There are 60,000 children in the sex industry in the Philippines alone, noted a 1999 human-rights report by the U.S. Department of Labor. To end child slavery will take a concerted effort. Fighting world poverty is one fundamental step. If we are serious about ending child slavery, we have to get serious about raising family incomes. Wealthy nations, including the United States, need to cancel Third World debts and enable developing nations to spend more of their budgets on the basic needs of their citizens.
Education is also crucial.
Compulsory education laws would keep children in school and away from the workplace. Families often agree to bonded labor because they are told their children will have the opportunity to learn valuable work skills. But with free schooling as an alternative, parents will be less likely to let their children leave home to work. The United States is lagging in the worldwide effort to end child enslavement. The Bush administration can start to catch up by signing the U.N. Convention on Children's Rights, which protects children from economic exploitation and work that threatens their health or development.