1. Children Working
on the Street
Yoshie NOGUCHI,
Senior legal officer, IPEC
www.ilo.org/ipe
c International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour 1
2. Contents
1. Children “working” on the street
2. General overview on child labour
3. What is child labour (CL), and its
worst forms (WFCL)?
4. Challenges/lessons in addressing
CL and WFCL on the street
5. Data collection: CL on the street
6. Eliminating WFCL by 2016 !
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3. Children “Working” on the street
Economic activities
selling small objects,
shoe-shining,
portering
Sexual exploitation (prostitution)
Illicit activities
scavenging,
begging
Criminal acts
drug dealing,
pick-pocketing
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4. Child labour statistics
215 million in child
labour, globally
115 million of these
children in
hazardous work
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5. ILO Global Report 2010
Child labour continues to decline,
[3% decline between 2004-2008]
but more modestly than previously
[10% decline between 2000-2004]
On present trends, the goal of
eliminating the worst forms of child
labour by 2016 will not be reached
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6. Different trends: girls and boys
Fewer girls are now in
child labour.
declined by 15%.
Worrying trend for boys
Increase by 20%
among older boys (15-17)
in hazardous work
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7. Regional trends
Asia and Pacific – significant reduction down to
96m (14.8 % of children)
Latin America and Caribbean – slight reduction
down to 10m (9%)
Sub Saharan Africa – further increase to 58m
(28.4%)
No separate figure for Europe or developed
countries – lack of surveys
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8. CRC and child labour
The right to be protected from
economic exploitation (§32) = the
protection from child labour (ILS)
The right to education, health …
Non-discrimination
Two issues under the Op Protocols
(sexual exploitation, armed
conflict)
= Worst Forms of Child Labour
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9. What is Child Labour?
Child labour to be eliminated =
Worst Forms of Child Labour (C182)
and
Work done by a child below the
minimum age for that kind of work
(specified by national law, in line with
C138 and CRC article 32(2))
See: UN SG Report to GA 2009
[A/64/127]
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10. What is child labour?
Work that is NOT Hazardous work
hazardous or or other WFCL
other WFCL
18y Children
above the
minimum
age but 4 2
below 18y
14/15/16
Children
below the
minimum
working age
3 1
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11. Worst Forms of Child Labour
a) Children in slavery, forced or
compulsory labour, child trafficking
Including debt bondage, forced
recruitment for use in armed conflict
a) Children used in prostitution and
pornography
b) Children used in illicit activities
c) Children in hazardous work
See : ILO C182, Article 3
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12. C 182: coverage
Allsectors of economic activity
without any exception
Girls and boys under 18 years
Special attention for most vulnerable
e.g. minorities, girls, very young, and
on the street !
Worst forms of child labour as urgent
priority target for action
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13. Child labour and its worst forms
on the street
a) Forced labour, including in
begging, child trafficking
b) Sexual exploitation
c) The use of children in illicit
activities or crime (e.g. drugs)
d) hazardous work
= “work likely to jeopardize/harm a
child’s health, safety or morals”
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14. Challenges in addressing
child labour on the street
Outside the scope of “child labour” legislation
- absence of an employer, or formal relation
- not considered in the “hazardous work” list
The children may be perceived as delinquents
rather than victims of WFCL
Interest in / access to education ?
“Decent Work” prospect for these children ?
Social protection measures may focus adults
or families: e.g. Cash Transfer, income support
Maybe lacking ID, birth certificate, legal status...
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15. Some good practice examples
Listing “street vending” among the hazardous
work and prohibit for children (Lebanon)
Comprehensive rehabilitation for girls on the
street and/or at risk of sexual exploitation
(Russian Federation)
Mobile schools: facilitating the transition from
street to school (Romania)
Mobilizing public action by raising awareness
among teachers and students (Paraguay) –
SCREAM (Supporting Children’s Rights through
Education, the Arts and the Media) methods
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16. Some lessons learned
Clearly define “what is not acceptable” in labour,
criminal, or children’s rights or other laws;
Consider and address difficulties of enforcement
Raise awareness among stakeholders of the specific
risks [of working street girls]; thus help raise the issue
higher on the political agenda
Gradually prepare the children for social / family
integration
Involve government entities from the beginning, giving
them ownership
Mobilize children and young people; conveying the
message to the public (families, community and
institutions) and also the business community
Respect and adapt to the socio-economic and cultural
characteristics of each country and each community
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17. Child labour statistics
SIMPOC* (Statistical Information and
Monitoring Programme on Child
Labour) help countries in :
household-based surveys,
establishment-based surveys,
baseline surveys, and
rapid assessments
[* www.ilo.org/ipec/ChildlabourstatisticsSIMPOC ]
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18. Child labour statistics (2)
Need to develop methodologies
Need to define concepts for
statistical operation < legal definitions
Resolution by the 18th International
Conference of Labour Statisticians
concerning statistics of child labour
(ICLS Resolution) - 2008
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19. Challenges in collecting data on
child labour on the street
Household-based surveys can
gather information only on children
living with their family and working on
the street
Establishment-based surveys may
not cover any child labour on the
street
Children’s accessibility, availability
and interest in the data collection
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20. Rapid Assessment
Methodology jointly developed by ILO
and UNICEF
Especially useful for some WFCL
Qualitative information obtained
through a rapid assessment will
apply with certainty only to the limited
sample population and context
[See: manuals available on SIMPOC website]
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21. Capture-Recapture method
See the UCW example
(Study on child beggars in Dakar)
Previously used (2002 Global Report
on Child Labour) in estimating the
scale of the WFCL other than
hazardous work – a huge challenge
for us all in CL statistics
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22. Ethical considerations in
child labour data collection
The best interest of the child
Pre-research issues
Assess the safety risk to the child of
participating in the survey (and to the
researchers): especially for children
exploited in / by organize crime
Informed consent for all interviews;
in a child-sensitive way; with the right
to say “No” at any time
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23. Ethical considerations in
child labour data collection (2)
Issues during research
Language and logic: to avoid jargon and
adapted to each child (age, sex, culture…)
Trust: to be built patiently on relationship
Conditions of listening: carefully, with
positive and neutral expression
Pay and promises: consider carefully
Post –research issues
Right to privacy / sharing info & outcome
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24. Accelerating action against child labour
an increased global effort
to tackle child labour and
enhanced Government
commitment
reach out to children at
special risk:
e.g. on the street !
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25. Further measures
international cooperation
social dialogue and cooperation
= Partnership with business and
trade unions
advocacy and mobilisation
decent work for youth/adults
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26. The Global Action Plan
Eliminating the worst forms of
child labour by 2016 !
Roadmap 2010 (The Hague)
Attention: children on the street
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27. Thank you for your attention !
International Programme on the
Elimination of Child Labour
4, Route des Morillons
CH-1211 Geneva 22
Switzerland
Tel.: (+41 - 22) 799 81 81
Fax: (+41 - 22) 799 87 71
E-mail: ipec@ilo.org
Child labour website:
http://www.ilo.org/ipec
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Notes de l'éditeur
This is an extremely simplified schema, and does not represent the size of the problem (the number of children in each category) All the 4 areas put together represent working children (under 18y of age) - according to the latest 2010 Global estimate: 305.7 million children globally. 1+2+3 = child labour that needs to be eliminated – 215.3 mio children 1 + 2 are children in WFCL (hazardous work or other worst forms) – 115.3 mio in hazardous work is often used as a proxy figure (the other WFCL were estimated to be about 8 mio in 2002) 3 is children below the minimum age at work, not in WFCL, but still in child labour - about 100 mio 4 is NOT child labour , but adolescents at work or part of “youth employment” – rather promoted – around 90 mio (in the context of Global estimates, this category of “permissible work” included short hours of light work by children as from age 12, but this is not separated in this schema. So strictly speaking, the line between 3 and 4 is a bit more nuanced) In terms of ILO standards and goals, 1+2 is the target of eliminating WFCL (by 2016, according to the Hague, ILO GAP 2010, AU goal etc) Among these, category 1 should be the high priority (younger children in hazardous or other WFCL) – they should be withdrawn and put to school. Solutions for category 2 can include vocational training or placement to safer jobs (introduction to decent work). In addition to 1+2 as an urgent priority under C182, Category 3 is the scope of the ultimate goal of effective abolition of child labour (cf. minimum age C138 and also CRC) if necessary, progressively. A simple way of defining child labour could be: i) Work by a child who is too young to work (below the minimum working age = areas 1+3 in this schema) and ii) Work that is unsuitable and prohibited for children below 18 , even having reached this age (WFCL, including HCL = areas 1+2 ; this is the scope of 2016 target) area 1 is an overlapping area: unacceptable work (WFCL) by younger children, therefore priority for elimination This simplified explanation using i) and ii) is not just by the ILO; but also taken by the UN (in a Secretary-General’s Report to the GA in 2009 on the Rights of the Child [A/64/172]
(1) Forced labour including forced begging and child trafficking Regarding begging , the issue here is not about whether begging as such should be criminalized or not. It is the act of ‘using’ children or ‘trafficking’ them for the purpose of begging that must be prohibited and punished, and the children involved should be treated as victims and not as offenders. The use of children in begging has also been examined by the ILO supervisory bodies [1] as a situation of forced or compulsory labour of children, when it occurred in the context of traditional and so-called ‘religious’ exercises [2] . Exploitation that results from child trafficking is, of course, not limited to their use in begging. Forms of exploitation vary considerably. Some child victims of trafficking may escape from exploitation at the destination, e.g. as child domestic workers, or subjected to sexual exploitation, and end up on the street. At the same time, children living on the street are extremely vulnerable to trafficking. (2) Sexual exploitation The UN Study on Violence against Children underlined that “girls and boys living on the street are vulnerable to sexual abuse” and “also risk being recruited by pimps and traffickers for sexual and economic exploitation.” Even where they have to resort to ‘survival sex’ (sex in exchange for food or shelter), it falls within the definition of child prostitution under the Optional Protocol to the CRC, [3] and is therefore an issue of the worst forms of child labour – requiring an immediate and effective measures to rescue them. (3) The use of children in illicit activities The use of children in illicit activities, including but not limited to drug trafficking, is explicitly defined among the WFCL under Convention No. 182. It is a relatively new category of issues among child labour. The use of children in illicit activities is not only an issue for criminal or juvenile justice; it must also be tackled from different approaches which reach the root causes of the problem. The issues cannot be solved solely by strengthening law enforcement against offenders who use children in illicit activities, and even less so by only punishing those children for the act itself. [1] Namely, the Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations (CEACR). Please see www.ilo.org/normes for more information. [2] For instance, the practice of “talibé” in Senegal has been commented by the CEACR, and also was subject of a UCW study (Please see below for the interagency project UCW – Understanding Children’s Work). [3] Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, Article 2(b).
Global goal and targets: The elimination of all worst forms of child labour by 2016 To this end, all countries should design and put in place appropriate time-bound measures by 2008
