Government, NGOs to join hands fighting child labor<\/p>\n
By T. Sima Gunawan<\/p>\n
OSLO (JP): The Indonesian government pledged yesterday to
\nbuild better working ties with non-governmental organizations
\n(NGOs) in its fight against the exploitation of working children.<\/p>\n
Indonesian Ambassador to Norway Amaruddin Noor told the final
\nsession of the International Conference on Child Labor that
\nIndonesia would strengthen the ties between NGOs and government
\ninstitutions concerned with the problem of working children.<\/p>\n
Amaruddin delivered the statement shortly before the
\nconference adopted an Agenda for Action, signifying the end of
\nthe four-day gathering.<\/p>\n
He cited strong cooperation between NGOs and government
\ninstitutions as among the short and medium-term measures for
\nremoving the most intolerable exploitative and hazardous forms of
\nchild labor.<\/p>\n
While Amaruddin's speech recognized the important role of NGOs
\nin seeking a solution to child labor problems, a labor activist
\nexploded in anger yesterday over what he called a manipulation in
\nthe distribution of the Indonesian ambassador's written statement
\nto the conference participants.<\/p>\n
Arist Merdeka Sirait of the Kompak foundation, which has been
\nworking with children for years, said the one statement read by
\nthe ambassador was different than the one handed to the
\norganizing committee.<\/p>\n
The document given to participants omitted three points, the
\nfirst of which was the government's commitment to strengthen its
\nties with NGOs and other interested institutions.<\/p>\n
The other two missing points were the promised support for
\nresearch on working children and studies on the impact of
\ndifferent intervention programs, and the development of standards
\nand guidelines for companies employing children.<\/p>\n
\"The point on the strengthening of ties with NGOs is very
\nimportant to us. If it is missing, this could affect our
\nefforts in dealing with the problems of child labor,\" Sirait
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
In response to the complaint, Amaruddin said there had not
\nbeen any intention to delete certain parts of the six-page
\nstatement. The three points had been removed only because he
\ninitially did not mean to read them out due to time constraints.<\/p>\n
\"We thought there would not be enough time, because we were
\ntold we would only be given five minutes,\" he said.<\/p>\n
In his statement, Amaruddin said the Indonesian government was
\nfully aware that children throughout the world, and especially in
\nthe developing countries, were forced to work. This situation
\nmade them vulnerable to work-related hazards and exploitation
\nfrom employers.<\/p>\n
\"Child labor is a complex problem whose roots are deeply
\nembedded in cultural, social and economic structures and
\ntradition,\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"Light work has been viewed as a normal component of the
\ndevelopment of a child into responsible adulthood. However, the
\ngovernment is strongly against the involvement of children in
\nhazardous occupations, as reflected in Indonesia's decision to
\nratify the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child,\" he stated.<\/p>\n
Suyono Yahya, Secretary to the Coordinating Ministry for
\nPeople's Welfare, Indonesia, said that Indonesia adopted the
\nAgenda of Action without any reservation.<\/p>\n
The agenda's main goal was the elimination of child labor, but
\nconsidering the fact that child labor cannot be entirely
\nabolished, Indonesia would implement policies aimed at the
\nprogressive virtual elimination of child labor, he said.<\/p>\n
\"The agenda is morally and politically binding,\" he said. In
\norder to make it legally binding, the agenda would be contained
\nin the new International Labor Organization (ILO) Convention on
\nChild Labor, scheduled to be adopted next year, Suyono said.<\/p>\n
Asked about future steps, Suyono said Indonesia would prepare
\ndirectives for the implementation of the new Manpower Law.<\/p>\n
According to Suyono, the spending for basic social programs
\nper capita in Indonesia is around US$35, out of the $700 income
\nper capita.<\/p>\n
There are about 2.1 million working children in Indonesia.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/government-ngos-to-join-hands-fighting-child-labor-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }