Child Labor in Colombia: Spotlight on Migration and Childhood Program

In Latin America and the Caribbean, numbers are relatively low but persistent, with 12.5 million children (8.8%) engaged in child labor, especially in hazardous work, according to data as of 2012. This is 10 percent of all children in the region. Since 2000, countries around the world have increasingly adopted and implemented more coherent and integrated strategies to combat child labor. Following the global economic crisis of 2008, however, there were concerns that this positive trend would be reversed or slowed. Initial assessments revealed that child labor actually rose appreciably in Colombia and marginally in four other countries (El Salvador, Indonesia, Pakistan and Togo). Recent data suggests that continued progress is being made in reducing the global number of children in child labor. From 2000 to 2012, there was a decline by one third from 246 million to 168 million, as revealed by a global report launched by the ILO in September 2013. The number of children engaged in hazardous work also declined, from 171 million in 2000 to 85 million in 2012. Progress was particularly pronounced among girls and younger children. For the period of 2000-2012, there was a 40% reduction in child labor of girls compared to 25% for boys, and a child labor among younger children (5-14 years of age) fell by one third from 186 million to 120 million. The international community has established important laws and standards to define child labor and prioritize its elimination. Minimum age and the regulation of hours and conditions of employment are crucial with regard to children. In addition to the human rights accorded to all people, children have particular rights to protection by virtue of their age, as they lack the knowledge, experience or physical development of adults and the power to defend their own interests. A majority of countries have enacted legislation to prohibit or place severe restrictions on the employment and work of children, much of it motivated and guided by the standards adopted by the ILO. Three principal international conventions set the boundaries for child labor and provide the legal basis for national and international action: the ILO Minimum Age Convention, the ILO Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. State obligations under these conventions include the obligation to protect all children in the national territory from child labor, including migrant children. Colombian law, particularly the Childhood and Adolescence Code, defines "child labor" as those who are under 15 years of age and working, and those between 15 and 17 years of age who are engaged in harmful or dangerous work or who are working without having received authorization from the Labor Inspector (Inspector de Trabajo) or the relevant local authority. Not all work carried out by children and adolescents should be classified as exploitative or targeted for elimination. Children perform a wide range of tasks and activities when they work, and work that does not affect the child's health, personal development or schooling can be positive. This includes helping out at home, assisting in a family business or earning an allowance outside school hours. Child labor can contribute to family welfare and support child development by providing skills and experience that will be useful in adult life. However, working can also be harmful for children, and child labor can involve the violation of a range of children's human rights, including the right to education, health, recreation, and comprehensive protection.