Toespraak bij Kinderarbeidconferentie
A Road Map to speed up a ban on the worst forms of child labour is an important step. A step that gets the support of the Netherlands, but it is not enough. We will do everything we can to underline an even greater sense of urgency. So I am appealing to national governments, industry, trade unions and NGOs to do everything in their power to end the worst forms of child labour by 2016.
Your Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen,
Reaching the unreachable: that’s one of the most important goals in the fight against child labour today. I recently came across a perfect example of exactly the kind of practical thinking we need to achieve this.
The city of Nagpur in India faces the problem of young children working in brick kilns, on garbage dumps, at railway stations. Because these children lack an education, they are often trapped in a working life of hardship. How can we change that? By opening schools at railway stations, near brick kilns and alongside garbage dumps. That’s the creative way in which NGOs and the authorities in Nagpur are trying to rescue these children from a life of work.
We desperately need more initiatives like this. Because we’re making too little progress in the fight against child labour, as the new Global Report on Child Labour clearly shows. I won’t deny that tackling child labour is difficult in the face of persistent problems like poverty and certain cultural norms. But a child trapped in a life of slavery cannot wait for the root causes to be solved. That child needs help. Right there, right now.
Therefore I’m very excited that representatives of 80 nations are gathered here. Including nations that face child labour and are willing to invest in abandoning the worst forms. I’ve heard that you have been sharing good practices and initiatives that have hopeful outcomes. And I’m looking forward for the pledges that will shortly be announced by some of you.
A Road Map to speed up a ban on the worst forms of child labour is an important step. A step that gets the support of the Netherlands, but it is not enough. We will do everything we can to underline an even greater sense of urgency. So I am appealing to national governments, industry, trade unions and NGOs to do everything in their power to end the worst forms of child labour by 2016.
The primary responsibility however lies with national governments. They have to implement the ILO Conventions on child labour and the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Above all by taking immediate and effective steps to end the worst forms of child labour.
Industry can help ban the products of child labour from our stores by critically reviewing its supply chains. Special labels and codes of conduct can also do some good.
And the international community could give industry a push in the right direction, by only purchasing from and giving subsidies to companies whose suppliers do not use child labour.
But of course the international community can do more. As I addressed in a speech yesterday for the European Parliament, we will intensify the political dialogue with countries dealing with child labour issues. We can invest more in education.
Banning child labour requires a broad approach. The experiences shared here this conference are encouraging. In the broad approachI would as well consider measures that affect trade in products made with child labour as part of a comprehensive and effective approach. To help create a level playing field for countries doing their best in the fight against child labour.
As I sad: Our government is trying to shoulder this responsibility. By mainstreaming child labour in development assistance. By purchasing in a sustainable way. By providing companies with incentives to monitor their supply chain. By keeping the political dialogue going. And by supporting the ILO International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour.
In the light of the achievements of this conference, our government also tries to strengthen EU commitment and the resolve to fight child labour. At my initiative, the Foreign Affairs Council asked the European Commission to investigate ways for the EU to step up efforts to ban child labour. Two of its conclusions stand out. First, the Commission found that the EU could do more to combat child labour. Second, it endorsed a comprehensive approach and proposed better use of all available instruments.
We are now working closely with EU partners to discuss the Commission’s report at the Council in June. Our goal is to agree Council resolutions increasing the EU’s committment. This means putting child labour higher on our political agenda, mainstreaming it in the EU development programme and considering also other non-trade measures relating to products making use of the worst form of child labour.
Your Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen,
It is not by chance that I’ve mentioned the importance of education twice already. The vicious circle of poverty can be broken only when more children go to school. ILO’s most recent estimates say there are 215 million child labourers in the world. At the same time, UNESCO data suggests that 72 million children are not going to primary school and 71 million do not attend secondary school. And there’s plenty of evidence that child labour has a negative effect on school enrolment and on children’s achievements at school.
Education is the key to a better future. That’s why my government is already investing 13% of its development cooperation budget on education. But more is needed.
Last November the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs convened an international expert meeting on eliminating child labour through education. As a result, Dutch embassies in all education partner countries now lobby for the mainstreaming of hard-to-reach children and child labour issues in national education plans. They are also on the lookout for opportunities to assist national and local civil society, the private sector and trade unions to lobby and monitor government, parliament and the media on the issue of child labour.
My government strongly encourages other donor countries to give special attention to child labour in bilateral education programmes as well.
Your Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen,
As I mentioned earlier, the Netherlands supports the ILO International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour. I look forward to discussing the use of all available instruments in the fight against child labour with ILO/IPEC in the near future. In anticipation of that, I’m proud to announce today that my government is contributing $6.8 million to ILO/IPEC’s new project, which is called ‘Combating child labour through education’. This project will focus strongly on influencing national education plans to get child labourers back to school.
I warmly welcome this initiative, since reaching the unreachable is one of the most important goals in the fight against child labour. From Nagpur to The Hague.
Thank you.