Introduction:
Unacceptable forms of exploitation of girls and boys at work exist and persist, but they are particularly difficult to research due to their hidden, sometimes illegal, or even criminal nature (Frans Röselaers 2003). Child protection is an international condition for respect for their personality and is a prerequisite for ethics in its development (Article 19 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child). Child labor is a worldwide problem and a form of exploitation that has negative impacts on children's rights and the development of their personalities. One of the main countries where this problem occurs is Bolivia. According to UNICEF in Bolivia over 800000 children under the age of 18 are forced to work. However, in the case of Bolivia, it is more informative to jointly investigate the factors driving schooling and child labor decisions (Francesco Grigoli Giacomo Sbrana, 2012). In my main body, I aim to describe some of the main rights every child must have, and how these rights are being violated in Bolivia where thousands of children are forced to work and are being denied living a normal life like every child should be able to and conclude with 2 examples of main organizations that are trying to fight against these children rights violations and how they are aiming to stop child labor and help children.
Background:
Child labor means that children under the age of 18 are being forced to work, usually under hazardous working conditions, and are being denied basic rights such as education. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child Convention states that children have the right to be protected from performing any work that is likely to be hazardous to interfere with the child’s education or be harmful to the child’s health or physical, mental, spiritual, moral or social development.
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Bolivia is the country with the highest percentage of child labor. This is because Bolivia is one of the poorest countries and that is the main reason children are forced to work instead of going to school. Children are being denied healthcare and resources that the person needs such as food and water.
Analysis:
Every child born must have the same rights no matter where they are born, their ethnicity, race, and religion. According to the Convention on the Rights of the Child: The children's version, “a child is any person under the age of 18 and some of their main rights are access to education, protection from harmful work, the right to the best health care possible, clean water to drink, healthy food and a clean and safe environment to live in”. In many poor countries, these and many other rights are being violated because either the children live in poverty conditions or are just being forced to work under hazardous conditions. This is the case in Bolivia. A country with a high percentage of child labor and where children are being forced to work in dangerous conditions without good healthcare while being denied education and many basic needs.
Child labour can have a devastating effect on children's lives and their basic rights may be violated. This case is mostly occurring in the country of Bolivia where children are employed in the agricultural sector, working in activities such as planting and harvesting corn, working on cattle ranches, and planting and harvesting chestnuts and sugarcane. Child labor in Bolivia has recently been the object of considerable international attention following the approval, in July 2014, of a new Children’s and Adolescents’ Code (Fontana, Lorenza B, Grugel, Jean. 2017). According to the last National Labour Survey, almost 28 percent of Bolivian children and young people between the ages of five and seventeen—almost 850,000—take part in economic activities (Fontana, Lorenza B, Grugel, Jean. 2017). This means that the right of children to education and protection from hard work is being violated as mentioned before.
The main problems relating to children's health care, due to extreme labor, are the scarcity of health centers near the harvesters’ camps and the lack of money to pay for the services they offer. For this reason, most of the young people report that they handle health problems within the camps, visit health centers only for serious problems, and go to a few secondary or tertiary-level centers only in extreme situations. Likewise, difficulties relating to the accessibility of schools also stem from their scarcity, especially those offering levels higher than grade five. In addition, the great distances between the harvesters’ camps and the schools, among other factors, stand in the way of guaranteeing children and adolescents this fundamental right (Guillermo Dávalos, 2002).
International organizations, such as UNICEF and the International Labour Organization (ILO) have developed programs to try to monitor and eliminate hazardous child labor. UNICEF works to prevent and respond to child labor, especially by strengthening the social service workforce. Social service workers play a key role in recognizing, preventing, and managing risks that can lead to child labor. UNICEF says “Our efforts develop and support the workforce to identify and respond to potential situations of child labor through case management and social protection services, including early identification, registration, and interim rehabilitation and referral services” (https:www.unicef.org). The ILO’s International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC) was created in 1992 with the overall goal of the progressive elimination of child labor, IPEC's work to eliminate child labor is an important facet of the ILO's Decent Work Agenda. Child labor not only prevents children from acquiring the skills and education they need for a better future, but it also perpetuates poverty and affects national economies through losses in competitiveness, productivity, and potential income. Withdrawing children from child labor, providing them with education, and assisting their families with training and employment opportunities contribute directly to creating decent work for adults (https:www.ilo.org).
Discussion:
Child labor in Bolivia is not just a present problem. It has been a continued issue for decades. Nowadays with the help of organizations like the above-mentioned, it has been significantly reduced. This is not enough since there are still many children who are forced to work, and their basic human rights are being violated. To fully put an end to this issue more people need to step up and help. One of the solutions Guillermo D stated was a hiring and inspection policy that allows the State to reassume responsibility for contracting sugarcane harvesters, as well as regulations to prohibit the involvement of children and adolescents in cane harvesting. In addition, the implementation of social and institutional networks to provide monitoring and inspection, enabling appropriate sanctions to be applied if needed. Also, according to Saini, G “It is not an easy task to diminish the terrible evil like child labor because it is not uniform. Education plays a significant role in mitigating child labor. But knowledge is the only prime factor that can be a universal solution for this problem. Reducing poverty, and child trafficking, cheap (or free) and compulsory education, and average standards of living are such main factors that can root out child labor. A government should pay attention to the backward areas and the poor. The very first thing that the International Monetary Fund and World Bank should be allowed to help needy people by providing a loan to eradicate poverty. Governments should offer various opportunities for employment in their surroundings. They can earn money enough to fulfill their needs. Also, schooling foundations and other educational institutes should be available to be educated”
Conclusion:
In this essay, it has been explored that all children must have the same rights, but this was not the case in Bolivia where child labor is a huge problem and children are being denied education and work under hazardous conditions. Bolivia is the country where the most child labor is occurring, alm850,000 000 children in Bolivia work in jobs such as harvest camps with very little pay and almost no healthcare. It has been stated that organizations such as UNICEF and ILO have been trying to help and find solutions for these issues so that all children can live accordingly and have a nice childhood.
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