Several millions of children out there have been made to fall into child labor due to several reasons. Even though many parents know what is child labor they make their kids work in factories, industries and other chores to make some earnings for the family. Child labor deprives the childhood, education and health of the children. It condemns them to a life of poverty. Even though there are some small chores for children to perform that are neither exploitative nor harmful, children are losing their beautiful childhood days in working hard for the family. Child labor laws and child labor prohibition acts are made by governments of all countries to eliminate child labor. Although child labor is declining, the progress is not attractive as it is moving too slow. Several millions of kids suffer from slavery like practices like bonded labor, child soldiering and sexual exploitation.
Child labor spans several sectors including manufacturing, mining and quarrying, domestic service and agriculture. Mostly girls are hardly visible and encounter several hazards. Child labor practice is caused by several factors such as social norms, poverty, emergencies, migration and lack of job opportunities for adults. Child labor reinforces the inter generational cycles of poor economic conditions, undermines the national economies as well as impedes achieving improvements towards the goal of millennium development. Child labor is not inevitable but preventable. UNICEF believes that taking effective actions against child labor needs kids to be placed at the program centers that are designed for protecting the rights of children. Looking at child labor through a broader lens and addressing the complete range of children’s protection challenges and vulnerabilities will be the best action to be taken against children laboring in several sectors. UNICEF supports people in changing their traditional or cultural practice of child labor by providing them alternate ways to make earnings for their families. The main aim of this organization is giving children access to nurseries, protection and quality education.
The organization works with governments of different countries to make the national laws strong against child labor. Thus, the working age of children was fixed by the governments of every country. This organization also assists the countries in supporting child workers, promoting decent youth employment and makes the social systems child sensitive. UNICEF and its partners have strengthened the child protection systems in several regions and countries which have resulted in a comprehensive response to the issues of children. This led to decreased child labor as well as improvements in the well being of children. This child organization works with private sectors and employers to address and assess the impact of business practices and supply chain upon children. It promotes programs contributing to child labor with sustainable solutions for addressing the root causes. Civil society organizations also joined hands with this organization to support the child protection against child labor and contributed to the evidence collections on child laboring through several researches across the world with an intention to put an end to child labor.
