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INTRODUCTION

"States Parties recognize the right of the child to be protected from economic exploitation and from performing any work that is likely to be hazardous or to interfere with the child's education, or to be harmful to the child's health or physical, mental, spiritual, moral or social development".
- Article 32 (1) of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child

Since 1989, the Convention on the Rights of the Child has been ratified by 192 member countries who have vowed to protect every child. The reality, however, is that today there are still over 250 million child laborers worldwide being denied their most fundamental rights.

Child labor can vary from helping parents at home (which may not always be bad as long as the child is still provided with education), to some of the worst forms of child labor such as begging on the streets, carpet weaving and commercial sexual exploitation which can lead to long term psychological and physical damage. Economically exploited also, children work for paltry wages while education and childhood become lost.

Despite vast cultural differences throughout the world, the causes of child labor are remarkably similar. It is primarily caused by poverty. Any income children earn, however small, can greatly help support poor families. In addition, there are other contributing factors to child labor. At times education may either be inaccessible or unaffordable. Many children start working simply because they live too far from the nearest school or because they cannot afford school fees. In other cases, the parents may not consider formal education beneficial. They wrongly believe their children should only learn work skills, just like when they were young. Prejudice and discrimination can also play a role. Indigenous or tribal children?s labor is unjustly tolerated, or a girl has to work while her brothers are sent to school.

I began this project in 2003 while a volunteer in Guatemala. As an issue, child labor seemed acceptable in society, unaddressed by the government, and just glanced over by tourists. For me, child exploitation was the most pressing issue in Guatemala that needed uncovering. On the surface, there were shoe shine boys or little girls selling tourist trinkets. But what I found underneath, hidden from view, were countless children toiling in unsafe conditions.

During my research, I also discovered that there is an entire network of people working hard to eradicate child labor. Subsequently, this became an integral part of my project which I continued in India, Thailand and the Philippines last year.

NGO?s, governments and determined individuals are coming together to combat the causes of child labor head-on. Micro-credit programs are generating new income possibilities for parents. Children?s forums are giving young people a voice. Lost childhoods are being found. Yes, in many places the situation remains grim. Cruel practices such as bonded labor and child trafficking exist. Too many people profit from child labor for it to suddenly end. And programs designed to help children can lose their funding.

The situation of the millions of exploited children will only improve when governments decide to uphold their obligations to protect all the rights of the child and by supporting those who are working hard to end poverty and provide children with their basic necessities.