Durban, 15 May (IPS) – Children’s voices take center stage at the 5th Global Conference on Elimination of Child Labor, which opens in Durban, South Africa, on 15 May 2022. Their voices ring with the words: “Nothing about us is without us.”
The conference comes at a time of increased child labor around the world since 2016 and amid the deadline to meet the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal of eliminating child labor by 2025.
An estimated 160 million children are in labor confinement, with an estimated nine million more joining their ranks due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the economic crisis in many parts of the world. .
Lucky Agbavor, a former child laborer from Ghana, made headlines with his testimony that he was forced into child labor at the age of four when his impoverished mother sent him to live with a relative in a village. fishing. While his mother thought he was educated and cared for, the boy was forced to work on a boat and nearly died. He was then sent to another relative.
“He made me carry beams and loaders in the forest,” recalled the young man. He tries to go to school, but working and studying is very difficult. He returned home after failing his basic education exam in 2012.
“I came back home, and things were very difficult,” he said.
But Lucky made it through high school by making money selling ice cream, and today he’s proof that anything is possible.
“In between, I tried my best,” he said. Thanks to a Pentecostal Church scholarship, Lucky was able to pursue a Bachelor of Nursing.
“I hope to become one of the famous nurses in Ghana,” he told the audience.
Thatho Mhlongo, Nelson Mandela’s ambassador to the National Assembly, was resolute.
“Child labor is not a rumor; it is as real as it is happening all over the world. I have personal experience. I witnessed a very close friend of mine having to work and take care of children. family.”
She commended the conference organizers for inviting the children and hearing their voices.
Thatho also noted the South African government’s efforts to assist children affected by the recent flooding in KwaZulu Natal, which has claimed hundreds of lives and left many homeless.
She reminded the audience, which included South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, two Nobel Peace Prize winners and prominent delegates from the labor movement.
While children’s stories are moving, government, labor, business and NGOs have tackled the challenges of combating child labor and sought to meet the annual deadline. 2025 to end this practice in a world affected by war, displacement, and pandemics.
Cosatu Workers Union Vice President and Leader Bheki Ntshalintshali questioned how when “the world is three times richer, 74% are denied social benefits.”
“Poverty makes children vulnerable,” he said.
Ntshalintshali called for a “new social contract” to end child labor, noting that four out of five children are forced into agricultural work in sub-Saharan Africa.
Jacqueline Mugo, of the Federation of Kenya Employers, acknowledges that reversing the growing trend of child labor is important, although not easy.
“There is no doubt that it is more important to succeed and promote an end to child labor than previous conferences… If we don’t address the root causes, we are sure to be sure,” she said. will not succeed.”
2014 Nobel Peace Prize winner Kailash Satyarthi, who has been fighting child labor in India and elsewhere for 40 years, remains optimistic despite the setbacks.
He notes that while the world’s wealth is still growing, the plight of the children is getting worse.
“I’m angry that the discriminatory world order and racist mindset are still age-old. We can’t eliminate child labor without abolishing it in Africa. We know the problem is. What we need is, as Madiba Satyarthi said, (because) concerted action is courage, referring to South Africa’s first democratic president, Nelson Mandela.
He said it was time to rise above partisan politics, adding that child labor could be reduced again.
Nosipho Tshabalala hosted a panel discussion on child labor where Stefan Löfven, former Prime Minister of Sweden, talked about labor market and supply chain challenges and how we can use transition climate to create jobs.
Leymah Gbowee, another Nobel laureate, hasn’t pressed any punches when it comes to Africa’s poor child labor record.
She has criticized African governments that have paid for lip services in an attempt to eradicate child abuse.
“When the cameras go off, suddenly politics takes effect… Africa is to blame; our government is not bluffing,” she said, reminding politicians that “our children are the key to any policy, not politics”.
Minister of Employment and Labor Nxesi also criticized, saying: “We passed resolutions, big plans but failed to implement.”
But he also defended SA, saying the country provides a safety net for vulnerable children through subsidies and free meals a day.
The ILO DG, Guy Ryder, has called for a people-centred approach to ending child labour.
“Child labor that occurs in middle-income countries … is always linked to poverty and inequality. More than two-thirds of children’s work happens with the family,” says Ryder.
These children were subsequently removed from the educational program.
The UN representative to the African continent Amina Mohammed, who is also the chair of the UN SDGs, said via hologram: “Child labor is completely wrong. The ILO has an important role to play in the work. this.
She noted that “lack of educational opportunities promotes child labor”.
Saulos Klaus Chilima, Malawi Vice President, called for urgent action, saying: “We will get there. We will achieve what we want to achieve. I believe we can overcome.”
In his speech, President Cyril Ramaphosa commended the ILO for being at the forefront of global efforts to eliminate child labor. “
“Child labor is the enemy of the development of the child and the enemy of progress. No civilization, no nation and no economy can claim to be at the forefront. in progress if success and wealth are built on the backs of children,” he said.
Ramaphosa said South Africa is a signatory to the Convention on the Child because “such activities rob children of their childhood”.
He notes that while for many people, child labor “provides a feeling of sweat… but there is a hidden side, which is that children do domestic work for loved ones and families.”
“We urge all social partners through the Durban Call to Action to take practical action to end child labour,” said Ramaphosa.
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© Inter Press Service (2022) – All rights reservedOrigin: Inter Press Service
