This is a posting of the Jan/Feb Childs Rights OnLine from India. It came
out in mid-February and is a lead-in to the Amsterdam Child Labour
Conference held last week. It is for background and will be followed up by
a report on the conference, available shortly.

Normally this material is only posted to DATPERS-L and LABOR-L but in the
case of this document and the report to follow, we are expanding the
exposure and posting to CLICK4HP (re: health promotion) and WOMENSPACE
(Women and Activism on the Internet).
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Mon, 3 Mar 1997 09:52:21 +0000
From: Jagdish Parikh <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Child Rights Online second issue
------- Forwarded Message Follows -------
From:          [log in to unmask]
Date:          Sun, 16 Feb 1997 06:09:00
Subject:       Child Rights Online second issue
Organization:  Concern For Working Children  Bangalore, INDIA.
==========================================================
 C H I L D S   R I G H T S    O N L I N E
Jan-Feb 1997                               second issue

-----------------------------------------------------------
Child Rights International Network(CRIN), Bangalore(INDIA)
and Concerned for Working Children(CWC), Bangalore(INDIA)
===========================================================

The child's right to express an opinion, and to have that
opinion taken into account, in any matter or procedure
affecting the child(Article 12)

UN Convention on the Rights of the Child
------------------------------------------------------------

Our Right to Represent Ourselves

Working Children's delegates  at the World Meeting of Working
Children, Nov-Dec 1996, in Kundapur (INDIA) demanded for
`Organised Representation' from the  working children's movements
in any of the forthcoming International conferences concerning
them. During this World Meet, the observers from the Government
of Netherlands who had agreed in `principle' to include working
children's representation in their forthcoming conference.
Finally Netherland's Government  formally invites 7 working
children's representatives from Asia,Africa and Latin America
countries for its Amsterdam Child Labour Conference.

The Netherland Government's decision to invite working children's
representatives assumes significance, and acknowleges the fact
that  it has ushered in an era of working children's
representation. It also fulfills the true spirit of Convention on
the Right of the child, The child's right to express an opinion,
and to have that opinion to taken into account, in any matter or
procedure affecting the child(Article 12).  Now the stage is set
for demanding working children's representation in forthcoming
Child Labour Conference in Norway and finally the Working
Children's representation at the ILO  Conference in 1998.

Shortly, after the Netherland Government's decision to include
working children's representation. The child labour scenario in
the South Asian Region was charged with unprecendented
developments. Leading NGOs in Nepal started thinking on working
children's collectives. At the end of this year working
children's collective will start surfacing in this tiny Himalayan
Kingdom. India has also risen to the new reality. Being itself a
host for the World Conference on Child Labour, is gearing to form
approximately 100 working children's collective in South India.
The same wind is blowing  in Srilanka, if messages pouring in is
any indication,Child labour scenario in srilanka will witness its
working children forming collectives.


Amsterdam Child Labour Conference....

The Government of Netherlands is organising an international
round table conference on the most intolerable forms of child
labour worldwide.  The conference will be held in Amsterdam on 26
and 27 February 1997 and will be organised in close collaboration
with the International Labour Organisation(ILO) and its
International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour(IPEC),
Government representatives from over 30 countries in Asia,
Africa, the Americias and Europe, representatives of Worker's and
Employer's Organsiations, representatives of International
Organisations and Non-Governmental Organisations(NGOs),
representatives of working children and other parties will be
invited to participate.

The aim of the conference is to stimulate the global discussion
on the measures to combat the most intolerable forms of child
labour.  Concernted action is required through integrated policy
approaches towards the progressive elimination of child labour.
However the priority is to proceed immediately to put an end to
its most intolerable forms.  This comprises 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.E.g., the
unemployement of children in slave-like,bonded dangerous and
hazardous conditions, the exploitation of very vulnerable
children, such as the very young(under 12 years of age) and
girls, and  the commercial sexual exploitation of children.

The first day of the two day conferences(26th Feb 1997) will be
devoted to political statements by 7 Ministers from developing
countries and 6 Ministers from Industrialized countries.  In
their statements the ministers are requested to discuss the
approaches adopted in their countries to eliminate the most
intolerable forms of child labour as well as on required
international and regional action.  These political statements
will generate an inventory of `best practice'. Ministers have
been invited to speak from countries that have already taken
positive steps towards the elimination of the most intolerable
forms of child labour worldwide. In between the speeches there
will be opportunities for debate between workers, employers, NGOs
and other participants.

The second day of the conference(27 Feb 1997) will be devoted
mainly to three simultaneous technical workshops.  The
participants can participate in the workshops of their choice.
The technical workshops will be preceded by a plenary session as
an introduction to the workshops.  The workshops will start with
introductions by panels of experts followed by a debate among the
participants.  The themes for the three technical workshop are

1. International and regional cooperation in the area of
eliminating child labour
Various introductions will be held, including one by the ILO on
IPEC from the angle of multi-bilateral development cooperation,
and one on bilateral development cooperation including
international and regional cooperation.

2. Globalization, liberatlization and child labour
IN this workshop a discussion will be held on the consequencws of
economic adjustment, globalization and liberalization for
vulnerable groups including children(and their mothers). Also the
strengthening of the supervision on the implementation of
fundmental labour standards as well as its links with
interantional trade will be discussed. Further the role of
consumer actions, such as voluntary labelling campiagns, will be
addressed.

3(ILO) instruments on the elimination of exploitative and
hazardous child labour
A first initial discussion will be held on the contents and
outline of a possible new ILO instruments(convention and/ or
recommendation) on the elimination of the most intolerable forms
of child labour to be discussed during the 1998 and 1999
International Labour Conferences(ILCs) In addition, other
relevant ILO conventions as well as other international
instruments, such as the Convention of the Rights of the Child,
will be discussed.

During the second half of the afternoon of the second conference
day the outcome of the discussion in the workshops will be
presented in plenary.  After a plenary debate on the outcome of
the workshops the conference will be summed up and concluded by
the Netherlands Minister for Social Affairs and Employment.  The
conclusions of the conference will then be handed over to the
Minister for Development Co-operation from Norway in order to
establish a link between the Amsterdam Child Labour Conference
and the Norwegian Conference on Child Labour  which will be held
in Oslo in October 1997.

Some of the participants at the Amsterdam Child Labour Conference
is follows:

Mr. Ad Melkert,Minister of Social Affiars and Employment of the
    Netherlands(chairperson of the conference)
Mr. Michel Hansenne, Director General of the International Labour
    Organisation(ILO)
Ms. Carol Bellamy, Executive Director of UNICEF

Mr. Ahmed El Amawi, Minister of Manpower and Migration of Eygpt
Mr. M Arunachalam, Minister of Labour of India
Mr. Nobert Blum, Minister of Labour and Social Affairs of Germany
Mr. Sebastian Kinyonto, Minister of Labour and Youth Development
    of Tanzania
Mr. Kari Nordheim Larsen, Minister of Development Co-operation of
    Norway(Other speakers to be confirmed
Ms. Nandana Reddy, Chairperson, International Working Group on
    Child Labour

Bhima Sangha(INDIA), ENDA(SENEGAL), Movimento, Manthoc(LATIN
AMERICA COUNTRIES) and a Working Children's Representative from
Nepal are the Working Childrens who will represent their
collectives.

Ms. Assefa Bequele, Director of the Working Conditions and
Environment Department of the International Labour
Organisation(ILO)

Mr. Jan Pronk, Minister for Development Cooperation of the
Netherlands

Mr. Kari Tapiola, Deputy Director- General of International
Labour Organisation(ILO)


In my next e-mail, I will share with you about the proceeding of
the Conferences. Meanwhile, if you happen to read about this
conference in the Newspaper, Magazines.... please share with me
so that i can share with all. Comments and Responses are welcome

Madhu Sudhan
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