World Day Against Child Labour
Child labour has devastating consequences for the future of children: they are deprived of the opportunity to develop their skills, acquire competencies and realise their full potential. Child labour prevents them from accessing adequate education: girls, boys and adolescents are destined to remain trapped in a cycle of poverty and underdevelopment.
THERE IS NO TIME TO LOSE
It is too early to tell whether the call launched in May 2022 in Durban, South Africa at the end of the 5th Conference on Child Labour, organised by the ILO – the UN specialised agency promoting social justice and internationally recognised human rights – is having any positive effect.
In fact, we know from the joint ILO and UNICEF report that photographs the situation and trends of this global scourge as of 2020 that ‘global progress against child labour has stalled since 2016′. Moreover, the repercussions of the COVID19 pandemic could, by 2022, increase by an additional 7 million the approximately 160 million children and adolescents who are forced to work, 79 million of whom perform hazardous work.
The picture that emerges globally hides the progress achieved in Asia and the Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean, but this is not the case for sub-Saharan Africa, probably because agriculture is the sector where most child labour persists. This would explain another disturbing fact: the increase of children between the ages of 5 and 11 being forced to work. (Source: ILO)
OUR CONGREGATION IS ALWAYS IN THE FRONT LINE TO BREAK THE CHAINS OF CHILD LABOUR
...4800 CHILDREN IN CONGO LEFT THEIR JOBS IN THE MINES AND WENT BACK TO SCHOOL
WHAT CONCRETE ACTIONS WE CAN PROMOTE
IN OUR REALITIES IN THE SOUTHERN EUROPE REGION
TO COMBAT CHILD LABOUR?
- Inform ourselves and raise awareness of this intolerable injustice.
- Try to buy products that have certifications of non-use of child labour.
- Support organisations and associations dedicated to protecting the rights of children and their education.
- Actively engage our local and national governments to demand stricter policies and a firmer approach to child labour.
