Entries by Reid Maki

10 Facts about Child Soldiers…

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How do you define a ‘child soldier’? The UN Convention on the Rights of a Child (1990) defined childhood as under 18 years of age. In 1997 an International conference in Cape Town adopted the definition, “any person under 18 years of age who is part of any kind of regular or irregular armed force or armed group in any capacity…” A key 2nd Conference in Paris 2007[1] concluded with a definition of, “any person below 18 years of age who is or who has been recruited or used by an armed force or armed group in any capacity, including but not limited to children, boys and girls used as fighters, cooks, porters, messengers, spies or for sexual purposes. It does not only refer to a child who is taking or has taken a direct part in hostilities.” The Child Soldiers Global Report 2001 of the International Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers estimated there are 300,000-plus child soldiers at any point in time[2]. Forty percent of those are thought to be girls[3]. Most are aged between 13-17 years, but they are accounts of children as young as 7. Why do they join how do they become child soldiers? Many children are forcible recruited and brain washed. Children are cheap requiring less pay and food, available in times […]

Recent Child Labor News (August 31, 2015)

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Recent child labor news: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Nestle claims it will make KitKat sustainable in 2016: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-08-31/nestle-s-kitkat-to-change-cocoa-supplies-to-address-child-labor ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Candy Industry editor says Tulane report is a call to step up child labor responses and it may be time for President Obama to get involved: 2.03 million: Cocoa industry needs to respond to rising … It’s not what the industry expected. Not what people heavily committed to the cause expected. View on www.candyindustry… Preview by Yahoo ~~~~~~~~~~~~ Top 5 findings from the 2105 “Cocoa Barometer”: Check the Chain. Fight Child Slavery.* See the top 5 findings from the important Cocoa Barometer report. View on nochildforsale.ca* Preview by Yahoo   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ US Court of Appeals rules companies can hide conflict minerals: U.S. Court of Appeals Reaches Decision in Nation… Today, a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit issued an opinion holding that publicly-traded corporations have a First Amendment rig… View on freespeechforpeople… Preview by Yahoo Recent CLC Web article, “Buried Childhoods – Child Labor in Mining and Quarrying” by Sharon Fawcett: stopchildlabor | Buried Childhoods — Child Labour …* 20SHARES share on Facebooktweet on Twitter   Sharon Fawcett Jestoni* quit school at age 14 in order to take part in small-sca… View on stopchildlabor.org* Preview by Yahoo ~~~~~~~~~~~ CLC-member First Focus on how a Children’s Commission could benefit American kids: A Children’s Commission […]

NCL’s 2015 Five Most Dangerous Jobs For Teens:

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Tips for Teen Workers, Parents, and Employers to Help Working Teens Stay Safe in the Work Place  The National Consumers League’s Guide, Updated Annually   Report author: Reid Maki, Director of Child Labor Advocacy National Consumers League   Introduction: Although fatality rates are dropping, we continue to lose too many children at work No parent thinks their child will be hurt at work, but according to the Children’s Safety network, about every 9 minutes a U.S. teen is hurt on the job. In July 2014 in Duvall, Washington, 19-year-old Bradley Hogue was killed by a rotating auger—a metal device like a giant corkscrew while working inside the bark-blower truck. In January this year, the state of Washington assessed employer Pacific Topsoils with penalties totaling $199,000, noting that employers were regularly exposed to three mechanical hazards that could seriously injure or kill them. In October 2014, an Idaho teen, 18-year-old Jeremy McSpadden, Jr., of Spokane Valley, Washington portraying a zombie at a Halloween haunted hayride died tragically. The boy, wearing a mask, emerged from a corn maze, stumbled on uneven ground, lost his footing and fell under the rear wheel of the bus. He was killed instantly. In May of 2015, Kyle Sing, 15, was putting in a fence on his family’s farm in Eldridge, Missouri when he became caught in […]

44 Groups Sign-On to CLC Letter Asking Major Tobacco Companies for Better Wages, Collective Bargaining for US Farmworkers and Expansion of the Dunlop Commission Process

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May 12th, 2015: On June 24, 2014, a collection of organizations representing millions of Americans, including teachers, healthcare professionals, workers, farmworkers, and advocates concerned about children working in the tobacco fields wrote an open letter to the tobacco industry, outlining a number of steps that must be taken to eliminate child labor from tobacco supply chains.

Hazardous Labor

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In 2012, more than half of child laborers—85 million—are in hazardous work (down from 171 million in 2000).   Source:ILO