Government must act to tackle child labour in supply chains, say MPs
New report ‘Child Labour: strengthening the UK's approach to a
persistent problem’, with recommendations to the UK government on
domestic and global legal and policy reform Report launch in
Parliament on Monday 5 June, 5.15pm The Government’s Modern Slavery
Strategy must be urgently updated to require companies to report
specifically on child labour prevention, warns the conclusions of
an inquiry by the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Street
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The Government’s Modern Slavery Strategy must be urgently updated to require companies to report specifically on child labour prevention, warns the conclusions of an inquiry by the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Street Children, led by Sarah Champion MP. The APPG’s report, published today, is the result of an inquiry into exploitative child labour, which was launched to understand what is driving growing numbers of children to work in dangerous and exploitative conditions globally, and what more the UK government can do to prevent it[1] Supported by the Consortium for Street Children, and with evidence from the Child Labour: Action Research Innovation in South and South-Eastern Asia programme (CLARISSA), UNICEF, International Labour Organisation, UN Global Compact Network UK, Fair Trade Africa and prominent global businesses,, the cross-party group of MPs leading the inquiry heard directly from children themselves, who support themselves and their families by engaging in the most hazardous or harmful types of employment. The inquiry’s final report calls for the UK government to:
Sarah Champion MP, Chair of the APPG on Street Children, said: “The UK’s new Modern Slavery Strategy must improve transparency in the supply chains of businesses operating in the UK to tackle the drivers of child labour abroad. As the numbers of children in child labour increase, the Government must seize this opportunity to set the global standard and reframe efforts to tackle what amount to devastating violations of children’s human rights” Danny Burns, Professorial Research Fellow at the Institute of Development Studies and Director of the Child Labour: Action Research Innovation in South and South-Eastern Asia programme (CLARISSA), said: “To tackle the most harmful child labour, we must hear from the children affected to find workable solutions to their problems. Whether this is to provide better financial support to prevent them being driven to work in order to eat, ways they can combine education with work, or mitigating against the impacts of the harshest work regimes including long hours and dangerous work.” As a result of the economic hardships ushered in by the Covid-19 pandemic, growing numbers of children across the world entered work to support themselves and their families, with many working Against this backdrop the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Street Children led an inquiry in 2022 into exploitative child labour, chaired by Sarah Champion MP. The inquiry’s three live evidence sessions held over 12 months took care to include the views of working children, including testimony of the physical and psychological harms encountered whilst engaged in child labour. This evidence demonstrated that children are experts in their own experience and that finding ways to ensure meaningful child participation in the design of solutions to child labour is crucial for success. Children who provided evidence included: Working children in Bangladesh, who provided evidence as to the serious injuries suffered whilst working in leather factories in Dhaka, including burns to their faces and noses. Meanwhile, children in Nepal testified to the value of their engagement in programmes seeking to tackle child labour, which asserts their agency and in turn gives them confidence to speak up on issues driving child labour, including the financial burden of education and familial addiction. ENDS Notes to Editors:
Speakers at the event:
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