Children Working
on the Street
Yoshie NOGUCHI,
Senior legal officer, IPEC
www.ilo.org/ipec
International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour
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Contents
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Children “working” on the street
General overview on child labour
What is child labour (CL), and its
worst forms (WFCL)?
Challenges/lessons in addressing
CL and WFCL on the street
Data collection: CL on the street
Eliminating WFCL by 2016 !
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Children “Working” on the street
 Economic
activities
 selling
small objects,
 shoe-shining,
 portering
 Sexual exploitation
 Illicit activities
(prostitution)
 scavenging,
 begging
 Criminal
acts
 drug
dealing,
 pick-pocketing
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Child labour statistics
 215
million in child
labour, globally
 115
million of these
children in
hazardous work
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ILO Global Report 2010
 Child
labour continues to decline,
[3% decline between 2004-2008]
but more modestly than previously
[10% decline between 2000-2004]
 On present trends, the goal of
eliminating the worst forms of child
labour by 2016 will not be reached
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Different trends: girls and boys
 Fewer
girls are now in
child labour.
 declined
 Worrying
by 15%.
trend for boys
 Increase
by 20%
among older boys (15-17)
in hazardous work
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Regional trends
Asia and Pacific – significant reduction down to
96m (14.8 % of children)
Latin America and Caribbean – slight reduction
down to 10m (9%)
Sub Saharan Africa – further increase to 58m
(28.4%)
No separate figure for Europe or developed
countries – lack of surveys
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CRC and child labour
 The
right to be protected from
economic exploitation (§32) = the
protection from child labour (ILS)
 The right to education, health …
 Non-discrimination
 Two issues under the Op Protocols
(sexual exploitation, armed
conflict)
= Worst Forms of Child Labour
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What is Child Labour?
Child labour to be eliminated =
 Worst Forms of Child Labour (C182)
and
 Work done by a child below the
minimum age for that kind of work
(specified by national law, in line with
C138 and CRC article 32(2))
See: UN SG Report to GA 2009
[A/64/127]
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What is child labour?
Work that is NOT Hazardous work
hazardous or
or other WFCL
other WFCL
18y
14/15/16
Children
above the
minimum
age but
below 18y
Children
below the
minimum
working age
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Worst Forms of Child Labour
a)
Children in slavery, forced or
compulsory labour, child trafficking
Including debt bondage, forced
recruitment for use in armed conflict
Children used in prostitution and
pornography
c) Children used in illicit activities
d) Children in hazardous work
See : ILO C182, Article 3
b)
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C 182: coverage
 All
sectors of economic activity
without any exception
 Girls and boys under 18 years
 Special attention for most vulnerable
e.g. minorities, girls, very young, and
on the street !
 Worst forms of child labour as urgent
priority target for action
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Child labour and its worst forms
on the street
Forced labour, including in
begging, child trafficking
b) Sexual exploitation
c) The use of children in illicit
activities or crime (e.g. drugs)
d) hazardous work
= “work likely to jeopardize/harm a
child’s health, safety or morals”
a)
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Challenges in addressing
child labour on the street






Outside the scope of “child labour” legislation
- absence of an employer, or formal relation
- not considered in the “hazardous work” list
The children may be perceived as delinquents
rather than victims of WFCL
Interest in / access to education ?
“Decent Work” prospect for these children ?
Social protection measures may focus adults
or families: e.g. Cash Transfer, income support
Maybe lacking ID, birth certificate, legal status...
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Some good practice examples
Listing “street vending” among the hazardous
work and prohibit for children (Lebanon)
 Comprehensive rehabilitation for girls on the
street and/or at risk of sexual exploitation
(Russian Federation)
 Mobile schools: facilitating the transition from
street to school (Romania)
 Mobilizing public action by raising awareness
among teachers and students (Paraguay) –
SCREAM (Supporting Children’s Rights through
Education, the Arts and the Media) methods

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Some lessons learned
Clearly define “what is not acceptable” in labour,
criminal, or children’s rights or other laws;
 Consider and address difficulties of enforcement
 Raise awareness among stakeholders of the specific
risks [of working street girls]; thus help raise the issue
higher on the political agenda
 Gradually prepare the children for social / family
integration
 Involve government entities from the beginning, giving
them ownership
 Mobilize children and young people; conveying the
message to the public (families, community and
institutions) and also the business community
 Respect and adapt to the socio-economic and cultural
characteristics of each country and each community

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Child labour statistics
SIMPOC* (Statistical Information and
Monitoring Programme on Child
Labour) help countries in :
 household-based surveys,
 establishment-based surveys,
 baseline surveys, and
 rapid assessments
[* www.ilo.org/ipec/ChildlabourstatisticsSIMPOC ]
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Child labour statistics (2)
 Need
to develop methodologies
 Need to define concepts for
statistical operation < legal definitions
 Resolution by the 18th International
Conference of Labour Statisticians
concerning statistics of child labour
(ICLS Resolution) - 2008
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Challenges in collecting data on
child labour on the street
 Household-based
surveys can
gather information only on children
living with their family and working on
the street
 Establishment-based surveys may
not cover any child labour on the
street
 Children’s accessibility, availability
and interest in the data collection
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Rapid Assessment
 Methodology
jointly developed by ILO
and UNICEF
 Especially useful for some WFCL
 Qualitative information obtained
through a rapid assessment will
apply with certainty only to the limited
sample population and context
[See: manuals available on SIMPOC website]
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Capture-Recapture method
 See
the UCW example
(Study on child beggars in Dakar)
 Previously used (2002 Global Report
on Child Labour) in estimating the
scale of the WFCL other than
hazardous work – a huge challenge
for us all in CL statistics
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Ethical considerations in
child labour data collection
 The
best interest of the child
Pre-research issues
 Assess the safety risk to the child of
participating in the survey (and to the
researchers): especially for children
exploited in / by organize crime
 Informed consent for all interviews;
in a child-sensitive way; with the right
to say “No” at any time
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Ethical considerations in
child labour data collection (2)
Issues during research
 Language and logic: to avoid jargon
and adapted to each child (age, sex,
culture…)
 Trust: to be built patiently on
relationship
 Conditions of listening: carefully, with
positive and neutral expression
 Pay and promises: consider carefully
Post –research issues
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Accelerating action against child labour
an
increased global effort
to tackle child labour and
enhanced Government
commitment
reach out to children at
special risk:
e.g. on the street !
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Further measures
international
cooperation
social
dialogue and cooperation
= Partnership with business and
trade unions
advocacy
decent
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and mobilisation
work for youth/adults
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The Global Action Plan
Eliminating
the worst forms of
child labour by 2016 !
 Roadmap
2010 (The Hague)
 Attention: children on the street
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Thank you for your attention !
International Programme on the
Elimination of Child Labour
4, Route des Morillons
CH-1211 Geneva 22
Switzerland
Tel.: (+41 - 22) 799 81 81
Fax: (+41 - 22) 799 87 71
E-mail: ipec@ilo.org
Child labour website:
http://www.ilo.org/ipec
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