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CHILD TRAFFICKING: An awakening

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You have probably heard mention of the phenomenon of ‘trafficking’, whether it be in print media, on the nightly news, or even on a crime drama on television. Images are conjured of a police raid on a residence exposing a link in a large network dealing in the trade of cocaine or ecstasy, or the discovery of a shipping container holding crates of weapons, the final destination of which could be war-torn West Africa or guerrilla insurgencies in Central America. But were you aware that people are trafficked, too? Did you know that slavery is still a thriving industry in the world today?

The trafficking of human beings is a persistent and wide-reaching phenomenon, and in an increasingly integrated world of interconnected communications and commerce it truly represents a violation of human rights on a global scale. A lucrative market, the trade in human flesh is a multi-billion dollar industry that amounts to a modern-day slave trade.

What exactly is human trafficking? The trafficking of humans is the recruitment, transfer, harbouring and receipt of people by improper means such as deception, debt bondage, fraud or force, with the aim of exploiting them for economic gain. It is carried out both within a country and across international borders. A global problem, no country or continent is immune.

Millions of individuals become victims of the crime of human trafficking each year. The International Labour Organisation and UNICEF estimate that approximately 1.2 million of these trafficked victims are children. They are traded like a commodity, and yield huge profits in a business that holds them captive and at the mercy of their subjugators. Children in particular are forced to work as bonded slave labourers on farms and plantations and in stone quarries, factories and workshops. They become domestic servants in households or are forced into commercial sexual exploitation as prostitutes or the subjects of pornographic films. Exploitative situations are not confined to these forms of forced labour: girls are often sold and traded as child brides in forced marriages to much older men, and boys as soldiers in the most brutal conflicts; they work the streets as beggars, pickpockets and drug peddlers; they are even trafficked to become entertainers in circuses and theatre troupes, and as football players and camel jockeys.

Forced to work long hours, confined in dark cramped rooms, required to undertake dangerous tasks, and frequently subject to verbal, physical and sexual abuse, they live in a constant state of fear. They have no freedom. They have no rights. They do not even have the chance or the voice to say “No”. This outcome is inherently hazardous and harmful to the health, safety and morals of the child. There is little opportunity for adequate mental, physical and intellectual development, which perpetuates the cycle of poverty and traps generations in this hopeless situation. This is unacceptable.

By this stage you will be asking “How can this happen?” How can something so terrible happen so freely and be so widespread?

Those who fall victim to the crime of human trafficking are the most vulnerable members of the global community. This criminal practice primarily manifests because of social and economic disparities. Factors such as poverty, high unemployment and lack of access to meaningful quality education and training generate a huge pool of potential candidates that traffickers can easily manipulate and take advantage of.

Those who are targeted ofttimes consent in the initial recruitment stage of trafficking because they are misled or deceived by traffickers, and may believe that they have no other alternative. They are lured with false promises of improved prospects and a better life in the form of employment and economic prosperity, access to education opportunities, and even marriage. Impoverished parents may sell children to traffickers in order to pay off debts or gain income. Violence, threats and intimidation are common tactics. Natural disasters and conflict zones also create unstable environments from which trafficking victims seek to escape. Particularly in Africa, trafficked children have often been orphaned by the loss of one or both parents to HIV/AIDS.

The situation is in general exacerbated by a lack of awareness on the part of potential victims, demand for child labourers creating a profitable market, and insufficient penalties against traffickers. Attitudes towards child employment also play a significant role. In south Asia in particular, children are considered ‘adults’ at an earlier stage in their development than their counterparts in other regions of the world; they are therefore often expected to earn a wage to help support a family experiencing hardship or just to supplement a family’s income. The trafficking industry is facilitated by corruption in government, border police, immigration officials and local police, who turn a blind eye in return for a cut of the profits. Porous borders, such as those between India, Nepal, Pakistan and Bangladesh, are a major reason for the high levels of children being trafficked in the region every year. In particular, the fall of the Iron Curtain in Europe opened up a window of opportunity for the trafficking of women and girls for prostitution from the impoverished former Eastern bloc countries to the West.

The flow of trafficked persons usually streams from poorer developing regions to more affluent developed areas, with profits flowing in the other direction. What victims find is servitude and vulnerability in a foreign environment in which they have no ties, and in many situations little or no understanding of the local language and culture. Many children who are rescued after just a few years of indentured labour are unable to speak their native language or even identify their own parents.

So, how do we solve this problem? What can you do?

The public needs to be sensitized and educated on the dangers of trafficking, especially those communities that are at risk. Raising awareness amongst potential victims in vulnerable areas is especially vital in the fight against trafficking and modern-day slavery. Also important is consumer education. Child labourers and trafficked persons are often employed in export industries, and can be used to make products such as textiles and sports equipment. Next time you go shopping, ask yourself if the product you are contemplating purchasing could have been made by child labourers or trafficked workers. How would you feel if you knew that you were supporting slavery with your buying habits?

The trafficking of children, and of all human beings, is a thriving industry despite its illegality. Some progress has indeed been made - it is a crime under international law and under the national legislation of many countries around the world. Unfortunately, several countries have not yet ratified or implemented these laws. Some do not recognise them. Others have ratified them and simply do not observe them. Those responsible for the enslavement of 1.2 million children each year need to be exposed and punished. They need to be set the message that it is not acceptable for them to deceive and exploit people, or to hold the most vulnerable members of the world community captive and force them to work, submit them to abuse, restrict their growth, and endanger their lives. You can find information about your own country’s legislation regarding trafficking and child labour, and whether they have ratified or implemented international conventions. If they haven’t, speak up! For example, Amnesty International UK has an online petition calling on the government of the United Kingdom to quickly implement laws in accordance with its commitment to the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking. Here at Global March Against Child Labour we have a similar initiative called the Keep Your Promises Campaign to promote the implementation of measures to ensure the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals.

What is more, and perhaps most essential, just talking about the issues helps. Challenge common attitudes regarding trafficking and servitude, inform people about what is going on, and keep asking questions. Discuss your thoughts with friends and family, your local church or community organisation, or at your school.

So, what do you think? How do you feel about it? What can you do to help?

By Jennifer Rowe

Child labour in sweatshops seems to be a never-ending struggle. But how to fight simultaneously against employers and contractors, against the misunderstood economic rationale, against the judicial backwardness, and even against our own habits of consumption?
The garment industry is one of the hubs for child labour in India, many years have been invested in trying to eradicate the practice. On October 2007, the exposure by The Observer of children being employed in GAP subcontracted factories captured the attention in the media and the issue of child labour regain a place in the interest of the population when bonded child labourers (between 8 and 14 years old) were rescued from Shahpur Jaat and Khanpur area, in New Delhi, by Bachpan Bachan Andolan (Save the Childhood Movement).The children were sold to the employers for only 1000 rupies or even less, they were forced to work without payment for up to 19 hours a day, beaten with rubber pipe if complaining or crying and branded with tattoos like livestock

Every stakeholder –employers, government and civil society—has an interest and a specific duty on this issue, and any revolution requires a conjoint effort. However, only consumers have the power to strengthen and consolidate that revolution by modifying the consumption habits as a result of the full embracement of their social responsibility. The solution cannot rely on legal punishment, overpricing or prohibition; it is a matter of consciousness and deep understanding of the consequences of sponsoring child labour by unthinkingly demanding cheap garments. Such consequences are detrimental to the entire process of development: families under the poverty line will remain poor since their children are not attending school because they are forced to work in hazardous situations for 19 hours, consequently, the lack of education reduces their future opportunities, perpetuating the practice. Consumers possess an indirect enforcement power with which they can modify the patterns of production if the supply is not meeting the demand child labour free requirement. Even if the institutional enforcement apparatus at the national level is working, if consumers do not claim for child labour free products, employers will continue using unpaid and ill treated children to avoid the so-called ”unnecessary expenses” such as adult labour force.

The concern remains on the table, just as the myriad of unanswered questions and unsettled actions about the issue: how to thwart preposterous justifications for child labour? How to internalize social corporate responsibility in the private sector and in the social patterns of consumption? And, if corporate social responsibility is compatible with the economic maximization paradigms, why is it that garment industry remains as one of the focal points on poor labour conditions and exploitation? What are we as consumers waiting for to initiate the revolution against child labour?

TO Know more http://www.globalmarch.org/gap/child_labour_in_zari_sweatshops.php

There are so many pressing human needs - it is hard to prioritise them. We need to combat HIV and other epidemic diseases, as well as terrorism, drug trafficking, and military conflicts. We need clean water, sanitation, health care and immunisations, and adequate nutrition - not to mention environmental protection and
an adequate standard of living. The list goes on and is daunting. But, we ought to think of not only how many human rights issues are linked to child labour, but how many of these issues can be
addressed by redirecting millions child labourers to school - for example, HIV education, immunisations, nutrition, etc. Quality education can make an important contribution to a culture of global tolerance and world peace and security.

07 July 2007 (07.07.07) marks the midway to the international community’s commitments for creating a better world for its citizens. What have we achieved is the BIG QUESTION now.

Points of Concern

The first MDG target – to get as many girls as boys into primary and secondary school by 2005 – was missed in over 90 countries. In countries such as Niger and Burkina Faso, only one in three girls go to school at all.

In 2006, failure to reach the 2005 MDG gender-parity target will result in over 1 million unnecessary child and maternal deaths. Educated women have greater knowledge about health issues and greater bargaining power in the household, which has a positive impact on their own health and that of their children.

HIV/AIDS infection rates double among young people who do not finish primary school. If every girl and boy received a complete primary education, at least seven million new cases of HIV could be prevented in a decade.

In many countries, school fees are a major barrier that prevents children – especially girls – from going to school. When school fees were abolished in Uganda, Tanzania, and Kenya, seven million additional children – many of them girls –- entered school in these three countries alone.

Well-trained and well-supported teachers are essential to providing good-quality education for girls and boys. However, there is currently a global shortage of two million teachers, and at least 15 million new teachers will be needed between now and 2015 in order to achieve education for all.
Globally, an extra $7-17 billion per year is still needed to enable all girls and boys to receive a quality primary education.

We want to know what you think about this issue

sign the petition so that we all can remind the political leaders of the commitments that they have made.

http://www.globalmarch.org/resourcecentre/videos.php

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-I6UCl44kI0

Q: What is Child Labour?
A: Child labour is any economic activity or work that interferes with the completion of a child’s education, or that is mentally, physically, socially or morally dangerous and harmful to children. Some children participate in light activities that are considered acceptable, as long as it does not come under the above categories or exploit the child and allows the child enough time and space to grow, learn and develop to his/ her fullest potential.

In more technical terms, child labour includes all economically active children under the age of 12, children between the age of 11 and 14 who are doing more than a few hours of non-light work, and all children, including those between the ages of 15-17 who are working in hazardous work.

Q. What are the worst forms of child labour?
A: The worst forms of child labour include mainly two types of child labour. Intolerable child labour is work detrimental to the children. These involve children that are enslaved, forcibly recruited, prostituted, trafficked, forced into illegal activities (such as drug running), children involved in armed conflicts. Hazardous child labour is work in dangerous industries or workplaces where children are likely to meet exploitative situations by nature or circumstance

Q: Don’t children have to work because of poverty?
A: While it is undeniable that children work, in part, because of poverty it is not the only reason, or as important as many people assume. Children often replace adults in the job market, depressing their wages and hindering economic growth. In India, 60 million children are working while 70 million adults are unemployed. Recent studies have begun to question poverty as the major cause of child labour, discovering that other factors, such as failing education systems, are equally important in perpetuating child labour. Countries with very similar levels of poverty often have very different rates of child labour, on the other hand, a country that is much richer than its neighbouring country can have almost equal occurrence of child labour.

Q: How will poor families survive without the additional income of the children?
A: Many studies show that children’s wages contribute so meagrely to the family’s income that they are of little significance to the overall family income. And, a large number of child labourers come from households where the parents are unemployed or under-employed, while employers give preference to children as a cheap source of labour. Moreover, it is precisely the vast number of children in the workforce that bring down adult’s wages, their bargaining power is reduced and they suffer from large-scale unemployment.

The cost of children missing out on education is much greater to both the individual development of a child, as well as development of society as a whole. Evidence suggests that existing social norms, tradition, exclusion and discrimination of certain groups as well as a badly or ‘indifferently’ functioning educational system are the most important reasons why children are working and not attending school. It is the responsibilities of States and the international community to ensure that programmes are in place to mitigate the immediate negative impacts of the withdrawal of children from labour for poor families.

Q: What rights do children have to be protected against child labour?
A: The right of a child to be protected against harmful labour is both explicitly and implicitly defined in a number of international agreements, from the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) to the ILO Convention’s 182 and 138.

Q: Isn’t child labour necessary for a country until it reaches a certain level of development?
A: No, no evidence supports the theory that children must work to earn for a thriving industry, until economic growth and technological advancement create their replacement. Child labour can be seen to actually hinder growth: blocking educational opportunities, decreasing technological innovation, perpetuating poverty and damaging the future adult workforce.

Child labour inhibits the productive potential of a country’s citizens by interfering with education, damaging health and skill development, and affecting attitudes. Higher human capital yields higher adult labour income. But a child that supplies more labour and receives less education will have less human capital. In turn, s/he will be poorer as an adult, and thereby perpetuate a cycle of poverty.

Q: Isn’t children’s work also a good part of their early childhood education?
A: Millions of child labourers miss precious time in their physical and mental development to days and nights of work. Qualitative schooling teaches the children not only skills for the future but gives an opportunity to socialize and relate to the people in social settings. Education also empowers children, teaching them what their basic rights are, and helps in realizing their potential. A recent study has shown that adults, who worked in industries as children are less productive than their counterparts who didn’t start working until adulthood dispelling the idea that children benefit from early training from child labour in later life.

Q: Don’t children have the right to decent work?
A: Protecting the right of children to work and the needs to improve their working conditions have recently been advocated by a number of groups but this very concept is a violation of the provisions in the already agreed international conventions concerning children.

Child rights are non-negotiable and equally borne by all children, regardless of their economic, social, or biological background. Circumstantial compulsion work due to the economic necessity or other reasons do not create a new ‘right’ of children to work, in neglect of ensuring the rights to education, play and health, and to be protected against economic exploitation. Forcing young children to work for their own survival is society’s repudiation of their fundamental rights.

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