Taking Action Against Child Labor

This is the VOA Special English Development Report, from voaspecialenglish.com | facebook.com/voalearningenglish Delegates from around the world have agreed on a new plan to end the worst kinds of child labor by two thousand sixteen. More than four hundred fifty delegates from eighty countries approved the plan at the Global Child Labor Conference. It was held in The Hague, the Netherlands, in May.A week before, the International Labor Organization released its third Global Report on Child Labor. The report said there are still two hundred fifteen million child laborers in the world. One hundred and fifteen million of them are working in some of the worst kinds of child labor. These are often dangerous to their health and safety. The ILO notes that child labor is decreasing worldwide. But it is decreasing at a much slower rate than four years ago. The organization also warned that the global economic crisis could slow progress even more. It called for an increase in global efforts in order to reach the goals for ending the worst forms of child labor. Representatives at the conference talked about what actions need to be taken. Patrick Quinn is with the ILO's International Program on the Elimination of Child Labor. He says there is clear evidence of the kinds of policies and programming interventions that can be most effective in combating the problem.Mister Quinn said these include governments working to end the barriers that stop poor families from getting education for their children. And they include governments putting in place the right education policies. Mister Quinn says efforts to combat the problem must also be increased at the community level. He said the ILO is working with local civic organizations to change opinions about child labor. The ILO report notes that several areas of the world are making important progress. They include Latin America, the Caribbean and south Asia. The least progress has been made in Africa. Mister Quinn says world leaders will discuss the issue later this year at a meeting on the United Nations Millennium Development Goals. He says there is a close link between these goals and combating child labor. And that's the VOA Special English Development Report. Transcripts, MP3s and podcasts of our programs are at voaspecialenglish.com. You can also comment on this and other programs. And you can join us on Facebook and Twitter at VOA Learning English. (Adapted from a radio program broadcast 17May2010)