AA / Istanbul / Ömer Faruk Madanoglu
Around 160 million children around the world are deprived of their right to education and work long hours in agricultural fields, mines and industrial factories for little pay and in harsh conditions.
Sub-Saharan Africa, China, India and the Americas are among the regions with the highest number of child workers, with 89.3 million of them being young children aged 5 to 11 and 35 .6 million belonging to the age group of 12-14 years.
Muharrem Kiliç, President of the Turkish Human Rights and Equality Institution (TIHEK), made statements to Anadolu Agency (AA) on the occasion of World Children’s Rights Day , November 20.
He recalled that according to the definition of the International Labor Organization (ILO), child labor is work that prevents children from living their childhood, that diminishes their potential and their dignity, and that negatively affects their mental and mental development. physical.
He referred to a report published jointly with the ILO: “According to the report, the number of working children has unfortunately increased by 8.4 million, especially based on 2020-2024, reaching more than 160 million worldwide Around 28% of children aged 5 to 11 and 35% of children aged 12 to 14 who work are unfortunately excluded from educational processes and cannot go. at school.”
Kiliç emphasized that child labor is socially and morally dangerous and harmful and noted that forced labor destroys children’s potential and self-confidence.
“Child labor prevents children from going to school and even forces them to leave school early. Heavy and time-consuming work that children have to do at the same time as their school is considered child labor “At its worst, child labor enslaves children, separates them from their families, exposes them to serious illnesses and forces them to be alone in big cities at an early age.” -he indicated.
Kiliç said that child labor increased with the industrial revolution and consumer habits brought about by capitalism, and that children’s working and safety conditions are much worse than those of adults.
According to him, the responsibility for child labor cannot be attributed solely to the countries that employ these children, and consumers who know where these products are manufactured and who remain silent in the frenzy of consumption also have their share of responsibility for the work children.
He noted that big companies turn a blind eye to child labor in order to reduce production costs: “Global companies invest in regions where child labor is prevalent in order to reduce costs, which unfortunately leads to an increase in these rates The standards set by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) on child labor are ignored for cost reasons.
– “The regions with the highest rates of child labor are generally countries where the rule of law is not effective”
Kiliç also noted that the number of working children around the world remained stable for a long time before the Covid-19 pandemic, but that it has increased in recent years: “The Covid-19 pandemic has seriously disrupted production and supply process This situation has made the movement of workers almost impossible for the companies undertaking the work. Some countries and companies that wanted to quickly compensate for the heavy consequences of the pandemic turned a blind eye to the employment of workers. children as labor good walk.”
It highlights that child labor is a more serious problem in Asia and Africa than on other continents, and says the production frenzy has further increased threats and risks to efforts to protect the dignity of children .
And explains that children are mainly employed in countries where the legal infrastructure is weak and called “gray zone”:
“The regions where child labor is most intense are generally countries where the rule of law is not effective. In these countries, human rights and the rights of the child are not sufficiently developed Children are employed in illegal workshops or in uncontrolled zones lacking labor rights. Free production zones created under neoliberal policies also fuel this problem. 150 countries around the world, particularly in China, India and the United States, and most of these areas are among those with high levels of child labor.
– “Türkiye actively cooperates with international institutions and organizations”
Muharrem Kiliç explained that international institutions and organizations are working to protect children’s rights and set standards on child labor and added: “States and international institutions are making great efforts to eliminate this forced labor and compulsory. They are trying to ensure that the work of these children is eliminated.
He pointed out that Türkiye was one of the first countries to participate in the program to combat child labor:
“We see that the overall efforts to end child labor in Türkiye are carried out within the framework of cooperation. Türkiye actively cooperates with international organizations such as the ILO and the United Nations Children’s Fund. To effectively combat child labor, gray areas must be completely eliminated. I would like to emphasize that TIHEK and other rights institutions can play an important role in preventing child labor. guide on wrestling against child labor, we carry out serious work to protect children’s rights. We also actively pursue rights education programs through awareness-raising activities and child-friendly educational processes that we share with the public. “At this point, I would like to emphasize that national human rights institutions can also play a vital role,” he concluded.
*Translated from Turkish by Tuncay Çakmak
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