ILO is a specialized agency of the United Nations
89th Session, 5 - 21 June 2001
Special High-level Session on the Launch of the Time Bound Programme on the Worst Forms of Child Labour in the Republic of El Salvador, the Kingdom of Nepal and the United Republic of Tanzania
12 June 2001
Address
by Mr. Walter Riester, |
It is difficult to find words after looking at these pictures of children who are forced to work. What can we say in answer to their distraught, unhappy faces?
Just maintaining a disconcerted silence will not, however, help any child who is forced to work. Childhood should be about playing and learning. We have to discuss this and we should tell the world that exploitative child labour should not exist in any society — nowhere on the face of the earth. It is easy, speaking as a representative of an industrialized country, to point the accusing finger at such forms of child labour which we ourselves have long since overcome. Yet, clearly, this is neither effective nor just. It is not effective because accusations create a defensive reaction rather than insight, and it is not just because exploitative child labour in a particular country often cannot be blamed on to the ill-will or indifference of that country’s political leaders. Of course, I do not agree with those who claim that child labour can only be eliminated by eliminating poverty itself, because ILO research has shown that there is no inevitable link between poverty and child labour. If you really want to combat child labour, you should offer a helping hand instead of wagging your finger. That is exactly the philosophy behind the IPEC Programme, which is based on the recognition of the fact that child labour has many causes and that there is no one panacea against this evil. We need a package of measures and, of course, the focal points will change from country to country. First of all, it is necessary to influence the attitudes of all decision-makers in the world of politics, the economy and society as a whole. They have to learn that child labour is not something that we should accept simply because it has always existed. The children working so hard today are the badly educated, unhealthy, unemployed people of tomorrow, who have a negative impact on the whole of the economy. Other measures are necessary as well. These include training for labour inspectors and suitable educational facilities for children who have already worked. Sometimes, as a first step towards this, we have to improve children’s working conditions. IPEC prefers to find a made-to-measure solution for each country, drawing on the plethora of measures that exist, rather than trying to impose a uniform solution on the whole world. This is possible because of two features that have characterized the Programme from the start, namely the almost universal cooperation with NGOs in the receiving countries and the opportunity for the authorities to use at least part of the available resources in a flexible manner without being bound by detailed rules and regulations. Please do not think that I am arrogant if I fail to remain modestly silent about the role of my country in the development of this Programme. We think it was very useful, ten years ago, to give some impetus to this Programme. But we are also aware that this initiative alone was no guarantee of success. Many elements had to come together in order to produce the successful programme that IPEC is today. In particular, it required the expertise and the admirable commitment of our colleagues here in Geneva and elsewhere in the world. It also required readiness on the part of many decision-makers in the receiver countries to take the problem of child labour seriously and not trivialize it. We are particularly happy that Germany did not remain the only donor for any length of time and that other donors rapidly joined us. I could say to my colleagues in the United States that I am not at all upset by the fact that Germany, in the meantime, has been pushed out of pole position on the donor table. We believe that this event should send a cry around the world: “There should be no place for exploitative child labour anywhere in the world. Please, all of you, support the ILO Programme so that this goal is reached as soon as possible.” I also welcome the proposal made by the Director-General of the International Labour Office that today should be the day for the abolition of unacceptable child labour.Updated by HK. Approved by RH. Last update: 13 June 2001.