International Day against Child Labour advocates visible results in addressing menace

By Mawuli Kwaku Viwotor

International Child Labour Day, is a day set aside to reflect on the global problem that has become the focus of major international organizations concerned about this phenomenon. This year’s observance is focused on “Let’s act on our commitments: End Child Labour.

The fight against Child Labour is of great importance to the world in view of its effects on the development of children, considered as the future of any nation.

The United Nations Children’s Educational Fund (UNICEF), indicates that of all children in Ghana aged 5 to 17, about 21 per cent are involved in child labour and 14 per cent are engaged in hazardous forms of labour. In all the regions, the vast majority of working children are unpaid family workers between the ages of 5 and 7.

While usually, boys are more likely to be doing manual work, this could be due to the household interpretation of what constitutes child labour. The heavy domestic workload for girls, including childcare, is not considered as labour. As indicated by UNICEF, one of the issues or difficult knots to untie in the global child labour phenomenon, is the global definition of what constitutes child labour, as misunderstandings have emerged in the gathering of data in some countries over what should be documented as child labour in view of the cultural and social perceptions prevailing among the people. In Ghana where such disputes had emerged in the past, the act of giving practical domestic and agricultural training to children, had been tagged variously as forced labour.

Traditionally, some parents take their children to the farms after school hours for menial chores such as fetching water, carrying foodstuffs and some forms of weeding, among others. Some of the children are moved from one area to another during vacation, to assist relatives at the farms or other sites. This act of engaging these children, has been captured as a form of child labour in some circles, triggering series of controversies between international organisations working on child labour issues and government institutions and some local NGOs in the country. Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) working for international partners, have been accused of churning out misleading information, leading to wrong perceptions on Ghana’s commitment to stopping child labour.

A case in point is an incident in 2017 in the Afram Plains where an NGO by name International Justice Mission (IJM) detained some thirty (30) children on suspicion of being engaged in child labour. The furore that met the incident, brought to the fore the misunderstanding over what actually constituted child labour. While the parents and community leaders petitioned the authorities for the release of the children with the explanation that they are on vacation and not being sent to do forced labour, the NGO and other organisations still insisted.

Though the matter was somehow resolved, the matter of definition remains ambiguous to some extent. Beyond the controversies surrounding definitions, is an urgent need for Ghana to show commitment to the elimination of child labour in any form within its jurisdiction. The commitment ought to be demonstrated in word and actions with the various agencies and institutions being vigilant and responsibe to cases of suspected child labour. Such commitment needs to be deepened in farming and fishing or riverine communities where children often assist their parents in their work and some other wards are engaged.

This year’s observance comes at a critical time when the European Union (EU) and the United Kingdom (UK) are passing legislations aimed at rejecting commodities suspected of having been produced with child labour. The uncompromising legislations pose a threat to the export of commodities such as cocoa and timber, leaving Ghana with the danger of losing out on foreign exchange.

One thing that makes the new legislation a menace, is the fact our trading partners determine what constitutes child labour, irrespective of our perspectives or cultural understandings. This calls for some forms of engagements between the parties, to clear ambiguities and to forestall future bottlenecks. In effect, child labour is not about foreign trade partners or donors; it is about our development as a nation and the security of the future of our children. The future of our children should be of prime importance to us as a nation and our commitment towards stopping child labour, is one of the ways to keep us on track for a better tomorrow.

At the local level, mechanisms ought to be put in place to enable reporting of alleged cases not only at the national but local level. Some people have been living in households where child labour cases are prevalent but refrain from reporting them due to ignorance or fear of repercussions from perpetrators. There is the need for education on processes to adopt for exposure of malfeasance. Combating child labour is a collective responsibility in view of the effects on society in general.

There is a need for collaboration and cooperation among stakeholders to assure the society at large that child labour cannot be tolerated here in any way. It isn’t a matter of just passing legislation or laws but practical actions leading to visible results. The benefits of our commitment to this cause are enormous and the onus is on us to apply urgency to whatever we are doing on this matter and must not be toyed with. Let’s reconsider our commitments and win the battle once and for all.

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