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Child labor laws exist in most countries, but are not always enforced. Children are exploited in various industries, including domestic work and the sex trade. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child aims to combat child labor, but its effectiveness is questionable. Poverty is a major factor in child labor, and critics argue that eliminating poverty is necessary to prevent children from being forced into dangerous industries.
Child labor laws are intended to protect children from exploitation in a wide range of industries. Most nations around the world have child labor laws, although these laws may not always be strictly enforced. This illustrates a serious problem with trying to reform established practices; the prohibition of child labour, unfortunately, does not make it disappear. To combat child labour, nations must take an active role in enforcing their child labor laws and addressing the broader issues that lead to child labour.
As a general rule, most countries consider anyone under the age of 18 to be a ‘child’. In most cases, someone between the ages of 15 and 18 can do “non-hazardous” work, and some countries have restrictions on the number of hours these workers work, to ensure that their work does not interfere with their education. Some countries also have an additional category, between 13 and 15, for ‘light work’. These ages are in line with an international standard promoted by the International Labor Organisation, and no country is completely free of child labor laws. However, despite clear laws on the books, child labor is a major problem in many regions of the world, especially in Africa, Latin America and Asia.
While most people think of children working in sweatshops when they think of child labor, children are also forced into service in the sex trade, the military, the agricultural industry, and as domestic servants. Many child laborers work exclusively in domestic industry, rendering boycotts or international sanctions rather pointless. Child labor laws in theory protect children in all of these industries, but they can be enforced interchangeably, if at all. Inspectors who visit sites with child workers often receive memorized responses from the children, who are trained to respond with responses that hide their age and employment status.
In an effort to combat the issue of child labor and generally minimal rights for children, the United Nations introduced the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1989. Almost all member countries of the organization have signed the convention, with the exception of the United States and Somalia. Signatories to the convention must agree to combat the exploitation of children by undergoing regular review by a committee and promoting a safer and healthier world for children to live in. Since many of these countries allow serious violations of their child labor laws, the effectiveness of this convention is questionable.
In industrialized nations, child labor laws are very restrictive and are heavily enforced. In developing nations, however, these laws tend to leave more leeway and are still nearly impossible to enforce. Cultural values may promote child labor as acceptable, for example, or children may work under their parents so they cannot be identified as child workers. Because poverty is a major factor in child labor, critics of child labor laws have pointed out that they can, tragically, force children into more dangerous industries, and that poverty must be eliminated so children don’t feel obligated to work.
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