UNITED
NATIONS - Millions of children are trapped in jobs
that put their health and very lives at risk and
10 years after a worldwide campaign was launched
to curb and eventually abolish child labor "it
remains a problem on a massive scale," according
to the most comprehensive study of the question
ever undertaken.
Results
of the survey, conducted by the International Labor
Organization, were made public as the UN General
Assembly prepared for a summit session devoted
to child-related questions. More than 60 heads
of state or government gathered for three days
of meetings starting Wednesday, but the anticipated
turnout of presidents and prime ministers from
the major developed countries was a disappointment.
President George W.
Bush assigned a cabinet
officer, Tommy Thompson,
to lead the US delegation.
Bush's father was president
when the first children's
summit was held, and
came to New York for
it.
"While there
has been significant
progress toward the
effective abolition
of child labor, the
international community
still faces a major
uphill struggle against
this stubbornly pervasive
form of work that takes
a tragic toll on millions
of children around
the world," the
ILO said.
The survey found that
246 million children
work, and that 1 in
8 of workers aged from
5 to 17 were exposed
to the worst forms
of labor, with their
physical, mental or
moral well-being placed
at risk.
About
111 million children
doing hazardous
jobs were under 15
and an additional 59
million were aged between
15 and 17, the report
said. Some 8.4 million
children were caught
in "unconditional" labour
that included slavery,
trafficking, debt bondage,
forced military service,
prostitution and pornography.
No country or region
was unaffected, ILO
said, but the Asia-Pacific
region had the largest
absolute number of
working children aged
betwen 5 and 14, with
127 million of them,
or 60 percent of the
global total. Sub-Saharan
Africa came in second
with 48 milliion, or
23 percent of the world
total, followed by
Latin America and the
Caribbean with 17.4
million (8 percent)
and the Middle East-North
Africa with 13.4 million
(6 percent).
About 2.5 million
working children were
employed in industrialized
countries and another
2.4 million in countries
whose economies were
in transition, according
to the ILO study.
The vast majority
of working children
in developing countries
were in agriculture,
fisheries, hunting
and forestry and their
commercial contribution
was significant. Studies
in Brazil, Kenya and
Mexico showed that
under-15's made up
between 25 and 30 percent
of the total labor
force in the production
of a number of commodities.
Some of the work they
did, the UN agency
noted, was obviously
dangerous -- mining
and deep sea fishing,
for example. While
some of the occupations
might appear harmless
they could be hazardous
for the very young,
those undernourished
and others most vulnerable.
"The world is
increasingly aware
of child labor and
demanding action to
stop it," said
Juan Somavia, head
of ILO. "A majority
of governments across
the world now acknowledge
the existence of the
problem -- on greater
or smaller scales and
in different forms."
The report is down
for debate at the 90th
International Labor
Conference scheduled
to open June 12.
"The effective
abolition of child
labor is one of the
most urgent challenges
of our times and should
be a universal goal," said
Somavia.
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