This page is background information, last updated in May 2002 and still available for reference. For the latest on the Special Session on Children, please go to the Special Session index.

CHILD LABOUR: AN OBSTACLE TO EDUCATION FOR ALL

Moderator: Mr. John Daniels, Assistant Director General, UNESCO

Panelists:

Mr. Juan Somavia, Director-General, ILO
Minister E. Herfkens, Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Ms. Carol Bellamy, Executive Director, UNICEF
Mr. Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, State Secretary for Human Rights, Brazil
Mr. Kailash Satyarthi, Global Campaign for Education and Global March against Child Labour

The event highlighted the critical connection between eradicating child labour and achieving Education for All. Youth and high level representatives of UN agencies, including ILO, UNESCO, UNICEF, the World Bank, governments, trade unions and NGOs, explored the following searching questions raised by former child labourers:

"Why is it so difficult to eliminate child labour?"

Child labour and children's issues are not yet a political priority for economic and financial decision makers. Donor resources committed to the elimination child labour or provision of good quality education are thus insufficient.

The vicious circle of poverty, unemployment, child labour and overpopulation is hard to break. Hence, it is oversimplistic to state that providing education alone is sufficient to eliminate child labour.

"What have you done to keep the promises you made ten years ago?"

In the last decade, we have moved from denial to awareness. We must now move from consciousness to action. The elimination of child labour is a question of national dignity. Everyone is responsible for the elimination of child labour, not only governments and United Nations agencies, but every consumer, every voter, every parent and every community. Trade unions are key actors because where they are strong, child labour is less likely to occur.

In Brazil a programme substitutes the income earned by working children through allowances provided to families whose children attend school and after-school activities regularly. Such initiatives need to be scaled up.

"If children are exploited and are not educated, how will they sit in your seats?"

Working children are losing the childhood to which they are entitled. They are losing the chance to develop their potential, to find decent work as adults and to help build decent societies.

Many approaches have been undertaken to combat child labour, but education has emerged as one of the most effective, both in terms of prevention and protection. Good quality education must be the magnet to pull children into education and out of child labour. We need to expand our focus on "child-friendly schools" to "child-seeking schools" and meet the vocational needs of young people.

We must create better links between the global initiative on girls' education, launched at Dakar two years ago, and the elimination of child labour.

Children withdrawn from child labour need special classes to bridge the gaps between themselves and their peers before joining school.

"What are you going to do now?"

Educational investment must move outside the classic structure through the establishment of Child Labour Free Zones, initiated at the community level and spread throughout every country. South-South dialogue and collaboration must be promoted to ensure replication of good practices.

We must educate economic policy makers because it is very difficult to fight child labour unless parents have decent work. Decent work for parents is impossible unless the global economy responds and removes the incredible load currently placed on families. Pro-poor economic policies can strengthen the ability of families to send their children to school instead of to work.

Mobilisation of resources is required to fill funding gaps, for example, through monitoring commitments to be made at the upcoming G8 conference in June that will focus on education.

And finally, let's stop talking and just do it!