Humanity

Samoa commemorated the World Day Against Child Labour yesterday with a Child Labour Awareness Forum at Hotel Millennia. The theme of the gathering was “End Child Labour in Supply Chains: It’s everyone’s business!” World Day Against Child Labour falls on the 12th of June every year. However, because the 12th of June falls on a Sunday in Samoa, the International Labour Organization (I.L.O) commemorated the day yesterday. According to the I.L.O National Coordinator, Tomasi Peni, their ultimate aim is to find ways to eliminate child labour once and for all.  In Samoa, one of the biggest challenges is the growing number of child vendors. “We have the Ministry of Education’s Act that only serves the school hours but what happens after 3 o’clock?” he said. “There is also the Ministry of Labour Act which only covers the formal sector but what about the informal sector because these street vendors are on the street and this is considered an informal kind of trading that they have

From the Sweat of our Children It’s heartbreaking to think that in this age of technology and communications, where we know everything that’s happening in the farthest corner of the world, child labor is still allowed to exist.  This is one of the biggest roadblock to human rights worldwide. Child labor is defined by the International Labour Organisation as “work that deprives children of their childhood, their potential and their dignity, and that is harmful to physical and mental development.”  That sums it up right there. In an ideal world, our children, our future generation, should be given the opportunity to have a childhood and develop their abilities in a positive environment.  Not working in factories or in the fields, without pay, in less than human conditions. Poverty and lack of schools are considered as the main cause of Child Labor. What are the current laws on Child Labor? The international Labour Organisation has set an international law on child labor