A joint statement released by the Department of Labour and Social Security (DoLSS) and the programme Towards the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) noted that:
"Although the term child labour calls to mind factories and sweatshops, the most common form of child work is agricultural. The ILO estimates that 70 percent of the world's working children between the age of five and 14 years are engaged in agricultural activity."
Southern Africa fits this global picture where children make a contribution to crop and livestock production as well as to the survival or well-being of their families.
Not all work that children undertake in agriculture is bad for them or would qualify as work to be eliminated under the ILO Minimum Age Convention (138) or the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention (C182).
Low risk tasks in subsistence agriculture that are suited to the child's age and development and do not interfere with the child's schooling can be positive in terms of building skills and giving the child a valued role within the family. But, the ILO points out, agriculture is one of the three most dangerous sectors in which to work at any age. The other two extremely hazardous sectors are construction and mining.
In Botswana, national statistics on child labour are not available yet. Questions on child labour were included in the Labour Force Survey, run from 2005 to 2006. We anxiously await the release of the child labour findings of this study by the Central Statistical Office.
The ILO's 2006 Global Report on Child Labour showed that, worldwide, the number of children involved dropped by 28 million between 2000 and 2004. The challenge, however, is that the report found that child labour south of the Sahara has not decreased in this period. Latin American countries, not very different from Southern African countries, have succeeded in the above period to make major inroads into child labour, and could provide lessons on what can be done in our region.
The results of studies into two categories of worst forms of child labour, namely commercial sexual exploitation of children (including the prostitution of children) and child trafficking will be released soon.
"We recognise that most parents do not willingly expose their children to harsh working experiences. Often the use of children to help on the land, or to herd livestock or to earn money by working on other farms is a survival strategy," said Claude Mojafi, Chairperson of the Programme Advisory Committee on Child Labour in Botswana. "Because of this we are working as a country to develop a well-rounded approach to child labour, one that begins with fighting poverty and improving access to schooling for all children."
The Department of Labour and Social Security, with technical assistance from the ILO programme Towards the Elimination of worst forms of Child Labour (TECL), is in the process of drafting a national Action Programme on the Elimination of Child labour (APEC) in response to the country's ratification of ILO Conventions 138 and 182 to address child labour and to eliminate worst forms of child labour. Broad consultation processes with key stakeholders including a parallel child participation process have been finalised and a draft APEC is currently being drafted for engagement with key government representatives and other stakeholders for finalisation and adoption by end of July 2007.
The ILO slogan for this World Day Against Child Labour is "Harvesting for the Future: agriculture without child labour", implying that if children can be spared from work that damages their health and disrupts their schooling, their future prospects - and those of their country - are much brighter.
