In Madagascar, some 10,000 children like Tenasoa work in the largely uncontrolled mica mining industry. Together with adult members of their families, they labour in dangerous conditions, breathing in harmful dust and climbing into precarious tunnels. Many of these children have dropped out of school – if they ever went to school at all.
“If we don’t work, we don’t eat,” says Soja, Tenasoa’s grandfather. – It’s very simple. Men, women and children all have to work to survive.”
In 2015, the United Nations set a goal of ending child labour worldwide by 2025. But progress is slow and unsustainable, according to a report released Wednesday by the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
An estimated 138 million children worldwide are working – 12 million fewer than in 2020. The ILO and UNICEF are calling for a redoubling of efforts to combat child labour to achieve better results.
“The results of our report are encouraging and show that progress is possible… But we must not turn a blind eye to the fact that there is still a long way to go,” said ILO Director-General Gilbert Ungbo.
Dangerous labour
Since 2000, the number of child labourers has fallen by more than 100 million. This is a significant achievement and proves that the international community already has a roadmap to combat child labour. However, there is still a lot to be done.
“Too many children continue to toil in mines, factories and fields, often doing dangerous work for survival,” said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell.
Child labour is not defined as any work done by children, but specifically that which deprives them of their childhood and poses a threat to their health and development.
“It’s important to understand that [child labour] is not about helping around the house or doing chores. We are talking about work that is often hazardous,” ILO child labour expert Benjamin Smith explained to the UN News Service.
Of the 138 million children engaged in some kind of activity, 54 million work in hazardous conditions, including mines. Among those children is 13-year-old Honorine from Benin. She works from 10am to 5pm at a gravel pit, getting paid for every bucket of gravel she collects. The girl is saving her money, dreaming of becoming a hairdresser.
© UNICEF/A. Roisri
Behind every figure is a child
The report notes that child labour is often passed down from generation to generation. Children forced to work from a young age have limited access to education, reducing their chances of a normal future and condemning their children to poverty.
Federico Blanco, ILO expert and lead author of the report, emphasises that behind each figure is the fate of a specific child: “Let us remember – behind each figure is a child who has been denied the right to education, protection and a decent future.”
Noor, 13, a Rohingya refugee in Bangladesh, was forced to leave school to help support his family. A worker at a UNICEF-funded centre convinced his parents to do whatever it took to get the boy back to school.
“I dreamed of becoming a teacher. I thought it would never happen. But now I believe again that I can study and one day become what I always wanted to be,” Noor said.
A holistic approach
The report by UNICEF and the ILO calls for cross-sectoral solutions that integrate education, economic and social policy efforts.
It also stresses that child labour cannot be tackled without addressing its causes – first and foremost poverty. A key factor is the protection of parents’ rights, including the right to safe work and decent wages.
“The ILO looks at [child labour] as a whole, because it is important not only to help children, but also to provide adults with decent working conditions. Poverty is behind child labour,” Smith noted.
Given regional differences, a country-specific approach is important in each case. Sub-Saharan Africa, in particular, accounts for two-thirds of the world’s child labour.
Unfulfilled childhood dreams
Today, the fight against child labour faces a lack of funding.
“Global funding cuts threaten to undo hard-won progress. We must recommit to the idea that children belong in schools and playgrounds, not at work,” said Catherine Russell.
10-year-old Adwara dreams of going back to school. He has tried to combine school and work, he has eight siblings and has to help the family. Soon his teacher told him not to come any more – he was missing classes too often.
Now the boy works in a gold mine in Ethiopia and earns about $35 a day: “I want to learn. I want to become somebody.”