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Summary: Highlights of events and initiatives around the world to mark the 2012 World Day Against Child Labour.
The World Day Against Child Labour is observed every year on 12th June. The International Labor Organization created it in 2002, to highlight the plight of hundreds of millions of child workers around the world. The purpose of the day is to raise awareness on the issue of child labour defined as work performed out by children which is physically, socially or morally dangerous and harmful to them and interferes with their schooling. The worst forms of child labour are carried out in the contexts of forced labour, slavery, prostitution, drug trafficking, and involvement in armed conflict. The day also seeks to promote activism in defence of the human rights of working children who engage in labour activities that deprive them of adquate education, leisure and health - the latter being especially relevant to work carried out in hazardous environments. This year is no exception to the sustained and growing movement against harmful child labour. Below is just a snippet of events taking place around the world to mark the day and of initiatives to address the issue. It also includes the latest news on ongoing child labour concerns in some countries. ONLINE The Guardian - Live discussion on the role of business in tackling the root causes of child labour. AMERICAS Uruguay - First country to ratify Domestic Workers Convention. Bolivia - Working children's union presents bill of rights to improve their working conditions. Colombia - Girls and boys subjected to forced recruitment and sexual violence in decades-long armed conflict. Latin America - Plantation workers sue corporations for exposure to cancer-causing pesticide. United States - Farm safety rules for children dropped over opponents' pressure. ASIA Philippines - Labour Department sets up website where the public can report child labour activities. Indonesia - House of Representatives is set to approve the ratification of the CRC Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict. Pakistan - New law to lower minimum age of employment to reflect reality of working children. India - Domestic workers demand union for protection of rights. MIDDLE EAST Egypt - Toolkit to address child labour in agricultural sector. Yemen - Child recruitment in armed conflicts increasing. EUROPE Uzbekistan - NGO coalition urges EU to pressure the Uzbek government to grant ILO monitors access to 2012 cotton harvest. Ukraine - Coal mining film hailed for exposing hazardous child labour, banned at film festival. AFRICA Ghana - Media workers urged to improve coverage of child labour issues. Chad - Preventing the recruitment & use of children in the national army. Nigeria - Civil society pressure gets Government to release funds to put safer mining practices in place. Central Africa - Lord's Resistance Army has abducted over 600 child soldiers and sex slaves over the past two years. OCEANIA Fiji - Save the Children Fiji will engage in activities next week to raise awareness on child labour. New Zealand - Migrant girls exploited in prostitution, advocates criticise lack of data on child victims of sexual exploitation. Further Information: