Some news from around the world:

  No Statistics on Child Labour in Fiji

Labour Minister of the Fiji Islands, Krishna Datt, has issued a statement conveying the State�s inability to combat the problem of child labour due to the lack of available statistics. Datt recognised that young children work in tobacco factories, shine shoes in supermarkets etc., but stated that there are not numbers to confirm these facts.

Fiji Village-Suva -13.06.06

  Child slaves brought to the UK by trafficking gangs

A media report revealed that hundreds of children from Asia, Africa and Eastern Europe are being brought into Britain each year to be used for "slave labour" in sweatshops, private homes and cannabis factories,. In many cases, the parents of these children pay gangs of traffickers to take them to the UK, believing that their offspring will lead better lives abroad, and the children will be able to send money home.  It has been found that the children who are smuggled into Britain are put to work immediately, they live in appalling conditions and are often subjected to physical and sexual abuse.

The Sunday Telegraph - 04.06.06

  Child domestic workers in Indonesia

According to an ILO study, there are approximately 2.6 million child domestic workers in Indonesia. Due to the hidden aspect of the work itself, children working in the domestic sector are not protected by Indonesian labour laws and therefore, suffer silently from exploitation and abuse.

Inter Press Service- 12.04.06

  Hazardous activities in Paraguay

According to an ILO study in Paraguay, more than 260,000 children participate in some form of economic activity, and nearly half of the children are exposed to hazardous conditions.  The problem persists despite a 2005 prohibition of child labour in sectors where dangerous products exist.

Terra Actualidad - 07.04.06

  Child workers in agriculture sector in Kenya

An ILO report presented a bleak picture on child labour in Kenya.  The report revealed that nearly 2.5 million Kenyan children are engaged in economic activities, most often in the agricultural sector.  The children were typically between the ages of 5 to 17 years.  While only 32% of these working children have completed secondary school, 12.7% have never been to school. 

AND Network News - 11.05.0

These examples illustrate that a strong and sustained global effort is required to progressively eliminate child labour worldwide.

According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), in 2004, there were 218 million children involved in child labour (particularly in the agricultural sector, where 7 out of every 10 child labourers work), and 317 million involved in economic activities.  Approximately 127 million children, aged 5-17, are estimated to be working in dangerous environments, exposed to hazardous conditions, machinery or substances.

The largest number of child workers can be found in the Asia and Pacific Region, where there are 122 million working children (aged 5 to 14), representing 18.8% of the region�s population. Sub-Saharan Africa is also acutely affected by the problem of child labour with 26.4% of the child population presently working, translating to nearly 50 million children altogether. The Latin American and the Caribbean regions are currently experiencing a decrease in child labour, with only 5 % of children economically active.

  Comparative Information Graph by Region: Children involved in economic activities

Source: Created by DCI based on information extracted from: the Global ILO report 2006 �The end of child labour: within reach�, International Labour Organization, Geneva, 2006.