Resolution on Mitigating Child Labour
16th ANNUAL MEETING OF THE ASIA – PACIFIC PARLIAMENTARY FORUM
21 – 24 January 2008, Auckland, New Zealand
Resolution on Mitigating Child Labour
APPF16/RES/22
(Sponsored by the Philippines)
THE SIXTEENTH ANNUAL MEETING OF THE ASIA PACIFIC PARLIAMENTARY FORUM (APPF),
Recalling the 5th APPF resolution on Human Rights and the Exploitation of Children and Women (APPF 5);
Recognising that child labour, according to International Labour Organization (ILO) conventions, is work that harms children's well-being and hinders their education, development and future livelihoods;
Aware that hundreds of millions of children around the world are still engaged in hazardous and agricultural work;
Cognisant that child labour continues to be largest in the Asian and Pacific regions of the world, having 127.3 million children working in the 5-14 age group;
Realising that child labour hinders boys and girls from completing a full course of primary and secondary schooling;
Realising that child labour is not a consequence solely of poverty, but also of other socio-economic, cultural, and legislative conditions;
Reiterating that a more persuasive implementation of resolutions on child labour, as well as greater inter-parliamentary cooperation, would enhance the welfare and protection of the rights of children;
Welcoming the efforts of the International Labour Organization, through its International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC), in collaborating with other international organisations in trying to eliminate or mitigate child labour in agriculture, especially in hazardous work;
RESOLVES TO:
- Call Upon APPF member parliaments to enact tougher anti-child labour legislation and oversee their proper enforcement in cooperation with their respective governments;
- Call upon all APPF member parliaments to ratify all international instruments that pertain to the eradication of child labour;
- Stress the need for member countries to continue working diligently towards the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals, in particular, those concerning children and their educational rights;
- Emphasise the need for a better primary educational system to further develop the full potential of children, to lead them away from a destitute future;
- Urge member countries to promote the modernisation of rural economies, specially agricultural communities, in order that children be less extensively involved in labour;
- Urge governments to focus on poverty reduction through economic development in low-income generating communities of their country;
- Insist on the strict implementation of countries enforcing compulsory education so as to limit child employment.
