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afrol.com, 21 November - A report released today by the Global March Against Child Labour shows the shocking exploitation of children in almost every part of the world. From rich country to poor, there seems to be no escape for children suffering in the worst forms of child labour. Asia and Africa, however, host most problems of child slavery, child prostitution and child soldiers. In a single district of Uganda, 4,000 children have been abducted to fight as child soldiers in the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA). "All of the children receive rudimentary military training and most are armed and forced to fight. In effect, children abducted by the LRA become slaves: their labour, their bodies and their lives are all at the disposal of their rebel captors," the report notes. The LRA has abducted at least 14,000 children, as young as 7 years old, in Northern Uganda, particularly in the districts of Gulu and Kitgum. Issued a day after ILO Convention 182 comes into legal force, the report "Out of the Shadows" presents a clear and urgent agenda to the world community. It is the first ever comprehensive country-by-country review of the problems of child slavery, child prostitution, child soldiers, and other hazardous child labour. With thousands of partners in 140 countries, the Global March is the single largest movement on behalf of the world's 250 million child labourers. In South Africa, a country with strong trade unions and some of the continent's best labour legislation, child labour remains a widespread problem. Only two weeks ago, the trade union COSATU reported about a survey documenting the existence of child labour. The survey result tell that 1.2 million children are engaged in fetching wood and water from 8 hours or more per week. COSATU states that "child labour should be tackled with zero tolerance". Global March's report additionally documents the growing industry of child prostitution in South Africa. "Child prostitution is on the rise, primarily in Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg. The child sex industry has become increasingly organised, with children either being forced into prostitution or exploited by their parents to earn money for the family. An increase in the number of children living on the streets has contributed to the growing number of child prostitutes," the report states. The best known example of child slavery in Africa probably remains Côte d'Ivoire, which afrol.com has reported about several times. "Thousands of Malian children were trafficked and sold into indentured servitude on Ivorian plantations," as the report confirms. In cross-border trafficking, Benin, Ghana, Nigeria and Togo are known to be the main providers of child domestic labour to the main urban centres of Côte d’Ivoire. Another study mentioned in the report has shown that children also are trafficked from Togo to Côte d’Ivoire, for use as prostitutes. The typical form of child labour in Africa, however, remains the widespread use of young children in subsistence agriculture. It doesn't make spectacular headlines like child prostitution, soldiers and slaves, but it affects tens of millions of children throughout Africa. In Nigeria alone, the ILO projects that in 2000, there will be 3,859,000 economically active children, 1,262,000 girls and 2,597,000 boys between the ages of 10-14, representing 23.91% of this age group. The effect of a lost childhood for the individual child may be the worst part. But it also has severe developmental implications when children, "particularly girls are withdrawn from schools into early marriages and into extensive child labour such as street trading and the like." The example is from Nigeria, but has relevance to the whole continent. - We did not march 80,000 km just to have nice words put on a piece of paper, says Kailash Satyarthi, Chairperson of the Global March, referring to the movement's contribution to the establishment of the ILO Convention 182 on the Worst Forms of Child Labour. "We are determined to see that these promises make a real difference in the lives of exploited children. This report is the voice of millions of children calling for help," she says. The report not only documents the situation in every single country, but also shows what can and is being done against child labour. The report suggests many constructive steps that governments, businesses, trade unions, NGOs, and children themselves can take to address the problem. It also reviews the efforts that governments have made since the unanimous adoption of Convention 182 in June of last year. The report will be an invaluable tool for everyone working towards a world free of child exploitation. "Out of the Shadows", is available online through the website,
http://www.globalmarch.org. Source: Based on Global March and afrol archives
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