Report to Inter-American Commission on Child Labour

Summary: The report to the Inter-American Commission is now available in Spanish. See below for a summary of the recommendations in English.

In a hearing at the 124 session of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, Defence for Children International (DCI-Costa Rica), the Global March for against Child Labour and the Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL) presented the situation of child work in the region.

Approximately 2 million children and young people have to work to survive in Central America. These figures underestimate the real extent of the problem and its consequences for the development of children and young people in the region.

Faced with this situation, and all that it implies in terms of respect for the rights of children and young people, greater efforts must be made to raise awareness and make effective changes.

Some of the key points presented in the report:

• The lack of recognition of 'invisible' activities carried out mainly by girls and young women - such as domestic work in their own home -  which leads to the extent of the problem being underestimated.
• The insufficient actions undertaken by Central American States in this regard, and the lack of will to protect the human rights of this population group.  
• The urgent need to rethink the problem of child work as a family subsistence strategies, which is a cause and a consequence of violations of human rights, particularly economic, social, and cultural rights.