Submitted by crinadmin on
National Child Participatory Convention on Child Labour
Out of the total population of 25.2 million, 48% are children under 18 years of age. With the literacy rate of only 54%, women and children's literate population stands way beyond the average. Nepal's alarming 2.6 million child labours in more than 80 sectors of works are involved in hazardous forms. Child labours contribute 25% of the total workforce of the country. CONCERN surveys have divulged that 71,500 Restaurant child labourers, 32,000 child labours in stone quarries and 19,000 short distance porters earn their living. Similarly, child labours 60,000 child labours in brick kiln (CONCERN 2004) and 18,000 child labour in mechanical works risk their physical and mental development everyday. Long and tedious working hours with filthy working environment are some of the mutual characteristics among the sectors. Children work in intolerable conditions, underpaid with wages neither fixed nor fair. Child labours experiences all the forms of physical, mental, psychological, economical and sexual abuses, harasses and exploitation by employers, local boys, customers and colleagues. The working sectors are intolerably exploitative that violate all the national and international instruments. The nature of exploitation varies from all the sectors. Long working hours with no rest in between makes the works even more vulnerable. Children involved in the works start and end their work at wee hours. Majorities of the children involved in the labour areas are migrated. 95% of child porters and 77% of the child labourers in restaurant/teashops are migrated. The parents prefer the children to work at a tender age rather than educating them in low-quality schools with meager hard-earned sum. Correspondingly, lack of fertile and irrigated lands, illiterate large family, torment gender and caste discrimination also provide strong backup to these children to migrate to urban areas for better economic opportunities. The children's haphazard migration with families, relatives, brokers and friends situate these children in utmost potential to victimization. Similarly, Gender and age distribution among children working in HSCL depends upon two major factors: physically demanding sectors and the willingness of parents to employ girl children in sectors like restaurant that give unpredictable exposure to strangers and owners who at times even sexually harass and abuse the children. These children are the most vulnerable to school drop out that substantiate the low educational standards, unfriendly school environment, and parents' and teachers' negligence even if the children are admitted to the primary schools. With the alarming number of children and the educational facts, the noble Education for All (EFA) by 2015, Dakar Framework of Action, of which Nepal is also a signatory country, is impossible to achieve. Although the government has claimed free education, schools still charge amounts under various headings like library support and exam fees. Willingness to rejoin in the case of dropout child labour was very high. In child labour in stone quarries, 25% drop out of school soon after enrolment and half never once steppes into a school with remaining quarter attending schools. None of the children working in the sector was discovered completing standard 10. 69% of the children involved in brick kilns have attended schools out of which only 20% of the total children completing class three. All the children work from dusk to dawn to earn meager amount of money. The dependency of the families on the children is extremely high in all the working sectors with 81% of the restaurant child workers, 92% of the child labour in stone quarries, 87% of the child porters and 30% of the child labour in brick kiln supplementing dire family necessities. To highlight the situation of the children in the working sectors, CONCERN is organizing a "National Child Participatory Consultation Convention on Child Labour". The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Children (UNCRC) which was ratified by the Government of Nepal on September 14, 1990 is divided into four boxes of rights, namely Survival, Protection, Development and Participation. CONCERN with the collaboration of CONCERN Child Participatory Forum (CCPF), National Forum of Working Children (NFWC) and under joint cooperation from Plan Nepal has conducted eight theme-based consultation workshops (two in each boxes) and 16 group discussions (4 for each boxes) conducted with 81 child labours' clubs representing Child porters, Child labour in mechanical works, restaurant/teashops, stone quarry, brick kilns, domestic works, street vending and other hazardous sectors. The main objective of the program is to share the outcomes of the consultation and subsequently prepare the "The National Consultation on Child Labour Declaration June 27, 2007". The children will further decide about the relevant stakeholders (government, UN agencies, I/NGOs and civil society) to whom the declaration will be submitted. Altogether 1000 child labourers were attended the Convention which was held in Town Hall of Kathmandu. CONCERN is very thankful to the children who dedicated their valuable time in the whole process. We would also like to take this opportunity to thank you all for your kind presence. Concern for Children and Environment-Nepal (CONCERN) is a national organization advocating United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) and is continually bridging the children's voices to the government and related stakeholders. Bijaya Sainju
Executive Chairperson
CONCERN