IV

105TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. RES. 444

Supporting the Global March Against Child Labor.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MAY 21, 1998

Mr. GEPHARDT (for himself, Mr. MILLER of California, Mr. BOSWELL, Mr.

SANDERS, Mr. VISCLOSKY, Mr. NEAL of Massachusetts, Mr. VENTO, Mr.

MATSUI, Mr. LEVIN, Ms. DELAURO, Mr. LANTOS, Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts, Mr. LAFALCE, Mr. KENNEDY of Rhode Island, Mr. OLVER, Mr.

TORRES, Mr. MORAN of Virginia, Mr. ROMERO-BARCELO ́, and Mr.

BONIOR) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the

Committee on International Relations, and in addition to the Committee

on Education and the Workforce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions

as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

RESOLUTION

Supporting the Global March Against Child Labor.

Whereas the International Labor Organization estimates that

at least 250,000,000 children under the age of 15 are

working around the world, many of them in dangerous

jobs in industry, mining, and plantation agriculture;

Whereas nearly 50 percent of the children in Africa, 21 percent in Asia, and 17 percent in Latin America go to work

without ever having seen the inside of a classroom;

Whereas the United States Secretary of Labor has conducted

4 detailed studies that document the growing scourge of
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child labor in the global economy, including children as

young as 5 who are making assorted products traded in

the global marketplace;

Whereas many of these child laborers work long hours for little or no pay under abominable conditions, sacrificing

their childhood, health, and well-being;

Whereas the number of children under age 15 who are working under horrible conditions and the scale of their suffering are increasing every year, despite the existence of

international and national laws which purportedly bind

virtually all national governments to prohibit the commercial exploitation of children;

Whereas Principle 9 of the Declaration of the Rights of the

Child, proclaimed by the General Assembly of the United

Nations on November 20, 1959, states that ‘‘. . . the

child shall not be admitted to employment before an appropriate minimum age; he shall in no case be caused or

permitted to engage in any occupation or employment

which would prejudice his health or education, or interfere with his physical, mental, or moral

development . . .’’;

Whereas children under the age of 15 in many countries still

lack either the legal standing or practical means to protect themselves from exploitation in the workplace;

Whereas the prevalence of child labor in many developing

countries is rooted in widespread poverty that is attributable to unemployment and underemployment among

adults, precarious family incomes, low living standards,

and insufficient education and training opportunities

among adult workers and children;
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Whereas the exploitative employment of children under the

age of 15 deprives children of the opportunity for basic

education and a brighter future;

Whereas the exploitative employment of children under the

age of 15, often at pitifully low wages, ignores the importance of increasing jobs and purchasing power among

adult workers as a catalyst to the development of internal

markets and the achievement of broad-based, sustainable

economic development, especially in many developing

countries;

Whereas the Global March Against Child Labor has been organized by more than 700 nongovernmental organizations

from all walks of life from the local to the international

level as a massive global demonstration of concern and

outcry for the eradication of the worst forms of child

labor;

Whereas the mission of the Global March Against Child

Labor is to ‘‘mobilize worldwide efforts to protect and

promote the rights of all children, especially the right to

receive a free, meaningful education and to be protected

from economic exploitation and from performing any

work that is likely to be damaging to the child’s physical,

mental, spiritual, moral, or social development’’;

Whereas portions of the Global March Against Child Labor

will pass through 92 countries in Asia, Africa, Latin

America, North America, and Europe, reaching Washington, DC, in late May and culminating in Geneva, Switzerland in June; and

Whereas the Global March Against Child Labor promises to

be the largest protest ever against the commercial exploitation of children in developed and developing countries
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alike, involving millions of children and adults: Now,

therefore, be it

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives—

2 (1) condemns child labor exploitation wherever

3 it occurs in the United States and overseas;

4 (2) endorses and supports the Global March

5 Against Child Labor and applauds the efforts of the

6 organizers and participants in this historic undertak7 ing; and

8 (3) pledges to work for effective international

9 action to eradicate the worst forms of child labor by

10 the year 2000.

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