CHILD LABOUR: PROTECT THE FLOWER, THE STEM CAN ROT

by Someshwar Singh

Geneva, 7 Oct 99 -- The tenth anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, commemorated here last week, acknowledged that despite ratification by many governments, the Convention remains a set of principles on paper that needs to be transformed into reality.

As the chorus of human rights abuses gets louder on the international agenda, the plight of child labour in particular appears to be getting greater prominence.

The new ILO Child Labour Convention, adopted in June this year, received its first ratification last week from the little Island-Republic of Seychelles. Under the terms of its adoption, the Convention will enter into force twelve months after the ILO registers the ratification of two ILO member States.

The treatment meted out to children held in bondage or forced to work on plantations and in mines and factories around the world amounted to "an egregious and unconscionable abuse of human rights," says Juan Somavia, ILO Director General.

As many as 250 million children are economically active worldwide, with many millions working in conditions that are detrimental to their physical, mental and emotional well-being and which effectively preclude their growth into healthy and productive adulthood.

"Should we not be capable of ensuring to every child a good education, instead of entrapment into work that threatens her or his health and development?," asked Mary Robinson, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, in an address last week.

But there are fears that, in reality and practice, the whole issue of child labour and human rights may be used in such a way that the targeted children will most likely suffer the most - just like well-intentioned policies to remove poverty may have pushed the poor themselves out of existence!

Such fears were raised last week at the UN General Assembly by the Prime Minister of Malaysia, Mahathir Mohamad, who said the concern over child labour and sweat shop factories was expressive of a sense of caring.

"Unfortunately, the concern is only shown when the products of child labour and sweat shops compete successfully with the products of highly paid high living four-day week workers in the developed countries," Mahathir said.

"Child labour and sweat shops are not something which anyone would defend but consider the extreme poverty of the people in some countries."

"They have no capital, no technology or expertise, no markets at home, no Harvard-trained managers," Mahathir added. "All they have is low cost labour. For the workers the tiny wages that they earn is far better than starvation and death. If we really care, then invest and pay high wages and the sweat shops will disappear and adults will earn enough to feed their children. Forcing them to stop child labour and sweat shops will only cause more sufferings for their people."

The Malaysian Prime Minister, in effect, was calling for some fundamental and systemic treatment to remove the scourge of children sweating it out in tough conditions by lifting them and their families out of poverty.

Fears of misuse of labour rights in international trade by undermining the comparative advantage of developing countries with their cheap labour have also been voiced by the European Union. According to a news report of 5 October, "the E.U. will oppose and reject any initiative to use labour standards for protectionist purposes."

The document specifically states that the EU is opposed to any sanctions-based and unilateral approaches to labour rights. It states, "The comparative advantage of countries, particularly low-wage developing countries, must in no way be put into question."

But only yesterday, October 6, the ILO was urged to investigate allegations of child labour in the manufacture of rugby balls for the Rugby World Cup. The Geneva-based international trade union grouping FIET wants the World Cup authorities to sign up to a six-page Code of Practice which outlaws child labour and insists on human rights for workers who make official merchandise.

Though the manufacturer of the rugby balls has denied allegations that child labour was used in stitching the balls in India, FIET insists, "We're not talking about the balls that end up on the pitch, we are talking about the thousands of balls being sold to the fans as official merchandise."

"This is big business," FIET says, "and we believe the rugby authorities have a responsibility to ensure that all official merchandise is produced under conditions which conform to the standards laid down by the ILO."

Interestingly, FIET along with a few other organizations, are also keen to set up "a verification programme to ensure that agreements outlawing exploitation are enforced down the production chain."

A letter from these organizations adds "If this has happened with the manufacturing of rugby balls, then similar scenarios could be envisaged in the manufacturing of shirts, shorts, boots, and other apparel used during the World Cup matches."

Such moves are significant, particularly since most, if not all, of the estimated 250 million economically active children in the world are to be found in the developing regions of the world.

Can the worst forms of child labour be abolished from the face of this planet without simultaneously addressing the basic problem of poverty in which it is enmeshed? Isn't improving the living conditions of the world's over-a-billion poor people then the first call? Otherwise, would it not be a case of protecting the flowers without nurturing the stem and the roots?

Yet, it is a sad commentary on international understanding and cooperation, that only early last month, the UN Sub-Commission on Human Rights met for three days in Geneva on the question of 'right to development' and then had to put off the meeting for lack of agreement on finding a chairman!

Reportedly, the developing countries were trying to find a chairman from among the ranks of the developed countries and France in particular was being actively pursued to take on the role. The deliberations and guidance, it was hoped, would be more meaningful.

Mahathir pointed out in his speech to the General Assembly that there can be no quarrel over the need to abolish the worst forms of child labour nor in the principle of assuring children some fundamental human rights.

The question, he said, is how the 'international community' chooses to go about breaking the chains of some 250 million children in bondage.

The developed countries, in the words of Mahathir, "seem to have forgotten that they took centuries to make their system work. Their transition from feudal oppressive rule was bathed copiously in blood. Both rich and poor were massacred as reforms were forced by a succession of uncaring tyrants, many elected by the people. Even today their system has not brought about freedom and equity to large segments of their people." (SUNS4525)

The above article first appeared in the South-North Development Monitor (SUNS) of which Chakravarthi Raghavan is the Chief Editor.

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