Millions of “nowhere children” entrapped in labour across Asia – World Vision calls for urgent action

12th June – To mark the 2013 International Day Against Child Labour, humanitarian agency World Vision is calling for governments, civil society and businesses to take rigorous and urgent action within their countries and regionally – to end child labour which has entrapped millions of children across Asia Pacific.

Beneath the bright lights of booming Asian economies, millions of children are working in dangerous, dirty and degrading conditions. Termed “nowhere children”, they are neither enrolled in school nor officially employed. The International Labour Organisation (ILO) estimates around 48 million children are involved in hazardous work in the region.

Brothers Taher, 9 and Tazirul, 13, work in a steel shop for twelve hours a day in Dinajpur, Bangladesh. Each boy gets 50 taka (approx.US 0.60cents) per week hammering hot steel into furniture. Abandoned by their father, Taher and Tazirul’s poverty-stricken mother feels that work will keep them from begging on the streets.

Abid Gulzar, World Vision’s Advocacy and Justice for Children Associate Director in Asia & Pacific says, “Child labour doesn’t just take away childhood from children, it also triggers a vicious cycle of poverty and exploitation. We can only break this vicious cycle of poverty by increasing access for the most vulnerable children to education, proper nutrition and health services.”

South Asia is home to some half a billion children. The largest child population of any region, it has among the largest number of children engaged in child labour and other forms of exploitation globally. In India, 1 in every 10 workers is a child.

In the Philippines, Erchelyn Dominguez spent her childhood planting sugarcane to buy food for her family. The youngest of five siblings, Erchelyn’s dream of becoming a teacher was put on hold when her father fell sick and she was asked to stop schooling. Sugarcane is one of Asia’s most important rural industries. It is also an industry that supports an illegal economic system of child labour.

National statistics show that children who don’t go to school are more likely to fall into child labour, working 12 hours or more a day – with little or no pay – every day of the week. These children are exposed to physical, sexual and psychological violence, and are deprived of their rights to care, education, recreation, rest, and overall development.

According to Gulzar, “The underlying causes of child labour are complex and often related to causes of other forms of violence against children. We see widespread poverty, gross inequality of income distribution, inadequate education and lack of social and child protection.” The consequences of child labour are long lasting, impairing children’s physical, emotional, and intellectual well-being, as well as the economic and social development of countries in the region.

In Erchelyn’s case, her inclusion in a World Vision project enabled her to finish school and pursue an education course in college. She is among the 28,916 children withdrawn from working in the sugarcane industry – the result of World Vision’s advocacy project targeting child labour in the Philippines.

As Co-Chair of the South Asia Coordinating Group on Action against Violence against Children (SACG), World Vision works with United Nations agencies and international NGOs for child rights and protection in South Asia. On this day, the SACG calls for civil society organisations, partners and business in South Asia to contribute to the strengthening of child protection and labour law compliance systems.

For more information or to speak to a World Vision expert on Child Labour:

Kristy Allen-Shirley, Regional Communications Director:
+65 8222 8696
kristy_allen-shirley@wvi.org

World Vision is a global Christian relief, development and advocacy organisation dedicated to working with children, families and communities to overcome poverty and injustice. World Vision works across 24 countries in the Asia Pacific region.