You may have seen Trócaire's Lenten campaign advertisement on TV or in the cinema in recent weeks. The campaign theme this year is child labour. Ireland must join the international programme to eliminate child labour, writes Justin Kilcullen.
The advertisement depicts a job interview between a coffee plantation owner in Nicaragua and a child. All of the conditions outlined in the advertisement are true - punishing long hours, hazardous working conditions, little pay, no support in case of illness or injury. The only slightly misleading feature is the scenario being depicted. No child would ever be granted the courtesy of having the appalling conditions in which she or he will work explained to them.
Child labour is about ruthless exploitation of young lives. Most thus exploited are condemned to a life of unceasing poverty and probably an early grave.
Not since Trócaire ran its campaign on modern day slavery in 2001 has there been such a public response to a Lenten campaign. It is interesting how the two issues are so closely linked.
Bonded labour, the modern form of slavery, also involves the exploitation of children. All told, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) estimates that more than 180 million children worldwide are caught up in unacceptable forms of child labour, that is one in six of the world's children.
While children have long been doing work the world over, and have made a positive contribution to domestic and even national income, the ILO distinguishes between this form of work and child labour which exposes children to harm or exploitation.
It includes hazardous work, such as that carried out by children in many coffee plantations in Nicaragua today, forced labour and labour performed by a child under a specified age for such work (eg quarry work). Such work interferes with a child's education and thus prevents the individual from eventually escaping the poverty trap.
Other forms of child exploitation also threaten their wellbeing: prostitution, pornography, forced recruitment into armed forces and trafficking.
The primary cause of child labour in the developing world is poverty. Family poverty pushes children into the labour market to earn money to supplement the family income or even as a means of survival. The lack of education, high dependence on an agricultural economy as a whole as well as traditions and cultural expectations are among factors that play a role in the occurrence of child labour.
More recently, the increased numbers of child-headed households, primarily linked to HIV/Aids and armed conflict, brings increased pressure on children to work. Policies to eliminate child labour must address the multidimensional nature of the problem.
What can Ireland do to play a greater role in eliminating this scandal from today's world?
The ILO is charged with implementing the international convention that outlaws child labour. It also assists countries in establishing programmes to eliminate this form of exploitation and supports programmes that help children to escape from their employers and go to school, enjoy their childhood and be prepared to lead a fulfilled adult life.
Ireland supports the work of the ILO. Indeed, following Trócaire's campaign on slavery and in response to public support for this, the Government undertook to support the organisation's work in countering bonded labour.
This year provides an opportunity for Ireland to make a further contribution to the work of the organisation. On May 4th next the International Labour Organisation will publish a global report focusing specifically on how member states are working to tackle the problem through the International Programme to Eliminate Child Labour.
That programme, Ipec, has set out the measures that need to be taken to tackle this scourge - achieving universal primary education, improving the quality of education and teachers, income support to families to defray the losses of money when their children go back to school and implementing legislation that outlaws child labour.
As yet Ireland does not support the Ipec. It is surely time to join the 30 donor countries that do so. Such an action will fit very well into Ireland's current overseas development aid priorities.
Sub-Saharan Africa, where Irish Aid focuses its efforts, is a major problem area. Ireland's priority countries for development aid are all members of Ipec. Indeed Tanzania has undertaken a time- bound programme of action to implement Ipec. But there is still a shortage of donor funds to assist developing countries in achieving the standards set out in this programme.
Given the emphasis on education and poverty reduction, such support would be a natural extension of Ireland's current priorities.
In June, the ILO will have its annual meeting. Between now and then Ireland should do a number of things:
- welcome the ILO's global report on child labour;
- indicate its intention to become a donor to Ipec;
- lobby those countries that have not yet done so to join the 87 others that have adopted Ipec, and
- become a passionate spokesperson in international forums such as the UN, World Bank and EU for the elimination of child labour.
Unless there is concerted action by wealthy governments, another generation of children will be condemned to a life of poverty.
Justin Kilcullen is director of Trócaire