C Explanatory memorandum
by Ms Eka Sepashvili, rapporteur
1 Introduction
1. As the 2025 deadline for achieving
target 8.7 on child labour of the United Nations (UN) 2030 Agenda for
Sustainable Development
Note and the European
Union’s corollary commitment to ending child labour
Note approaches,
the latest figures suggest a worsening global situation, exacerbated
by the impact of recent socio-economic crises and the Covid-19 pandemic.
The elimination of harmful child labour has therefore become an important
and urgent priority on the international agenda, which must be addressed
more effectively. Otherwise, the situation will deteriorate instead
of improving by 2025.
2. In March 2022, the Committee on Social Affairs, Health and
Sustainable Development tabled a motion for a resolution entitled
“Children in the world of work: eradicating harmful child labour
(
Doc. 15484).
Note The motion
points out that one out of ten children in the world is involved
today in harmful labour.
Note The
committee then held an exchange of views with the representative
of the International Labour Organization (ILO) in Türkiye, Senior
Co-ordinator of the Child Labour Programme,
Note and
also organised a side-event on “Decent work: building a sustainable
future” during the UN High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable
Development (10-19 July 2023, New York, USA), including a contribution
of the ILO’s representative in New York,
Note which
was another opportunity for parliamentarians to highlight the urgency
of action to eliminate harmful child labour.
3. The ILO defines child labour as “work that deprives children
(any person under 18) of their childhood, their potential and their
dignity, and that is harmful to their physical and/or mental development”.
Child labour has many causes (such as poverty, unemployment of parents,
insufficient educational opportunities, migration, traditional or
cultural habits, employers’ demand for cheap labour and income inequalities)
and consequences (notably impacts on mental and physical health,
capacity to complete a normal educational path and develop a skills
base conducive to better paid and more secure jobs and higher social
status).
4. The global estimates from the ILO and UNICEF for 2020
Note show that certain sectors
were particularly affected by child labour among children aged 5
to 17 years. These sectors, in order of significance, were as follows:
agriculture (70%), other services (15.2%), industry (10.3%) and
domestic work (4.5%). We should note that this distribution can
vary by region. The study also reveals that for children aged 5
to 17 years in the “Europe and North America” region, the share
of service-related work was much higher, with a different breakdown:
agriculture (44.1%), services (39.1%) and industry (16.8%). Worldwide,
most of the child labour, especially hazardous child labour, is
concentrated in the agricultural sector.
5. According to the ILO, 79 million children aged 5-17 are working
in hazardous conditions in agriculture, manufacturing, hotels, restaurants
and domestic services.
Note It
is estimated that 3.3 million children globally are subjected to
forced labour. This is particularly alarming because some of the
tasks they are forced to perform are likely to interfere with their
physical and mental development. Since children and adolescents
are more vulnerable to hazards than adults, they find themselves
at a far greater risk of exposure to certain diseases, injury, permanent
disability, psychological damage, and death.
Note Hazardous work in cotton production
is among the worst forms of child labour, as children are exposed
to harmful pesticides. Children are less aware of risks than adults
and less capable of making informed judgements because they lack
experience. For these reasons, they are often willing to go the
extra mile without realising the risks.
6. The issue of child labour extends beyond the boundaries of
formal economies, seeping into the informal sector. In many cases,
low wages of “breadwinners” drive other members of the family into
the informal workforce, because the main wage earned is not sufficient
for sustaining a household. For this reason, children too may be
encouraged to join the labour force.
7. The Covid-19 pandemic has further aggravated the situation.
Mr Pierre-Alain Fridez (Switzerland, SOC), rapporteur of the Parliamentary
Assembly on “Eradicating extreme child poverty in Europe: an international obligation
and a moral duty”, warned member States in 2021 about the socio-economic
effects of the Covid-19 pandemic and the risk of an increase of
child labour as a side effect.
Note The
unprecedented drop-off in economic activity and deterioration of
working conditions resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic had drastically
reduced opportunities in the labour market for many parents. As
many families suffered loss of income, lowering of wages or the
loss of a family member, children were often forced into labour
to help their parents.
8. Unfortunately, children are more likely to accept work for
less pay and in vulnerable conditions.
Note The Covid-19 pandemic has revealed
the lack of resilience of our economies and the fact that every
country is threatened by child labour, especially in times of crisis
and economic instability. No country is exempt from child labour,
including in Europe: in 2020, around 3.6 million children between
5 and 17 years were employed in Europe, with half of them being
in hazardous work.
Note Member States concerned
include Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia,
Montenegro, North Macedonia, Republic of Moldova, Serbia, Ukraine,
Türkiye
Note and Italy
Note among
others. The latest evidence warns that, globally, 9 million additional children
Note were at
risk of being pushed into child labour by the end of 2022, compared
to 2020, as a result of rising poverty driven by the pandemic and
its aftermath.
9. However, some forms of work can positively contribute to children’s
development if carried out in healthy and safe conditions, and in
accordance with minimum age and maximum hour requirements.
Note In fact, experiencing the world
of work before leaving school can enrich school learning while helping
children and adolescents to make informed career decisions. Such
light work should comply with existing international and European
standards such as the minimum age of work, the maximum weekly working
hours, and the compatibility with school attendance. Furthermore,
legislation should foresee the development of new forms of labour
resulting mainly from technological progress and changes in the
labour market, in order to ensure due child protection also in the
future.
10. The persistence of child labour in the 21st century is unacceptable.
As the deadline for eliminating all forms of child labour by 2025
approaches, the global community should act more vigorously.
Note Nevertheless, progress to end child
labour has stalled for the first time in 20 years.
Note The Assembly has a major
role to play in the fight against child labour by proposing means
of putting an end to harmful child labour, and a better regulation
of all child work. This report examines the modalities of the existing
international and European legal frameworks with regard to child
labour and seeks to provide guidance to policy makers on how the
situation could be improved, including through legislation and its
implementation at national level, considering the root causes of
this phenomenon.
2 The legal framework and its limitations
11. Child labour has been practiced
throughout most of human history, but it was not until the industrial revolution
that nations identified this as a social problem. Many industrialising
nations, such as the USA, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands,
implemented during the 19th century national legislative measures
to regulate this issue.
Note
12. The international legal framework regarding the protection
of children in the world of work gradually expanded during the 20th
century when the global community recognised child labour as a main
priority for international action. Enhanced co-operation in the
eradication of child labour resulted in the adoption of the ILO Convention
No. 5 that sets a minimum age of 14 for industrial employment and
the ILO Convention No. 138 that permits light work for those between
the ages of 13 and 15 (or 12 and 14 in developing countries). At
the time, the underlying goal of the ILO was to combine the long-term
objective of eliminating child labour with transitional policy measures to
promote working children’s welfare, particularly in developing countries.
Note
13. During the 1990s, advocacy efforts to put the spotlight on
the problem of child labour and the rise of international campaigns
on violence against children contributed to prioritising the eradication
of child labour in the international development agenda, while the
short-term objective of humanising child labour by regulating and
improving working conditions gradually disappeared from the ILO’s
discourse.
Note This
shift of the ILO’s policy towards the recognition of a more pressing
need to abolish child labour eventually contributed to the adoption
of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1989 and the
ILO Convention No. 182 on the Worst Forms of Child Labour in 1999
(the 182 Convention).
Note
14. The 182 Convention is the first instrument of international
law that calls on States to take immediate and effective measures
to secure the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of
child labour as a matter of urgency. It aims to prevent children
from engaging in hazardous work, forced labour, commercial sexual exploitation,
or criminal activities. The worst forms of child labour include
all forms of slavery, sale and trafficking of children, recruitment
of children for use in armed conflict, use of a child for prostitution,
for the production of pornography or unlawful activities such as
drug trafficking. The scope of the 182 Convention excludes decent
youth employment, a type of work that allows children to develop
their skills in safe working conditions (not affecting their health,
education, or personal development). In parallel to the 182 Convention, the
UN Convention on the Rights of the Child enshrines the right for
children to be protected from “performing any work that is likely
to be hazardous or to interfere with the child's education, or to
be harmful to the child’s health or physical, mental, spiritual,
moral or social development”.
15. Following the example of the ILO, the Council of Europe has
also set out a protective legal framework for children in several
instruments. Children’s rights are specifically addressed in several
articles of the European Social Charter (ETS Nos. 35 and 163). Its
article 7 requires States Parties “to provide that the minimum age
of admission to employment shall be 15 years, subject to exceptions
for children employed in prescribed light work without harm to their
health, morals or education”. The European Convention on Human Rights
(ETS No. 5) also provides protection for children as its article
4 states that no one shall be held in slavery or servitude. Furthermore,
the standards set out through the numerous conventions adopted by
the Council of Europe strengthening children’s rights throughout
Europe – such as Convention on the Protection of Children against
Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse (ETS No. 201, Lanzarote Convention),
the Convention on Cybercrime (ETS No. 185, Budapest Convention)
and the Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings
(CETS No. 197) – have been further highlighted in the Council of
Europe Strategy for the Rights of the Child 2022-2027.
Note
16. The European Union has renewed its commitment to eradicate
child labour through the EU Action Plan on Human Rights and Democracy,
the EU Strategy on the Rights of the Child (2021-2024)
Note set out in consultation with more
than 10 000 children and child rights agencies
Note and the European Child Guarantee. The
EU Action Plan on Human Rights and Democracy supports free and easily
accessible compulsory education for children until reaching the
minimum age for work, while extending social welfare programmes
to help lift families out of poverty in line with the Sustainable
Development Goals. The EU Strategy on the Rights of the Child envisages
a set of key actions such as dedicating 10% of overall funding under
the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument
(NDICI) in Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, the Pacific, the Americas and
the Caribbean to education; promoting and providing technical assistance
to strengthen labour inspections systems for monitoring and enforcement
of child labour laws; and working towards making supply chains of
EU companies free of child labour.
Note
17. This new strategy will undoubtedly bring progress to the current
EU legal framework on child labour enshrined in Directive 94/33/EC
of 22 June 1994 on the protection of young people at work (hereafter
“Young Workers Directive”). The Young Workers Directive imposes
on member States the obligation to protect children from economic
exploitation and any work that may have a negative impact on their
development or education. It sets the minimum age of admission to
employment at 15, aligns it with the educational system milestones, limits
working time to 40 hours per week and 8 hours per day, and bans
night work for children. Furthermore, it sets out several obligations
for employers in relation to child workers in light of their vulnerability.
Note
18. However, the report by the Greens/European Free Alliance (EFA)
group of the European Parliament on Europe’s child labour footprint
in 2019 (published in 2021) revealed that the European Union imported
around 50 billion euros of products produced with child labour in
2019. Saskia Bricmont
Note advocates for the need to take into
account child labour in international trade relations in order to
meet the European Commission’s political guidelines of zero tolerance
on child labour.
Note For the time being, the European
Union does not have at its disposal a legally binding instrument
that prevents goods resulting from child labour from being commercialised
in Europe. Nevertheless, the motion for a resolution tabled in the
European Parliament on a new instrument to ban products made by
forced labour provides hope and raises expectations.
Note
19. In addition to this initiative, several European countries
have already enacted laws that require companies to conduct due
diligence to ensure compliance with conventions regarding human
rights and child labour in supply chains. In this context, we can
give examples such as the German Act on Corporate Due Diligence
Obligations in Supply Chains
Note,
which entered into force in 2023, and the Dutch Child Labour Due Diligence
Law
Note,
which entered into force in 2022.
20. The European Union is currently reviewing its due diligence
legislation
Note throughout
the supply chain, on human rights, environmental impacts, as well
as child labour. The legislation would affect partnership agreements
with producing countries and set out time-bound, measurable and
enforceable roadmaps. The findings for 2023 of the European Committee
of Social Rights (ECSR)
Note show insufficient measures to prohibit employment
under the age of 15, to monitor child labour in member States Parties
to the European Social Charter and to criminalise all acts of sexual
exploitation of children. The ECSR notably points out that the daily and
weekly duration of light work for children under 15 years is excessive
in several States where more than 6 hours a day and 30 hours a week
during school holidays are allowed. Moreover, in certain States
Parties children still in compulsory education are not granted two
consecutive weeks of rest during school holidays.
3 Addressing
the root causes of child labour and targeting loopholes in law and
practice
21. Child labour results from a
combination of factors that need to be addressed through a comprehensive and
holistic approach. Domestic laws prohibiting child labour or raising
the minimum age of admission to work cannot on their own take care
of the issue since they do not address the underlying drivers of
this phenomenon: lack of education, poverty, poor living conditions,
disability, destructive habits.
Note
22. Access to quality education can help break intergenerational
cycles of poverty and provide equal opportunities for children all
over the world. However, low-income family units often lack the
means to send their children to school and are not always aware
of the value of education. At the IV Global Conference on the Sustained
Eradication of Child Labour in Buenos Aires (14-16 November 2017),
some solutions were put on the table for discussion such as quality,
free and mandatory public education for all children at least until
the minimum age of employment, investments in education and social
protection programmes, adequate rights and professional conditions
for teachers, the removal of all costs linked to education and the
implementation of incentive programmes to promote schooling.
Note These suggestions are in line with
the human rights comment of the Council of Europe Commissioner for
Human Rights that advises the authorities to carefully evaluate
the potential impact on child labour of budgetary cuts in the field
of education and training.
Note
23. As mentioned above, it is necessary to improve parents’ working
conditions in order to ensure a better future for their children.
In the agricultural sector, where most of child labour is concentrated,
reassessing piece-rate wage systems and recognising the need to
guarantee adequate minimum wages for agricultural workers, sufficient
to meet their families’ needs, can have a positive impact in the
fight against child labour.
Note Cash transfer schemes
appear to hold particular promise as well in keeping children in
school longer and preventing them from engaging in hazardous work.
Note To
the contrary, cuts in public spending in the context of the Covid-19
pandemic had a dramatic impact on children’s vulnerability to harmful
and exploitative forms of work and threaten their well-being.
Note The
ILO estimated that expanding social protection to adequately respond
to the Covid-19 crisis could have reduced the number of children
in child labour by 15.1 million between 2020 and 2022.
Note However, the
latest evidence shows the opposite trend. Policies need to go beyond business
protection and be tailored to households’ needs so as to ensure
adequate solutions to child labour.
24. Co-operation and dialogue with civil society, enterprises,
trade unions and NGOs in areas such as auditing, security and health
policy in the company are key to improve terms and conditions in
the collective bargaining agreements which can also be used to address
child labour.
Note In
this context, labour inspectors play an important role in eliminating
child labour through regular check-ups on workplaces. Document falsification often
makes an effective inspection more difficult, therefore legislation
and policies should propose solutions to overcome this problem.
Enterprises should also be encouraged to implement income-generating
activities for the parents, microfinance, and skill vocational training
for older children. Instruments such as national action plans on
business and human rights that codify minimum requirements for child
labour due diligence in a strong law could prove very useful when
helping enterprises to comply with the law.
Note
25. The rights of the child are still violated on a daily basis,
not least due to gaps in children’s legal protection, but even more
so because of the gaps between law and practice.
Note Progress needs to be achieved in monitoring
Note and collecting data. In view of
the unprecedented scale of labour migration in Europe, the Committee
on Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development has raised
its concern for the situation of left-behind children, which are
particularly vulnerable to labour exploitation, as well as sexual
exploitation and abuse,
Note and has advised improving data collection
on left-behind children by social services and promoting evidence-based
care provision.
Note As part of the Council of Europe
Strategy for the Rights of the Child 2022-2027, all Council of Europe
member States should fulfil their obligations under the Convention
on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings and the Lanzarote
Convention in order to address child exploitation in general and
sexual abuse in particular.
Note
4 Proposed
measures to eliminate harmful child labour
26. The Durban Call to Action
Note adopted during
the 5th Global Conference on the Elimination of Child Labour in
2022, sets out a comprehensive framework with six commitment areas
aimed at addressing and eradicating child labour. It calls for a
multi-stakeholder approach, policy reforms, and co-ordinated efforts
to protect children's rights, promote decent work, ensure children's
access to quality education and social protection, and strengthen
monitoring and enforcement of child labour laws and regulations.
27. According to
an
ILO Report,
Note a three-pronged
strategy could provide a sustainable response to harmful child labour.
In the short term, efforts must be directed towards reducing vulnerabilities,
raising awareness, enhancing co-ordination, exchanging information
between social partners and countries, setting-up cash transfer
programmes and alternative income generating opportunities to support
vulnerable households and strengthening labour inspectorates to
monitor the implementation of labour regulations. The aim is to
address the issue promptly with creative solutions. In the medium-term,
protective measures must be implemented, such as conducting research
to detect new and emerging patterns of harmful child labour, forced
labour and human trafficking or working closely with boards of education
and ministries to boost re-enrolment and to reduce the number of
children dropping out of the schooling system. Lastly, the long-term
strategy should address structural issues in accordance with international
labour standards.
28. The role of NGOs in ending child labour is crucial and multifaceted.
They can play a significant role in addressing the root causes and
consequences of child labour, advocating for policy changes, and
raising awareness among the public. One way forward is to provide
educational alternatives and offer quality education to children
who are out of school or at risk of dropping out due to poverty,
discrimination or other obstacles. Education can help children enhance
their skills, knowledge and confidence, and ultimately prepare them
for better opportunities in the future. By working with governments
and other stakeholders, NGOs can incorporate the prevention and
elimination of child labour into the government's social development
agenda and translate these goals into national policies and programmes.
Additionally, NGOs can monitor the implementation of such policies
and programmes and evaluate their impact on children's rights and
well-being.
29. NGOs can also collaborate with various stakeholders, such
as employers, trade unions, community groups, media organisations,
religious leaders, and local authorities in order to support and
advance ethical business practices. These partnerships can help
uphold fair employment standards, establish effective social security
systems, enforce child protection law, and implement measures to
combat human trafficking. The ultimate goal of these efforts is
to minimise or eradicate child labour. In addition, civil society
can use multiple platforms and channels to spread awareness of the
detrimental impact of child labour on children's health, education,
dignity, and future prospects. They can help governments challenge
the false beliefs and stereotypes that accept child labour in specific
situations.
30. Other measures to help eradicate harmful child labour include
targeted education programmes. Only by recognising the persistent
existence of child labour, can we actively participate in its eradication
by educating our family and friends. Moreover, supporting journalists
who shed light on such cases is a form of advocacy that can be utilised
to drive social change in order to combat harmful child labour.
Additionally, by reducing investments in businesses that exploit
child labour, investors not only express their opposition to human
rights violations, but also remove the financial motivations behind
child labour. Finally, various organisations can promote a universal
labelling system that certifies products free from child labour.
Such a label would allow consumers to easily recognise and buy products
that uphold ethical standards in a free market setting, creating a
financial benefit for companies that eliminate harmful child labour
in their global supply chains.
Note The EU efforts for enhancing corporate
social responsibility in this respect are most valuable.
31. UNICEF for its part pleads for the following key measures:
enforcement of legal standards crucial to reducing child labour
and child recruitment; promotion of an integrated approach to reducing
child labour; engagement and advocacy with businesses and industry
platforms; stronger support of the social services; targeted treatment
of children as victims or survivors of child rights violations;
prioritising family reunification in migration context; and protecting
schools and schoolchildren during armed conflict.
32. UNICEF data shows that 1.4 billion children worldwide do not
get basic social protection, which jeopardises their long-term well-being
and increases their vulnerability to being trapped into child labour.
Note Ensuring
universal child benefits would help tackle both issues more effectively.
Stronger social protection for parents and caregivers such as by
securing access to decent work and adequate benefits (for unemployment, sickness,
maternity, disability, and retirement) is also essential. While
child benefits coverage in 2023 reached 92.3% in western Europe,
figures for eastern European countries show 61.4% coverage. The
room for improvement is thus more pronounced in the latter group
of countries.
33. Parliamentarians should also urge concerted action to provide
better support and protection for unaccompanied migrant children
and those left behind by parents who become migrant workers as these children
are particularly vulnerable to exploitation. This is a matter of
State responsibility, and it is crucial to address the issue of
children's access to healthcare and safety, especially when they
are fleeing conflict zones. In Resolution 2449 (2022) “Protection
and alternative care for unaccompanied and separated migrant and refugee
children” and Resolution 2366 (2021) “Impact of labour migration
on “left-behind” children”, the Assembly urged member States to
prioritise the restoration and protection of childhood for these
children and to uphold their well-being and rights across all European
countries. Moreover, action under the Council of Europe Strategy
for the Rights of the Child 2022-2027 should ensure that member
States address human trafficking effectively and thus combat the
worst forms of exploitation of children through forced work in sweatshops,
sex industry, army or criminal networks.
