Written Answers. - Child Slavery.
Jim O'Keeffe
Question:
70
Mr. J. O'Keeffe
asked the
Minister for Foreign Affairs
if his attention has been drawn to the concerns that have been expressed regarding the treatment of children in slavery and bonded labour throughout the world; the Government's views on the extent of the problem; the position in relation to international covenants and protocols in relation to this issue; and his proposals through the United Nations and the European Union to ensure a just and fair resolution.
[6152/02]
The United Nations working group on contemporary forms of slavery estimates that there are currently 27 million persons living in what it defines as conditions of slavery. Of these, an estimated 20 million are bonded labourers.
The question of children in slavery and bonded labour is of deep concern to the Government. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights States that: "No one shall be held in slavery or servitude: slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms." Full adherence to the absolute values enshrined in the declaration is of paramount importance.
The Government is committed to the active promotion of full observance of universal human rights standards, including opposing and seeking the elimination of all forms of slavery. Children are among the most vulnerable groups in society and there is a responsibility to protect them from all forms of abuse, including slavery. Contemporary forms of slavery include practices such as bonded labour, the sale of children, child prostitution, child pornography, the exploitation of child labour, the sexual mutilation of female children, the use of children in armed conflicts, debt bondage and trafficking in persons.
Ireland voices its concerns wherever possible in partnership with other like-minded countries, in international fora such as the UN General Assembly, the UN Commission on Human Rights, the Council of Europe, the OSCE and, where the occasion arises, the UN Security Council.
Ireland attaches great importance to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child which is central to the protection and promotion of children's rights on a global level. Article 32 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child calls on States to:
. . . 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.
The convention also calls on states to provide for minimum ages for admission to employment. Ireland urges all States to fulfill their obligations under the convention.
Ireland has signed the optional protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography. The optional protocol prohibits the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography and provides a non-exhaustive list of acts and activities which shall be criminalised by states parties to fight against these scourges. It further asks for the protection of the rights of child victims and for a close collaboration among states parties to fight against the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography.
Efforts to eliminate contemporary forms of slavery include a wide spectrum of international organisations, NGOs and Governments. Slavery and human rights issues in general are normally considered by the UN bodies which have a specific role and expertise in this area, notably the Commission on Human Rights and the International Labour Organisation, ILO. The working group on contemporary forms of slavery, an inter-sessional working group of the sub-commission on the promotion and protection of human rights, is the UN body which has responsibility for the study of all aspects of slavery.
Ireland along with the rest of the EU recognises the importance of abolishing child labour. The EU actively supports the work of the United Nations, the International Labour Organisation and the UN Children's Fund, UNICEF, in this area. In 1999 EU members were heavily involved in the successful conclusion and adoption of a new convention aimed at addressing the worst forms of child labour – the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention (182). The Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Deputy Tom Kitt, led the delegation to the 89th International Labour Conference in Geneva in June last year where he raised the issue of bonded labour. In the course of the discussion at the plenary session of the conference he put forward a number of practical measures to address this specific problem.
The persistence of contemporary forms of slavery, a most fundamental abuse of human rights, presents a challenge to all governments. This Government will continue to highlight and address this issue at every appropriate opportunity.
