China

Problems like these continue to plague an un-free world. I remember growing up with a tremendous cloud of fear that the opposite side of the Iron Curtain would someday take over and we would no longer be free. One day I looked at a magazine published in Russia. I studied the pages as a child does who is curious about things, and when I had looked a long time I said quite innocently that this country would never be able to take over ours "Because look, they can't even feed, cloth or house their own families, how do they think they are going to come over here?" I must have thought that the homes and clothes and details about food was very lacking. I still remember an image of a very old tractor with the paint peeling, a pile of rotting potatoes, and some child with holes in her teeth. From that day until the demise of the Iron Curtain, I was never fearful again. I've always prayed for the people of un-free places because I believe that freedom allows us to conquer all odds, and through freedom - not license - people achieve unbelievable things. Here's a story about Cambodia that makes me sick.

People's Daily on Line
Bejing China


Ending Child Labour to Expand Education and Reduce Poverty

Child labour is still widespread in Cambodia constituting a key obstacle to universal primary education, human resources development and the elimination of poverty, said a report released on Monday.

According to the report on children's work by the International Labour Organization, UNICEF (United Nations International Children Emergency Fund) and the World Bank, "children forced out of school and into labour to help their families make ends meet are denied the opportunity to acquire the knowledge and skills needed for gainful employments, thereby perpetuating the cycle of poverty."

"Children with little or no schooling will be in a weak position in the labour market, at much greater risk of joining the ranks of unemployed and the poor," the report said, adding that child labour not only harms the welfare of individual children, but also slows broader national poverty reduction and development efforts.

The proportion of working children has decreased in recent times, but remains an issue of concern. Over 50 percent of 7-14 year olds in Cambodia are still engaged in economic activities, which is very high compared to other countries with similar levels of income, according to the report.

The Cambodian Labour Law sets a general minimum working age at 15 years, but allows children aged 12-14 to perform "light" work that is not hazardous to their health or does not interfere with their schooling.

Most child laborers are engaged in subsistence agriculture with their families. About 90 percent of economically active children work for their families as unpaid labour, the report says.

The Government has significantly increased education opportunities for all children and made a number of legal commitments in the area of child labour. It has also taken important steps to reduce household poverty and vulnerability, which are typically behind child labour.

However, the government admitted that it does not currently have the capacity to properly enforce and monitor laws relating to child labour. The Cambodian Labour Law has not been extended to informal sector enterprise (including family-based agriculture and domestic service) where the overwhelming majority of child laborers are concentrated.

The report provides specific guidance on policies and interventions that should be promoted such as early childhood education, preventing school dropout through school attendance incentives and child labour legislation as well as policies aim at protecting working children who have already experienced the deleterious effects of work on education and health.

As part of a joint initiative of the International Labour Organization, UNICEF and the World Bank, called the Understanding Children's Work (UCW) project, the report is the product of a collaborative effort involving the National Institute of Statistics, concerned government ministries, and local research institutes.