Majority of working children in Asia: ILO<\/p>\n
Agencies
\nUnited Nations\/Bangkok<\/p>\n
Around 700,000 Indonesian child workers, and over 127 million
\nchild workers in Asia, toil under frequently appalling
\nconditions, and face sexual abuse and even slavery, international
\nlabor and children's organizations said on Friday.<\/p>\n
While the number of domestic child workers worldwide is not
\nknown, some 5 million are employed in South Asia, 559,000 in
\nBrazil, 250,000 in Haiti, 200,000 in Kenya and 700,000 in
\nIndonesia, the United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef) says.<\/p>\n
\"More than half of all child laborers -- 127 million children
\n-- are under the age of 14 and live here in the Asia-Pacific
\nregion,\" the International Labor Organization (ILO) said in a
\nstatement to mark World Day Against Child Labor on Saturday.<\/p>\n
Child labor protection efforts often overlook the millions of
\nchildren employed around the world as domestic servants, Unicef
\nsaid on Friday, urging governments to take steps to ensure their
\nrights to an education and healthy development were upheld.<\/p>\n
The ILO released a report focusing on the plight of children
\nemployed as domestic helpers, who are often heavily exploited.<\/p>\n
\"Away from their families, often laboring long hours, with
\nlittle or no pay, these children are routinely denied their right
\nto attend school and are vulnerable to physical, emotional,
\npsychological and sexual abuse at the hands of their employers,\"
\nthe ILO said.<\/p>\n
ILO senior specialist on child labor Panudda Boonpala called
\nthe findings \"depressing\".<\/p>\n
The state of affairs in which millions of youths are
\ntrafficked often across borders would only get worse if urgent
\nsteps are not taken, she told AFP.<\/p>\n
\"In most countries this remains a problem,\" said Boonpala, who
\nis co-editor of the report.<\/p>\n
\"They go through all kinds of exploitation, in terms of
\nworking hours, little or no pay, no support services, and no
\naccess to education. The problem is very serious, and
\ninternational governments need to take more concerted action.\"<\/p>\n
Boonpala said the ILO found no cases of child domestic workers
\nbeing paid at or above the country's minimum wage.<\/p>\n
\"Sometimes it's no wage at all, or merely work in exchange for
\nboarding,\" she said.<\/p>\n
The ILO report did not point to any specific country in Asia
\nas being most in breach of child labor conventions.<\/p>\n
In 1999, several ILO member states including China, Indonesia,
\nIran, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam approved Convention
\n182 on the worst forms of child labor.<\/p>\n
It committed signatories to act immediately to eliminate such
\nforms of child labor, including forced work or slavery,
\nprostitution, pornography and labor under \"hazardous\" conditions.<\/p>",
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