories. Additionally, many children work in mines, agriculture, and are often involved in forced labor.
Dangerous Conditions:
Working in the street causes children to work long, late hours. These jobs also expose children to various harmful chemicals, dangerous machinery, and heavy lifting of objects. Children are at risk of serious injury and exhaustion.
Child labor and Education:
Albania provides for 9 years of free and required education. However, the cost of supplies and resources prevent families from giving their children an education. Marginalized groups, like the Roma[7], are often excluded from the education system due to lack of registration or the inability to forego the loss of income from the child working.
What is Albania doing about child labor?
In 2012, the Council of Ministers created the Albanian Roadmap for Achieving the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labor by 2016 (ARCL). The ARCL outlines a plan to eliminate the worst forms of child labor in Albania by 2016. The plan adopts and implements effective legislation and law enforcement to address the worst forms of child labor; and provides free, quality education for all children.
From 2009 to 2013, the government implemented the Zero Dropouts Program to reduce school dropout rates of Roma and Egyptian children.
CHILD LABOR IN ALGERIA[8]
Fast Facts:
· Approximately, 98% of males enrolled in primary school[9]
· Approximately, 4.7% of children are engaged in child labor[10]
Child Labor in Algeria:
Algerian children reportedly work in the agricultural and construction sector and in mechanic shops
Dangerous Conditions:
Children may face health and safety risks from work with heavy, motorized equipment and harmful materials. Those working in agriculture may use dangerous tools, carry heavy loads, and apply harmful pesticides.
Child Labor and Education:
Some families value work over education, as financial stability is important for their survival.
What is Algeria doing about child labor within its borders?
The Government of Algeria madeno advancementin efforts to eliminate the worst forms of child labor.
Algeria’s Labor Code sets the minimum age for employment at age 16 and prohibits minors from participating in dangerous, unhealthy, or harmful work, or in work that may jeopardize their morality. However such codes are unclear.
CHILD LABOR IN ARGENTINA[11]
Fast Facts:
· Approximately, 98% of children are enrolled in primary school.[12]
· Approximately, 6.5% of children are engaged in child labor[13]
Child Labor in Argentina:
There are children in Argentina engaged in the worst forms of child labor, including dangerous activities in the agriculture and manufacturing.
Dangerous Conditions:
Children who work in agriculture may handle pesticides without proper protection. They are exposed to pesticides, smoke inhalation, insect bites, and other dangers for long periods of time. They may also use dangerous tools, carry heavy loads, and apply harmful pesticides.
Child Labor and Education:
16- to 18-year-olds who work in manufacturing are authorized to work until 10 p.m., which exposes them to risks related to night work. Allowing young adults to work till late in the evenings prohibit them from attending school or focus on their studies.
What is Argentina doing about child labor within its borders?
Argentina’s Law establishes the legal minimum age for employment as 16. The Government of Argentina undertook a variety of efforts to combat child labor, such as continuing to include the issue into social programs and teaming up with private industries to create business social responsibility plans.
CHILD LABOR IN BOLIVIA[14]
Fast Facts:
· Approximately, 91% of children are enrolled in primary school[15]
· Approximately, 26% of children ages 6-17 are engaged in child labor[16]
Child Labor in Bolivia and its Dangers:
In Bolivia, the most prevalent industries with child labor are agriculture and mining. Mining is particularly dangerous because children usually work long hours in enclosed spaces and are exposed to dangerous chemicals in the mines.
In the agriculture industry, children are involved in the harvesting and production of a wide range of crops, including corn and Brazil nuts. These children often carry heavy loads, work long hours and may use dangerous harvesting tools such as machetes.
It is mostly poor and indigenous families that are forced to send their children to work, as the money children earn is crucial to the survival of the family. Many families also live in bonded labor situations.
Child labor is often also found in urban centers in Bolivia where children are found as street vendors, construction workers and transportation assistants.
Child Labor and Education:
Although primary enrollment rates in Bolivia are high, it is unevenly distributed in rural areas, where fewer children are found in schools and more are found working on farms. Children often work after school hours in urban areas.
What is Bolivia doing about child labor within its borders?
In Bolivia, there is a minimum age for employment of 14. In 2010, the Avelino Siñani-Elizardo Pérez Education Law was passed with guarantees equal educational opportunities for all, including children who are behind in school due to work.
CHILD LABOR IN BOSNIA & HERZEGOVINA[17]
Fast Facts:
· Approximately, 81% of children in Bosnia and Herzegovina are enrolled in primary education[18]
· Approximately, 5% of children are involved in child labor[19]
Child labor in Bosnia & Herzegovina:
Children in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BH) are involved in the worst forms of child labor. These forms of child labor include forced begging, working on the street, and on construction sites. Roma[20] children are often forced into labor by their parents or organized groups.
Dangerous Conditions:
Most of the child labor in BH is forced, meaning that children are often pushed beyond their limits to work long hours and in dangerous areas. These jobs push children to move heavy objects and work with dangerous tools. The conditions they work in are usually hazardous, as well.
Child labor and Education:
Education is free and required at age 6 for 9 years. Secondary education is also free for 4 years, however the Roma children are often denied access to education because they are not registered citizens. As a result, many Roma children are not enrolled in school, which makes them more likely to be involved in the worst types of child labor.
What is BH doing about child labor?
The BH Government is part of the international initiative called Decade for Roma Inclusion that 12 European countries participate in to improve the socioeconomic status and the social inclusion of the Roma population. This plan will improve health, housing, and employment of the Roma population. Recently, the Government created an Action Plan called the Policy for Protection of Children Deprived of Parental Care and Families at Risk of Separation. It aims to protect children without parent care and/or separated from their parents, which could help prevent more children from entering dangerous labor.
CHILD LABOR IN BRAZIL[21]
Fast Facts:
· Approximately, 84% of children are enrolled in primary school[22]
· Approximately, 6% of children are engaged in child labor[23]
Child Labor in Brazil:
There are children in Brazil that are engaged in the worst forms of child labor, including in hazardous activities in agriculture, livestock, and street work. Some children are engaged in the production of cashews, cotton, manioc, pineapple, rice, sisal, and tobacco.
Dangerous Conditions:
Children work long hours, use dangerous tools, and are exposed to harsh weather conditions, pesticides, and physical injuries. Children who work in animal slaughterhouses are exposed to unclean conditions and use sharp knives.
What is Brazil doing about child labor within its borders?
The Constitution and the Labor Code set the minimum age for work at age 16, with an exemption for apprenticeships at age 14. Judges have the right to grant work authorizations for adolescents under age 16 to perform work, as long as it is not physically harmful and it is necessary for their family’s survival.
The Government is financially supporting their social protection plan, La Bolsa Familia, to bring children under the age of 15 out of extreme poverty, through educational programs.
CHILD LABOR IN CANADA[24]
Fast Facts:
· Approximately, 98% of children are enrolled in primary education[25]
· No data currently exists for the amount of child labor in Canada
Child Labor:
In Canada, child labor is not a large issue. There are minor problems with child labor when it comes to children working on farms, especially family farms, but beyond that, Canada does not appear to have many pressing issues involving child labor.
How Canada prevents child labor:[26]
Each province in Canada has its own laws against child labor. Provinces regulate the minimum age requirements for work and the type of labor allowed for each age group. Nearly all labor regulations are applied equally to all workers in Canada.
Canada ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Optional Protocol to the Convention of the Rights of the Child in the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict, and signed the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Each of these conventions helps protect the well being of all children, especially in regards to youth employment, in Canada.
CHILD LABOR IN CAMBODIA[27]
Fast Facts:
· Approximately, 24% of children are enrolled in primary school[28]
· Approximately, 36% of children are engaged in child labor[29]
Child Labor in Cambodia:
There are children in Cambodia who are engaged in the worst forms of child labor. Many of these children work in hazardous activities in agriculture.
Dangerous Conditions:
In Cambodia, children working in agriculture may work long hours in hot weather conditions, use potentially dangerous equipment without proper training and supervision, apply dangerous chemicals, and suffer from snake, insect, and scorpion bites.
Child Labor and Education:
Children in rural areas are more likely to work than children in urban areas due to the prevalence of rural poverty and lack of educational opportunities.
Significant barriers to accessing the education system still exist. In remote areas, children have to travel long distances to reach school, and transportation is limited, which causes parents to not prefer their daughters to go for safety reasons. Limited access to education makes children, especially those who are discriminated because of race, ethnicity, and disability, weak to the worst forms of child labor.
What is Cambodia doing about child labor within its borders?
The Cambodian Labor Law sets the minimum age for employment at 15. The law also permits children ages 12 to 14 to engage in light work, provided that the work is not hazardous and that they still attend school.
The Government adopted a child labor tracking system and trained government officials, from all different government levels, on the system’s performance and organization.
Central African Republic[30]
Fast facts:
· Approximately, 45% of children are enrolled in primary school
· Approximately, 51% of children are involved in child labor
Child Labor in Central African Republic (CAR)
There are children in the Central African Republic (CAR) who engaged in the worst forms of child labor, including agriculture and armed conflict. Children work in hazardous conditions, mining stones for jewelry and producing crops such as cotton and coffee beans.
Dangerous Conditions:
Children involved in the mining industry are exposed to dangerous conditions, which may cause death or pose serious risks to physical and mental growth. For example, for long hours at a time, children inhale toxic dusts and chemicals. In the agricultural industry, children are exposed to direct sunlight with little food or water over long periods of time. In addition, they often have to carry heavy loads and use dangerous tools.
Child Labor and Education
Due to increasing violence within the borders of the country, more and more children are forced into armed groups to serve as child soldiers. As a result, forced fighting in rebel groups and lack of schools and teachers, especially in rural areas, prevent many children form accessing education. In addition, many children do not have official birth registration certificates, which may limit their access to education.