Background Guide: UNICEF
In the dawn of the post-World War II era, the UN recognized how a vast majority of the European and Chinese youth faced famine and diseases. The UN addressed the issue in December 1946 by establishing the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) in order to provide these children with food, clothing, and health care. The UN General Assembly officiated UNICEF in 1953, and then from there, the organization extended its reach to the rest of the world whenever new issues would arise. The UNICEF executive board is composed of appointees from each UN Member State region. Active in more than 190 countries and territories through programs and National Committees, UNICEF ultimately serves as the United Nations funding for children in need.
Topic A: Labor Rights Violations (Child Labor & Sweat Shops)
The modern-day economy is characterized by consumerism, supply and demand, with corporations that are constantly struggling to meet deadlines and fulfill needs in order to thrive. Unfortunately, a vast majority of companies have resorted to an immoral means of obtaining labor. Large corporations do anything they can to achieve maximum production level while saving money. Therefore, companies typically exploit children as workers because they are paid low wages and are useful due to their small size and deftness (Vegan Peace). The most recent statistic provided by the International Labor Organization states that an estimated 250 million children between the ages of five and fourteen years old work in developing countries. More specifically, the worst forms of child labor exist in countries including South Sudan, Dominica, Venezuela, Oman, Algeria, and Bhutan, among several others. Child labor goes relatively undetected and is difficult to monitor due to the fact that numerous children in developing countries lack birth certificates (US Department of Labor). Also, it is common for children to be subject to forms of work outside of the factory environment, including roles such as drug trafficking, child prostitution, and hazardous activities in agriculture.
Including the abuses of child labor, labor rights violations extend even further into the realm of sweatshops. Countless corporations utilize human trafficking in order to obtain factory workers, and force adults into unsafe conditions. The worst offenders of labor rights include corporations such as Nike, Wal-Mart, J.C. Penney, and Forever 21. Many instances have gone undetected due to the fact that sweatshops are often monitored by inspectors who are paid by the industry. This gives factories a major advantage in that they are able to schedule an inspection in advance. Factory management is then allotted more time to make the sweatshop appear acceptable, hide the child workers, and coach the adults on what to say to the inspector (Green America). Other labor rights violations include involuntary servitude, unsanitary working conditions, threats, violence, sexual abuse, and long hours with insufficient wages. Though most workers are not equipped with proper safety equipment, factories refuse them healthcare. Additionally, workers in some Chinese factories work as much as 95 hours a week for only 6.5 cents an hour.
In order to alleviate the countless labor rights violations that occur worldwide, the UN has issued Convention No. 182. This is considered to be one of the most significant legal instruments to combat child labor. The convention issues specific requirements, such as requesting governments to ban all forms of slavery, child prostitution, and the use of children for illicit activities, especially drug trafficking (United Nations). Also, the UN has established a World Day Against Child Labor, calling for legislative and policy reforms to ensure the elimination of child labor along with providing adequate conditions for workers of age.
Possible solutions include assurance that governments legitimately apply convention in both law and practice. They should be encouraged to introduce action programs to remove and prevent the worst forms of child labor, along with provide direct assistance for the rehabilitation of children and their social integration. Additionally, governments need to grant children’s access to free education, as well as identify children at special risk and consider the predicament of girls living in developing countries. In order to obtain an equitable working world, it is also crucial that legislation is passed to raise the statutory age for employment to at least 15, along with the establishment of a minimum wage in developing countries to comply with international standards.
Questions to Consider:
-What is your country’s policy in addressing child labor, fair wages for workers and improving work conditions for workers?
-How is child labor perceived in your nation?
-What precautions and regulations has your nation taken to stop child labor in the past?
Works Cited
Child Labor Findings." Department of Labor. N.p., 2012. Web. 15 May 2014. <http://www.dol.gov/ilab/reports/child-labor/findings/>.
"Sweatshops and Child Labor." Sweatshops and Child Labor. N.p., 2013. Web. 13 May 2014. <http://www.veganpeace.com/sweatshops/sweatshops_and_child_lab or.htm>.
"Sweatshops." Green America's Ending Program: Economic Action to End Sweatshop and Forced Child Labor. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 May 2014. <http://www.greenamerica.org/programs/sweatshops/>.
"World Day Against Child Labor." United Nations. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 May 2014. <http://www.un.org/en/events/childlabourday/>.
Topic B: Children in Armed Conflict
In the midst of building tensions among foreign government and military groups, armed conflict has become a more common approach to resolving discrepancies. Taking the financial toils of armed conflict into consideration, these groups have turned to the recruitment of children, who are more easily manipulated and cheaper to feed and clothe than adults. Military groups take advantage of the children’s lithe and versatile ways, taking them onto the front lines of battle and distributing them into roles of spies, messengers, or decoys. On the occasion that child abductees are not used for battle, they are often forced into refugee camps, where they can face sexual violence, lack of food, denial of education, exploitation, and cross-border attacks (UNICEF). As of 2012, the Human Rights Watch has reported recruitment of child soldiers in at least 14 countries, including Sri Lanka, Colombia, Myanmar, Sierra Leone, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, and Sudan. The Human Rights Watch has provided that an estimated 20,000 to 30,000 child soldiers exist. However, due to the fact that child abductions in foreign countries are very difficult to monitor and control, there are still unaccounted statistics that increase daily.
To counter the worsening issue of children in armed conflict, the UN initiated the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1989. This framework stated that all children have the right to be protected from physical and mental violence. The convention asserts that any individual under the age of 18 is forbidden from involuntarily drafting into the military. Also, in 2005, the Security Council adopted Resolution 1612. This resolution condemns the recruitment of child soldiers and calls for initiatives of monitoring and reporting usage of child soldiers. It also specifically mandates measures for the protection of children and prevention of child exploitation. Additionally, UNICEF paired with several non-governmental organizations (NGOs), to work towards aid in ways such as opening refugee camps (UNICEF). A particularly active NGO, Invisible Children, produced films about the Ugandan Lord’s Resistance Army to raise awareness of the brutal usage of child soldiers.
In recent years, the UN has discovered that the most proactive and effective solution for combating the issue of children in armed combat is an undertaking of disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration (DDR) programs. Disarmament is the physical removal of weapons from the child soldiers. Demobilization is defined as the disbandment of entire military groups so that children no longer view themselves as part of an army, and that other children are no longer threatened by the prospect of these groups. Lastly, re-integration is the process of transitioning child soldiers back into society, along with finding housing and providing them with health care (OSAA). DDR is crucial because it helps to prevent the recurrence of violence, paving the way towards an era of sustainable peace and development.
Questions to Consider:
-Has your country signed the Convention on the Rights of the Child? What does it think about child soldiers?
-What programs and services are needed to address children in armed conflict?
-How can children better be protected from the physical and psychological effects of armed conflicted, including being recruited as a child soldier?
Additional Resources:
Lord’s Resistance Army Crisis Tracker: http://www.lracrisistracker.com/#map
Invisible Children: http://invisiblechildren.com/
Human Rights Watch Page on Child Soldiers: http://www.hrw.org/news/2012/03/12/child-soldiers-worldwide
Works Cited
"Understanding the Convention on the Rights of the Child." UNICEF. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 May 2014. <http://www.unicef.org/crc/index_understanding.html>.
"UNICEF in Emergencies." UNICEF. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 May 2014. http://www.unicef.org/emerg/index_childsoldiers.html>.
"United Nations Conference on DDR and Stability in Africa." OSAA. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 May 2014. <http://www.un.org/africa/osaa/ddr2.htm>.