Eliminating International Child Labor: U.S. and International Initiatives
Released: 2003-02-28T00:00:00

Key Statistics

Table 1. Estimates of Children in Economic Activity, Child Labor, and Hazardous Work, 2000 (in thousands)

Source: ILO, Every Child Counts: New Global Estimates on Child Labor

Table 2. Estimated Number of Children in Worst Forms of ChildLabor, 2000 (in thousands)

Source: ILO, Every Child Counts: New Global Estimates on Child Labor

Global Incidences of Child Labor

According to ILO estimates, the largest number of child workers under 14 years old are in theAsia-Pacific region. However, Sub-Saharan Africa is estimated to have the highest proportion ofworking children, with nearly 30% of its children engaged in some form of economic activity. Aboutone in three children below the age of 15 is economically active in the region. (6) The child work ratiosin other major world regions are all projected to be below 20 percent. (7) Furthermore, every fourthchild in sub-Saharan Africa appears to start work before the age of 10. (8) Africa's relatively highpoverty rate, as well as its relatively high proportion of individuals both residing and employed inrural areas, may contribute to the large number of children at work. According to a World Bankreport, child labor participation rates are much higher in rural than in urban areas, and three-quartersof working children work in family enterprises. (9) Thereport further emphasizes that child labor is,and will continue to be, common in a large number of countries until poverty is substantiallyreduced.

The ILO estimates that nearly half (48.5%) of all economically active children were engaged in hazardous work, which it defines as "any activity or occupation which, by its nature or type has, orleads to adverse effects on the child's safety, health and moral development". (10) Much agriculturalwork is included in this category because it may involve the use of heavy machinery or exposure topesticides. An ILO report concluded that 55% of children below 12 years of age were working ina hazardous occupation or situation in 2000. Children between 12 years old and 14 years old werethe largest age group working in a hazardous occupation or situation. Sixty-six percent of all childlaborers aged 12 through 14 were reported to be engaged in hazardous work. (11)

The ILO chart below delineates the activity of those engaged in child labor, who comprise nearly 70% of all economically active children. An overwhelming majority (69.5%) of these child laborersis engaged in hazardous work. The deceptively small percentage of child laborers (3.4%) engagedin the "worst forms of child labor" represents 8.4 million children. The remaining 27% of the childlaborers were not working in either hazardous conditions or the worst forms of child labor, but theywere still engaged in forms of child labor which, according to the ILO, "must be abolished." (12)

Source: ILO, Every Child Counts: New Global Estimates on Child Labor.

A significant number of children (8.4 million) were estimated to be involved in the "unconditional worst forms of child labor," which includes prostitution and pornography, trafficking,forced and bonded labor, armed conflict, and other illicit activities. (13) Of the 8.4 million ensnaredin the worst forms of child labor a great majority (5.7 million) were either in forced or bonded labor,with another 1.8 million engaged in prostitution or pornography. The ILO estimates that some 1.2million children were trafficked in 2000, while 600,000 were engaged in illicit activities and 300,000participated in armed conflict. Most child soldiers were found in Africa and the Asia-Pacificregion. (14) The chart below shows the distributionof children engaged in the worst forms of childlabor.

Source:

Every Child Counts: New Global Estimates on ChildLabor

Difficulties in Eliminating Child Labor

Child Labor and Poverty

Global efforts to eliminate child labor have been complicated by a range of factors, including poverty, lack of access to education, soaring HIV/AIDS rates, and the ability to conceal the use ofchild labor. Historically, poverty and child labor are inextricably linked. Families in many countriesrely on the income from children to cover basic needs. A World Bank report found that countrieswith per capita income of $500 or less (at 1987 prices) have labor force participation rates of30%-60% for children aged 10-14 years. In contrast, wealthier developing countries, with incomesbetween $500 and $1,000, have lower child labor participation rates at 10%-30% for the same agegroup. (15)

As children work to contribute to their families' short-term needs the cycle of poverty continues. Child labor hinders economic development and perpetuates poverty by keeping the children of thepoor out of school, limiting their prospects for upward social mobility, and preventing them fromgaining the education and skills that would enable them as adults to increase their contributions toeconomic growth and prosperity. (16) Some havesuggested that child labor suppresses wages, becauseit increases the total labor supply. A recent article from the Journal of International Affairs arguesthat if child labor is left to proliferate, adult labor could be threatened. "[I]n the same measure asfemales replaced men as factory workers, so child labor, if not restricted, will crowd a proportionatenumber of adults out of employment." (17)

Child Labor in the Shadows

Children working in export industries (such as textiles, clothing, carpets and footwear) have been featured on news stories causing international uproar. An NBC Dateline report recently highlightedthe grim side of child labor in a story aired on June 23, 2002. The news story entitled, Slaves toFashion; Child labor and abuse in Indian silk factories , showed children working in dirty,sweltering factories with blaring music (to fight fatigue), no running water, no toilets, and no placeto rest. It reported that these children lived and worked in factories whose internal temperature oftenexceeded 100 degrees, and which remained locked with armed guards barring entrance or exit. Manyof the factories were in back alleys, accessible only to those that worked in them. Hidden camerasshowed children picking silk out of boiling pots with their bare hands, standing at machinespurposely built for them, and cowering as abusive employers liberally hit or threatened them. Research has indicated that children more often work in small subcontracting shops, like these, orhomework situations rather than in large-scale, formal factories. (18)

An important part of the story was a segment that showed the difficulty in monitoring and tracking goods produced with child labor. An undercover news reporter held an extensive interviewwith a silk exporter who admitted that her company routinely sends its silk to Italy to receive anItalian label, minimizing the likelihood that her company would be scrutinized for child laborpractices, and guaranteeing a higher price for the goods. (19) This practice reveals the difficulty in abolishing child labor as companies continue to discover ways to circumvent monitoring systems.

Child Labor in Various Industries

The Dateline story raised awareness about some aspects of child labor. However, the ILO has found that child workers in export industries are relatively few compared to those employed inactivities geared to domestic consumption. It is estimated that fewer than 5% of child laborers areemployed in the export manufacturing or mining sectors, and only 1-2% are employed inexport-oriented agriculture. (20) This reinforces theargument that child labor needs to be addressed atthe national and local levels.

Surveys have revealed that the majority of children who work (70%) are engaged in agriculture, with less than 9% involved in manufacturing, trade and restaurant work. Only 6.5% were found tobe engaged in social and personal services, including domestic work. Some 4% worked in transport,storage and communications, and 3% were found to be involved in construction, mining andquarrying. (21) Not only were most children foundto be engaged in agricultural work, but most childrenwere also found in the informal sector. This means that children will be less likely found in highlyorganized commercial plantations. Nonetheless, children are still a significant portion of thecommercial agricultural workforce, because the large plantations often subcontract to small-scalefamily farms that may use child labor. Studies in Brazil, Kenya and Mexico have shown thatchildren under 15 make up between 25% and 30% of the total labor force in production of variouscommodities. (22) The common practice ofsubcontracting is mirrored in manufacturing and a host ofother industries, underscoring the importance of developing national programs that address poverty,access to basic education, and include child labor initiatives in national labor legislation.

Child Labor and HIV/AIDS

Child labor has become even more difficult to eliminate with the rapid spread of HIV/AIDS. HIV/AIDS increases the number of child orphans and street children, inhibits children's ability toregularly attend school, makes children more vulnerable to sexual abuse and prostitution, andultimately elevates the demand for child labor.

HIV/AIDS has already increased the number of child orphans. Before HIV/AIDS, about 2% of children in the developing world were orphans; by the end of the 1990s about 10% of children wereorphans in some countries. An estimated 13 million children have lost their mothers or both parentsto HIV/AIDS; and 27 million children are expected to be affected by HIV/AIDS by 2010. If childrenup to 18 years are considered (children up to 15 years old are traditionally considered orphans), 50million children will be affected by HIV/AIDS by 2010. Globally, at least 90% of those orphanedthrough HIV/AIDS live in sub-Saharan Africa. (23)

Children orphaned by HIV/AIDS often have less access to education. Research has shown that children orphaned by HIV/AIDS are more likely to be out of school than those orphaned for otherreasons. (24) Once a parent becomes infected withHIV the child is often withdrawn from school eitherto care for the ill parent(s) and siblings, or to find work to substitute for the income of the sick ordeceased parent. Even if they remain in school, children raised in households with a parent livingwith HIV/AIDS usually only attend school sporadically.

Once the parent(s) die(s) the child may find refuge in the streets or with an extended family member. The extended family network has traditionally been very strong in many developingcountries. However, HIV/AIDS is undermining it. Older family members, already struggling tomake a living, rarely have enough money to sufficiently care for additional children. These childrenare less likely to receive an education, are more likely to be malnourished, and are more easilyexploited. Extended families are turning away children at rising rates, resulting in a significantincrease in "street children" and working children. Children on the street in need of money, food,shelter and guidance are more likely to be drawn into causal sexual relationships or to be exploitedfor commercial sexual practices. Consequently, these children become more likely to contractHIV/AIDS themselves. The United Nations estimates that up to 48% of street children have beensexually abused in return for food and shelter. (25)

As working adults continue to die at rapid rates, the demand for child labor increases. In areas severely affected by HIV/AIDS, employers have begun to seek out children to fill in the labor gaps. In Zimbabwe, the HIV induced loss of adult labor on commercial agricultural estates has increasedthe demand for child labor both in fields and in households. In South Africa, children are expectedto work on the estate if they live with their parents on the compound. (26)

Child Labor and Education

A lack of access to education is yet another contributor to the persistence of child labor. Education is critical in both preventing child labor and in removing children from hazardous formsof work. An estimated 113 million children do not have access to primary education around theworld. (27) Some do not have access to educationbecause the school fees, uniforms and other relatedexpenses are out of reach. Others either do not have access to a school or do not find the educationoffered to be relevant to their needs. While child labor may supplement the household income in theshort-term, in the long-term it can plunge the family deeper into poverty as it both increases thelikelihood that the child will receive meager wages for his/her lifetime and suppresses adult wages.

Efforts to Eliminate International Child Labor

There are a number of other international organizations and international non-governmentalorganizations (NGOs) that address child labor, but this report focuses on the international effortsof the International Labor Organization. (28) Since1919 the International Labor Organization (ILO)has adopted some 20 Conventions and Recommendations that seek to set minimum labor standardsfor children. (29) The Conventions are treaties andare binding on countries that have ratified them. TheILO offers countries technical assistance in implementing and ratifying Convention 138: MinimumAge for Employment , and Convention 182: Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labor (30) throughthe Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work and its Follow-Up. Established in1998, the Declaration commits all ILO members to respect, promote and realize workers' basicrights, even if they have not ratified the corresponding Conventions. (31) Workers' basic rights are:

the elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation;

the elimination of all forms of forced or compulsorylabor

freedom of association; and

the abolition of child labor . (32)

The Declaration and its Follow-Up incorporate no direct enforcement powers. However, the ILO monitors and reports on international child labor practices. The programs established under theDeclaration rely on two things to eliminate international child labor: annual reports fromparticipating countries and technical assistance programs. All states participating in the Declarationprogram are required to submit an annual report that illustrates their progress towards respecting,promoting and realizing the standards in the corresponding Conventions that they have not ratified. (33) The Declaration and its Follow-Up also commits the ILO to provide technical assistance to memberstates that will assist them in implementing the Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work.

International Initiatives

The ILO has a number of technical assistance programs that address child labor. The first is theInternational Program to Eliminate Child Labor (IPEC), which became operational in 1992. IPEChas mobilized more resources than any other Declaration technical assistance program.. (34) Eighty-twocountries now participate in the IPEC program, up from the initial six, and the program has attracted27 donor countries, up from the original one (Germany). (35) IPEC accounted for 12.8% of the totalILO extra-budgetary technical cooperation expenditure in 1998-1999. By 2000-01, 27.5% of totalILO extra-budgetary technical cooperation expenditure came from IPEC. (36) This initiative targetschildren engaged in hazardous work and the worst forms of child labor. To enhance sustainabilityand maximize impact, IPEC works with participating governments to remove children fromhazardous work and offers children and their families education, income and employmentalternatives. The program also seeks to prevent other children from becoming child laborers. (37) Thetraining component of IPEC Program helps member states to:

determine the nature and extent of the child labor problem;

devise national policies and protective legislation;

establish mechanisms to provide in-country ownership and operation ofnational programs;

create awareness about child labor in communities and workplaces;and

enhance workplace monitoring and social protectionprograms. (38)

A second technical assistance initiative is the Time Bound Programs (TBP). The TBP seeks to assist member States to implement Convention 182 and eradicate the worst forms of child laborwithin five to ten years. The ILO expects TBPs to have a significant impact on sustainabledevelopment largely because its methodology incorporates all members of society, and because itrequires that states demonstrate commitment to eradicating the worst forms of child labor. Recognizing the link between poverty and child labor, TBPs seek to incorporate strategies for theabolition of the worst forms of child labor into participating countries' national Poverty ReductionStrategy Papers and national labor market policies and processes. (39)

A third technical assistance program, the Statistical Information and Monitoring Program on Child Labor (SIMPOC), helps states identify the incidence, scope and causes of child labor. Dataon the scope and magnitude of child labor practices is scarce and is often not collected. Furthermore,the data that is available, including ILO data, has some margin of error. (40) SIMPOC providestechnical and financial support to countries to carry out child labor surveys, sets up national databanks and disseminates information. (41)

U.S. Government Child Labor Initiatives

While child labor has proven extremely difficult to eliminate, the United States has consistentlystrengthened its efforts to combat child labor. It has increased the number of U.S. agencies withmandates to fight the phenomenon, augmented its allocations to anti-child labor efforts, and attachedchild labor criteria to its international agreements and foreign assistance programs. In addition toits increasingly important role in developing programs that counter the spread of child labor, theUnited States has enhanced its role in the global fight against child labor through legislation andinternational agreements. One such international agreement is Convention 182 on the Worst Formsof Child Labor. As of 2002, one hundred twenty-nine countries have ratified Convention 182, dueto rapid Senate action the United States was the third. (42) The United States is also committed to the1990 World Declaration Education for All Initiative. This initiative seeks to ensure that by 2015 allchildren, particularly girls, have access to and are able to complete free and compulsory primaryeducation of good quality. (43) By virtue of its goalof global education for all, this initiative is seenas a tool to fight child labor.

A number of U.S. agencies have a mandate to address international child labor. Below is a brief description of some activities that the U.S. Department of Labor, the U.S. Department of Treasury,the U.S. Agency for International Development, and the U.S. Department of State implement toaddress child labor.

The U.S. Department of Labor

The U.S. Department of Labor (USDOL) is the lead U.S. agency with the task of implementing projects that counter child labor worldwide. The International Child Labor Program (ICLP) combatsinternational child labor as part of the Bureau of International Affairs (ILAB) of USDOL. ILABseeks to improve working conditions around the globe. The United States is the single largestcontributor to the IPEC Program, (44) contributingover $157 million to the ILO-IPEC between 1995and 2002.

The U.S. Department of Labor's International Child Labor Program has grown considerably since its inception in 1993. Initially, the ICLP investigated and reported on international incidencesof child labor. (45) The ICLP continues toinvestigate and report on global incidences of child labor,implements technical assistance initiatives, undertakes awareness raising activities, and maintainsa list of products, which it believes may have been made with forced or indentured child labor. (46)

Technical Assistance

The U.S. Department of Labor (USDOL) International Child Labor Program (ICLP) funds a number of technical assistance programs. The first, the ILO-IPEC Program, receives the largestportion of the technical assistance budget. In FY2002, USDOL contributed $45 million to theILO-IPEC Program. U.S. contributions support ILO-International Program to Eliminate Child Labor(IPEC), -Time Bound Programs (TBPs), and -Statistical Information and Monitoring Program onChild Labor (SIMPOC) activities in over 25 countries. The projects address key issues local to eachcountry, including child labor in Indonesia's footwear industry, trafficking in West and CentralAfrica, and eliminating child labor in Nicaragua's trash dumps. A complete list of USDOL technicalassistance projects can be found in the appendix.

The second technical assistance program, the Education Initiative (EI), is a relatively new one. Launched in 2001, the EI seeks to increase access to basic education, and to enhance thesustainability (47) of ongoing international andnational child labor programs. (48) The USDOLallocated$37 million to the EI in FY2002.The Education Initiative has four goals:

to raise awareness of the importance of education for all children and mobilize a wide array of actors to improve and expand education infrastructures;

to strengthen national institutions and policies on education and child labor;

to develop formal and transitional education systems that encourage working children and those at risk of working to attend school; and

to ensure the long-term sustainability of these efforts. (49)

The USDOL-ICLP also awards grants to raise awareness within the United States about the global problem of child labor. The funds have been used to produce reports on the nature and scopeof child labor in India, Brazil, Mexico, and Kenya; to develop a photographic library of child laborfrom around the world; to support the public education efforts of the Child Labor Coalition (CLC); (50) and to offer a child labor policy advocacy course to 50 graduate students. (51)

In addition to its technical assistance efforts the USDOL-ICLP, in conjunction with the Department of Treasury and the Department of State, maintains a list of products believed to beproduced with forced or indentured child labor. (52) The list is updated and the Department ofTreasury, U.S. Customs Service uses this list to seize such goods and prevent them from enteringthe United States. Since June 12, 1999, under Executive Order No. 13126, the USDOL-ICLP hasco-maintained this list and is currently reviewing information regarding the use of forced orindentured child labor in the cocoa industry in Cote d'Ivoire and the production of firecrackers inChina. (53)

U.S. Department of Treasury

Section 307 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (P.L. 71-361) prohibits the importation of merchandise produced in whole or in part with prison labor, forced labor, or indentured labor under penalsanction. It was amended in 2000 to specify that the prohibition includes forced or indentured childlabor ( P.L. 106-200 ). (54) The Department ofTreasury, U.S. Customs Service, responsible for enforcingSection 307 and related regulations, has established a Forced Child Labor Command Center in theFraud Investigations Branch of the Office of Investigations. The Command Center has a number offunctions, including:

providing a clearinghouse for information and investigative leads;

creating strategies to identify illegal merchandise before it arrives in the U.S.;

operating as a liaison for Customs investigative filed office; and

improving enforcement coordination and information. (55)

The U.S. Customs Outreach Program enhances its enforcement efforts. The Outreach Program educates manufacturers, U.S. importers and the public about forced child labor. It also informs itsaudience about the role of Customs in fighting forced or indentured child labor, offers advice onidentifying goods possibly produced with indentured or forced child labor, and explains U.S. childlabor law.

The U.S. Customs Service also fights forced and indentured child labor abroad through its attachÃ©s. AttachÃ©s, based in more than 20 countries, are responsible for investigating allegationsofforced or indentured child labor, informing foreign government counterparts, NGOs and privatebusinesses on Customs' role in fighting forced and indentured child labor, and conducting seminarsand conferences on forced and indentured child labor. Congress has appropriated over $14 millionto the U.S. Customs forced child labor program since FY2000.

U.S. Agency for International Development

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) programs to limit international child labor are implemented largely through three initiatives: the Sustainable Tree Crops Program (STCP),the Education to Combat Abusive Child Labor (ECACL) Activity, and anti-trafficking programs.

The Sustainable Tree Crops Program is a public-private partnership that seeks to raise the income and quality of life in cocoa-, coffee- and cashew-producing communities. Initially, the projectfocused its efforts on economically and environmentally improving the standards of ruralhouseholds. Recently, the program has evolved to address abusive child labor practices bypromoting and monitoring acceptable forms of labor. Recognizing that abusive forms of child laborare often a symptom of poverty, USAID hopes that by combining strategies to increase access toenvironmentally friendly technology to raise profitability, productivity and efficiency of smallholdertree crops systems, farmers will rely less on child labor. (56)

In an effort to investigate allegations of bonded child labor and child trafficking in harvestingsome cocoa beans in West Africa, USAID in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Labor, theChocolate Manufacturers Association (CMA) and the ILO conducted a survey in Cameroon, Coted'Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, and Nigeria. As a result of the survey findings, three congressionalmembers (57) , the Government of Cote d'Ivoire, theILO-IPEC, the CMA, other NGOs, and a host ofother chocolate employers and workers unions (58) were involved in the formation of a coalition todevelop an action plan to address abusive child labor in West African cocoa production. (59) Ultimately, the coalition agreed to a program for growing and processing cocoa beans and theirderivative products in a manner that complies with ILO Convention 182. (60) The Sustainable TreeCrops Program (STCP), the ILO, Governments of West Africa and the CMA are developing a pilotphase of activity that would complement existing STCP activities. Pilot projects were scheduled tobegin by November 30, 2002. (61)

USAID seeks to integrate child labor activities into all of its socio-economic mission-level development programs through the Education to Combat Abusive Child Labor (ECACL) Activity. The ECACL assesses the extent of in-country child labor problems; and conducts policy analyses,evaluations, and feasibility studies, as well as applied research. Through this activity ECACLexplores various strategies to eliminate abusive and hazardous child labor, such as alternative formsof education, scholarships, payments and other incentives. The research has already revealed thatmany children engaged in hazardous forms of child labor and their families do not see the merit inattending school; and many feel that the liberal arts form of education usually found in school is notrelevant to their lifestyle and will not serve to improve their financial standing. The ECACL hasalready produced a number of publications, a child labor database, child labor country briefs, andreports that serve as planning guides for assisting host countries and USAID missions in the planningand implementation of on-the-ground activities. The ECACL will also report on the results of itspilot projects that seek to prevent children from entering hazardous or exploitative forms of workworldwide. (62)

Finally, USAID conducts a range of anti-trafficking activities that include assisting children in Africa, cooperating with NGOs in Central Asia to combat trafficking and change legislation, andmonitoring cross-border trafficking for sexual exploitation in Latin America and the Caribbean. Many of these activities are conducted in conjunction with the U.S. Department of State and U.S.Embassies. (63)

U.S. Department of State

The U.S. Department of State is involved in child labor initiatives, which it coordinates with the ILO, USDOL, and USAID. Through its Office of International Labor Affairs it promotes the ILOcore labor standards, which include the abolition of child labor; plays a major role in U.S.Government participation in the ILO; pursues the inclusion of worker rights on the agenda ofinternational institutions, including the World Trade Organization (WTO), the World Bank, and theInternational Monetary Fund; and monitors countries' compliance with worker rights' provisions inU.S. laws. P.L. 106-386 called for the establishment of an Interagency Task Force to Monitor andCombat Trafficking, chaired by the Secretary of State. It also authorizes the U.S. Department ofState to establish an Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking to assist the task force. In addition,the Department of State is required to issue a report each year on trafficking, including an assessmentof what governments are doing to combat trafficking. Trafficking is discussed comprehensively inCRS Report RL30545, Trafficking in Women and Children: The U.S. and International Response.

Congressional Action

Congressional support for the abolition of child labor, particularly the worst forms of child labor,is very strong. Congress has acted to fund programs to combat child labor, expand the United States'role in the global fight against child labor, and include clauses that require action on eliminatingchild labor in trade agreements. In 1993, Congress directed the U.S. Department of Labor (USDOL)International Child Labor Program (ICLP) to investigate and report on child labor around the world.Since then, Congress has continued to fund the USDOL-ICLP research and reporting efforts. It hasexpanded the ICLP's mandate to include administering grants to organizations engaged in effortsto eliminate child labor and to improve access to quality basic education; and raising publicawareness and understanding of child labor issues. (64) Appropriations for the ICLP have grown to $82million in FY 2002. Congress has also greatly enhanced U.S. efforts to fight child labor by addingchild labor responsibilities to a host of U.S. agencies including, USAID, U.S. Department of State,and U.S. Customs Service.

Congress has also advanced the U.S. role in countering the worst forms of child labor through legislation, such as Section 634 of P.L. 105-61 , which restricts the importation of goods producedby forced or indentured child labor. Congress also added child labor stipulations to foreign aidlegislation through the Export-Import Bank Reauthorization Act of 1997 ( P.L. 105-121 ). This billintegrates child labor into the list of criteria for denying credit by the Export-Import Bank. Anotherbill targeting child labor abuses is the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000( P.L. 106-386 ). The legislation provides punishment for traffickers, as well as assistance andprotection to trafficking victims, with a special emphasis on women and children, both in the U.S.and abroad. (65)

Recognizing that international child labor could serve as an artificial barrier to trade, as countries that do not rely on child labor in export production could have difficulty competing against countriesthat do, Congress has used international trade agreements to fight child labor. The GeneralizedSystem of Preferences (GSP) is a program that extends duty-free entry to a wide range of productsfrom more than 140 countries and territories. The Trade and Development Act of 2000 ( P.L.106-200 ) expanded the GSP eligibility criteria to include the Worst Forms of Child Labor. The Actprohibits any country from GSP consideration if "[s]uch country has not implemented itscommitments to eliminate the worst forms of child labor." (66) The Trade Act of 2002 ( P.L. 107-210 )amended the Andean Trade Preference Act (ATPA) to add child labor criteria. (67) The NorthAmerican Agreement on Labor Cooperation (NAALC), the labor supplement to the North AmericanFree Trade Agreement (NAFTA), also has a child labor component. The agreement seeks topromote fundamental labor standards, including those addressing child labor, compliance with laborlaws, and the enforcement of those laws in each country. The Office of the U.S. TradeRepresentative states that the NAALC has enhanced transparency and public debate on labor law andenforcement issues more than any previous bilateral or trilateral cooperative agreement. (68)

Issues and Questions for Congress

Although Congress has consistently supported American efforts to eliminate child laborworld-wide, proponents of these efforts say that a number of issues continue to complicate theseinitiatives, including: ineffective enforcement mechanisms, sparse monitoring systems, and insufficient funding for programs that alleviate poverty, decrease incidences of HIV/AIDS, andincrease access to relevant education. Some argue that until international enforcement mechanismsare established, global monitoring systems are enhanced and funding for programs that combatpoverty, HIV/AIDS and illiteracy are boosted, child labor will continue to flourish.

Lack of Enforcement Mechanisms

There are a number of international, national and local programs that seek to eliminate international child labor. Some argue that a lack of enforcement mechanisms diminishes the impactof these programs. (69) Ratification of ILOConventions and participation in the ILO international childlabor programs are voluntary. Some maintain that the ILO should have some form of enforcementcapacity or penalty mechanisms in place to strengthen the child labor Conventions. These argumentshave raised a number of questions, including whether the ILO should add enforcement mechanismsto its charter, and the impact that enforcement mechanisms could have on ILO membership (thereare 186 ILO member states). Some have also suggested that the ILO should allow countries to filegrievances against countries that consistently use child labor.

Linking Child Labor to International Trade and Foreign Aid

Some argue that linking child labor to international trade strengthens efforts to eliminate its use. Advocates of this practice argue that countries that use child labor create unemployment indeveloped countries as multinational companies move their plants to countries with lower laborcosts. This, they argue, constitutes "social dumping", a term that implies that developing countrieswithout adequate labor standards distort trade and investment flows and participate in unfaircompetition. (70) Additionally, supporters of usingtrade as a tool to discourage the use of child labormaintain that this linkage will help developing countries to modernize, because children will beforced to attend school, and in the long run a more educated workforce will boost the country'sproductive potential.

Others oppose marrying child labor and international trade for a number of reasons. First, they argue that the United States unjustly requires states to ratify or comply with international child laborconventions, which it has not ratified. (71) Second,opponents argue that heightened trade barriers willworsen the plight of workers and more than likely increase reliance on child labor, as growth ishalted and families struggle to contend with increased poverty. Finally, since most child labor occurson family farms and in the informal sector, trade initiatives will have only minimal impact on childlaborers, opponents argue. If the United States would reduce its trade barriers (such as tariffs onforeign textiles and agriculture), some argue, developing countries would be able to grow, fightpoverty, and minimize their reliance on child laborers. (72) This issue has spurred debates on a numberof issues, including whether the United States should continue to use international trade forums tocontribute to the abolition of international child labor. Another issue some have raised is whetherU.S. tariffs and subsidies indirectly contribute to international child labor. Opponents of the use ofU.S. tariffs and subsidies have argued that the United States might be able to offer trade-friendlyoptions to eliminate child labor, such as halting direct foreign aid payments to governments that usechild labor.

Lack of Global Monitoring Systems

Both the ILO and the United States train labor monitors in foreign countries. However, most labor monitoring activities are undertaken in the formal sector. As noted early in this report, mostforms of international child labor occur in the informal sector, such as family farms and homebusinesses. Countries that already struggle with insufficient numbers of labor monitors who areoften ill-trained and ill-equipped can not effectively monitor the informal sector. Advocates of theincreased use of labor monitors have debated whether the United States should encourage the ILOto train labor monitors to inspect labor practices in the informal sector. Others have suggested thatthe ILO could offer governments additional technical assistance to hire more labor monitors. Someargue that alternative methods of supporting labor monitors, such as encouraging the private sectoror non-governmental organizations to offer support to in-country labor monitors or the ILO inmonitoring and documenting child labor abuses.

Child Labor as a Development Issue

Some have maintained that funding for poverty alleviation, HIV/AIDS, basic education, and agriculture is insufficient. These observers argue that a comprehensive anti-child labor agendashould include increased funding for poverty reduction programs, education initiatives and otherdevelopment programs. They maintain that if child labor were approached from a human rightsperspective then the myriad of development issues would be addressed in conjunction with childlabor programs. (73) Those who see child labor asa development issue argue that countries, includingthe United States, should increase funding to other development programs, such as HIV/AIDS, basiceducation and agriculture. Others express concern that if the United States were to increase itsfunding to anti-poverty initiatives it might have to cut funding for other programs. At the same time,some argue that the United States needs to change the way it offers foreign aid overall.

Appendix

Definitions of Child Labor

The ILO divides child labor into three categories:

labor performed by a child who is under the minimum age ;

children engaged in hazardous work ; and

children in the unconditional worst forms of child labor

Labor that is performed by a child under the minimum age is unacceptable because this work is likely to impede on a child's education and full development (74) , and thus the ILO considers it to bethe first form of child labor to be immediately abolished. The ILO estimates that in 2000approximately 246 million children between 5 and 17 years old were engaged in child labor thatrequires elimination. (75)

Children in hazardous work is defined as children participating in any activity or occupation which, by its nature or type has, or leads to, adverse effects on the child's safety, health (physical ormental), and moral development. Hazards could be as a result of excessive workloads, physicalconditions of work, and/or work intensity (duration or hours of work even if the activity is deemednon-hazardous or safe). (76) The ILO estimates thatin 2000 more than two-thirds of those in childlabor were engaged in hazardous work. An estimated 171 million children between ages 5 and 17were estimated to work in hazardous conditions in 2000. (77)

T he unconditional worst forms of child labor includes:

all forms of slavery or practices similar to slavery, such as sale and trafficking of children, debt bondage and serfdom and forced or compulsory labor, including forced orcompulsory use of children in armed conflict;

the use, procuring or offering of a child for prostitution, for the production ofpornography, or for pornographic performances; and

the use, procuring or offering of a child for illicit activities, particularly in theproduction and trafficking of drugs. (78)

Table 3. USDOL-Funded Child Labor Technical AssistanceProjects, FY1995-FY2001

Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of International Affairs, Office of the International Child Labor Program.

Table 4. Estimates of Economically ActiveChildren in 2000 (in thousands)

Source: ILO, Every Child Counts: New Global Estimates on Child Labor.