Child labour in Cambodia

A Cambodian child scavenging in a landfill site.

Child labour refers to the full-time employment of children under a minimum legal age.[1] In 2003, an International Labour Organization (ILO) survey reported that one in every ten children in the capital above the age of seven was engaged in child domestic labour.[1] Children who are too young to work in the fields work as scavengers.[2] They spend their days rummaging in dumps looking for items that can be sold for money.[2] Children also often work in the garment and textile industry, in prostitution, and in the military.[3][4][5]

In Cambodia, the state had ratified both the Minimum Age Convention (C138)[6] in 1999 and Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention (C182) in 2006, which are adopted by the International Labour Organization (ILO). For the former convention, Cambodia had specified the minimum age to work to be at age 14.[7] Yet, significant levels of child labour appear to be found in Cambodia.[8]

In 1998, ILO estimated that 24.1% of children in Cambodia aged between 10 and 14 were economically active.[8] Many of these children work long hours and Cambodia Human Development Report 2000 reported that approximately 65,000 children between the ages of 5 and 13 worked 25 hours a week and did not attend school.[9] There are also many initiative and policies put in place to decrease the prevalence of child labour such as the United States generalized system of preferences, the U.S.-Cambodia textile agreement, ILO Garment Sector Working Conditions Improvement Project, and ChildWise Tourism.[3][10]

There is a need to eliminate child labour in Cambodia as a report by UNICEF states that child labourers could be missing out on education.[11] When children do not attend school, they are denied the knowledge and skills needed for national development.[11] Without education and vital life skills, they are vulnerable to abuse and exploitation, which may exacerbate the existing cycle of poverty in their families.[12] Consequently, this lack in productivity due to lack of education will hold back economic growth in Cambodia.[12]

  1. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference autogenerated1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b "Cambodia's Culture of Child Labour". The Sydney Morning Herald. 2007-12-23. Retrieved 14 Sep 2011.
  3. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference :4 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference :6 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference :7 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ "Convention C138 - Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138)". Archived from the original on 2012-08-03. Retrieved 2012-03-10.
  7. ^ "List of Ratifications (APPLIS)". Webfusion.ilo.org. Archived from the original on 2012-10-13. Retrieved 2012-07-29.
  8. ^ a b World Development Indicators 2000
  9. ^ Cambodia Human Development Report 2000
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference :11 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ a b "Child Labor Affect Human Capital Development". Modernghana.com. 2009-07-21. Retrieved 15 Sep 2011.
  12. ^ a b "Child Labour in Cambodia(VOA News)". Voanews.com. Retrieved 14 Sep 2011.