Entries by Reid Maki

CLC News Release: Legislation to Protect Child Farmworkers in the US is Re-Introduced

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CHILD LABOR COALITION PRESS RELEASE Child Labor Coalition applauds the introduction of two congressional bills to reduce dangerous child labor in U.S. agriculture For immediate release: June 13, 2017 Contact: Reid Maki, (202) 207-2820, reidm@nclnet.org Washington, DC—The Child Labor Coalition (CLC) and its 35 members applaud the re-introduction late yesterday of two congressional bills that would significantly reduce child labor in U.S. agriculture and largely equalize child labor laws for wage-earning children on farms with current rules for non-farm work. In the House of Representatives, Rep. Roybal-Allard (D-CA) re-introduced the Children’s Act for Responsible Employment (CARE), which would amend the Fair Labor Standards Act, removing the exemptions that prevent the nation’s child labor laws from applying to children who work for wages on farms. “A 12-year-old is not allowed to work in our air-conditioned office,” said Sally Greenberg, executive director of the National Consumers League and a co-chair of the CLC. “Yet, that same child is allowed to work unlimited hours, seven days a week on a farm, performing back-breaking work.” CARE would also raise the age at which children laboring on farms can perform hazardous work from 16 to 18, which is the norm for all non-farm work. “We lose far too many children to work accidents on farms,” said CLC Coordinator Reid Maki. “This change is long overdue.” “Child […]

For Love of Chocolate…On World Chocolate Day, We Look at the Human Cost Behind Chocolate

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There’s no doubt that humans love chocolate. Globally, we consume $80 to $100 billion worth of it a year. Despite its popularity and the joy it gives us, there is a dark side to chocolate: cocoa, its main ingredient, is often produced by child labor. The US Department of Labor (USDOL) identifies this as the case in six countries: Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Nigeria and Sierra Leone. In two of those countries, the Côte d’Ivoire and Nigeria, USDOL notes there is forced labor on cocoa plantations. There is also evidence that thousands of children have been trafficked to work on cocoa plantations from neighboring countries Mali, Burkina Faso, and Togo. Exploitation in chocolate’s supply chain became hotly discussed in 2000 and 2001 when media reports about wide-spread child labor in the West Africa nations of Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire, where the majority of cocoa was being produced, were published. Congressional leaders were alarmed about the reports. Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY) introduced legislation that would require child-labor free chocolate to be recognized with a label. The measure passed the US House of Representatives but it didn’t take long for everyone to realize that wanting child-labor free cocoa and delivering on that promise were two very different things. The nature of cocoa farming made it a very difficult crop to remove […]

Guest Blog: To Fight the Spread of Cybersex Trafficking, Anti-trafficking Organizations Need to Innovate

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Controlling the spread of human trafficking is a monumental challenge. Traffickers are innovating in the tactics that they use to exploit millions of victims, underscoring the difficulty of responding to an international epidemic that can look completely different from case to case and country to country. The rapid expansion of internet access across the globe, for example, has enabled people who would otherwise have limited ability to engage in exploitation to participate in the victimization of child trafficking victims from the convenience of their home. A recent investigation by The Associated Press highlights the nature of cybersex trafficking and those who profit from this exploitation. Chronicling the bust of David Deakin, an Illinois native who relocated to the Philippines, the AP piece exposes not only the means that many of these perpetrators use to exploit children, but also the mentality of many traffickers and the customers who engage in this specific form of trafficking. Similar to victims of other forms of trafficking, cybersex trafficking victims often come from impoverished communities, with children in particularly vulnerable positions. Where there is a great deal of sex trafficking in general, such as in countries like the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam, there is likely to be a great deal of cybersex trafficking. In many instances, parents or older family members exploit children and force […]

Help the CLC Celebrate World Day Against Child Labor at Our June 16th Event Featuring Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Kailash Satyarthi

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Join NCL’s Child Labor Coalition for a Congressional Briefing US Policy and its Impact on Child Labor and Trafficking with 2014 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Kailash Satyarthi In cooperation with the Congressional Caucus on Human Trafficking When: Friday, June 16, 2017 | 1pm – 2pm Location: Rayburn House Office Building, Room 2172 Please join the Child Labor Coalition, the Alliance to End Slavery and Trafficking, and the Kailash Satyarthi Children’s Foundation, for a briefing in honor of the World Day Against Child Labor (June 12), featuring Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Kailash Satyarthi. The briefing will discuss child labor, child slavery, and child trafficking, and explore solutions that will help eliminate these blights on society. Mr. Satyarthi will speak on the need to protect children from child labor in times of crises. Keynote: Kailash Satyarthi, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Featuring: Ana Flores, Recently a child worker in North Carolina’s tobacco fields Jo Becker, Advocacy Director of the Children’s Rights Division, Human Rights Watch Kevin Willcutts, Deputy Director of the US Department of Labor’s Bureau of International Labor Affairs, the Office of Child Labor, Forced Labor, and Human Trafficking Satyarthi has been a tireless advocate of children’s rights for over three decades, and recently launched the 100 Million for 100 Million Campaign – history’s largest global youth-for-youth mobilization. He has liberated more than 86,000 children from exploitation and developed […]

Nobel Laureate Kailash Satyarthi Applauds Indian Government for Ratifying Conventions 182 and 138

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Nobel laureate Kailash Satyarthi applauds Government for ratifying ILO Conventions 182 and 138; Calls it a historic step On March 31, 2017, Nobel Peace Laureate Kailash Satyarthi welcomed the Government of India’s decision to ratify the International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention 182 on the Worst Forms of Child Labour and Convention 138 on the Minimum Age of Employment. Commenting on the ratification, Mr Kailash Satyarthi, the Honourary President of Global March Against Child Labour said: “I congratulate the Honourable Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and the Ministry of Labour and Employment on this historic reform. India’s decision for ratification of Convention 182 and Convention 138 was long overdue in providing justice to our children. After the total prohibition of child labour this is yet another important step in protecting all our children from exploitation and abuse. It now remains a collective responsibility of everyone to do their bit to scourge of child labour from the country. This remarkable moment also provides with an opportunity for the country to make renewed commitment for ending forced labour, modern slavery and human trafficking as committed in the Sustainable Development Goals. Let this be the last generation that has been exploited in the name of illiteracy, poverty or helplessness.”

Child Labor Coalition releases the “ABC’s of Child Labor,” a new short film narrated by children addressing the global issue of child labor

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Washington, DC—The Child Labor Coalition (CLC) is releasing today the “ABC’s of Child Labor,” a short film exploring how widespread child labor is globally and how many products are touched by it. The film, featuring four elementary school children discussing the exploitation of children, is being released in anticipation of Universal Children’s Day this Sunday, November 20. Universal Children’s Day has been recognized by the United Nations since 1954 as a day of “worldwide fraternity and understanding between children” and a day to promote the welfare of children. “What better way to learn about the issue of child labor than from a few American children themselves telling the stories of other children who are less fortunate and trapped in child labor and child slavery around the world,” said Sally Greenberg, co-chair of the Child Labor Coalition and the executive director of the National Consumers League (NCL). “Don’t let the charm of these children fool you. They are deadly serious about ending child labor and they want us adults to wake up and help,” said Len Morris, a filmmaker who heads Media Voices for Children.

How a small financial transaction tax might be used to help us end child slavery and the worst forms of child labor in the next nine years

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By Reid Maki The UN has set a very ambitious goal—one of the sustainable development goals adopted last year—of eliminating child labor, child slavery, forced child labor, and the use of child soldiers in the next nine years. It’s daunting to think about. Nearly 170 million children remain in child labor despite a one-third reduction in the number of children trapped in child labor over the last 15 years. Eighty-five million children remain in hazardous child labor, working in brothels, mines, and places no child should be sent. Nearly six million children remain in child slavery. How is the world to achieve this laudable, essential goal? The answer is it cannot—not without a significant infusion of resources. More than 120 million children who should be in school are not. A billion children are illiterate. Functioning schools are a critical element in the battle against child labor and child slavery. In West Africa, where two million plus children toil on cocoa plantations to harvest the main ingredient in chocolate, more than 3,000 schools are needed to provide children with educational alternatives to hazardous work. Clearly, hundreds of billions of dollars are needed over the next nine years. Is the global community likely to provide this funding? Probably not, unless there are new revenue sources from which they can draw the money […]

CLC Press Release: 47 Members of Congress Ask President Obama to Ban Child Labor in US Tobacco before He Leaves Office

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For immediate release: October 18, 2016 Contact: Reid Maki, Child Labor Coalition, (202) 207-2820, reidm@nclnet.org Washington, DC— Nearly 50 members of Congress asked President Obama to ban child labor in US tobacco fields in a letter sent to the White House today. US child labor law allows children as young as 12 to work unlimited hours in tobacco fields as long as they are not missing school. “Voluntary policies among tobacco companies have attempted to get children under 16 out of the fields, but it isn’t clear those policies are effective or why they permit 16- and 17-year-old children to do work that is hazardous and makes them ill,” said Sally Greenberg, co-chair of the Child Labor Coalition and the executive director of the National Consumers League. “We believe that this work is too dangerous for workers under 18,” added Greenberg. “Children working in tobacco fields suffer regular bouts of nicotine poisoning, otherwise known as Green Tobacco Sickness. They are also subjected to dangerous pesticide residues and use razor-sharp tools. We believe tobacco work should be conducted by adults who are better able to deal with the risks, and kids who have to work or who want to work should be re-directed into safer jobs.” Rep. David Cicilline (D-RI) authored the letter which asks the president to designate tobacco work for children […]

Rep. Cicilline and 46 Members of Congress Ask President Obama to Ban Child Labor in US Tobacco

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October 18, 2016   The President The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20500   Dear Mr. President: As you approach the final months of your term in office, we would first like to commend you on the Strides your administration has made in combatting the dangers that tobacco and nicotine products pose to children. With those accomplishments in mind, we ask that you take immediate action to amend existing rules which allow children under the age of 18 to do dangerous work on tobacco farms. The hazards to children associated with this type of labor make closing this loophole essential. Current U.S. law allows children as young as 12, or even younger, to work as hired laborers in agriculture, and there is no special provision in law or regulation which accounts for the unique risks to children who work in tobacco fields. According to detailed reports published by Human Rights Watch in 2014 and 2015, children allowed to work on tobacco farms often work excruciatingly long hours in harsh conditions, and often without protective gear. They routinely handle tobacco plants containing nicotine, and many of these children experience symptoms such as nausea, Vomiting, and dizziness- which are consistent with acute nicotine poisoning, an occupational illness that occurs when workers absorb nicotine through their skin. The long-term impacts […]

Antonement and Action for President Obama in His Last 100 Days

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By Jonathan Todres   This week is Yom Kippur (Sundown, October 11 to Sundown, October 12), the Day of Atonement on the Jewish calendar. As tradition has it, atoning on Yom Kippur will address only sins against God. For transgressions against other individuals, Jews are obligated to seek forgiveness from and reconciliation with those people first. Yom Kippur also marks the end of the High Holidays, and thus offers the prospects of a fresh start and an opportunity to do better than we did the year before.   While I’m well aware that President Obama is not Jewish (or Muslim—are people still really talking about that?), I’d like to invite him to participate, at least in spirit.  And I think the timing is appropriate, because Yom Kippur falls approximately 100 days from the end of the Obama Presidency—leaving one final window of opportunity for the president while still in the Oval Office.   On his inauguration in 2009, newly-elected President Obama boldly proclaimed that “[a]s for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals.” Human rights advocates hailed his election and speech as the dawn of a new, promising era of progress on human rights. The past eight years haven’t necessarily lived up to expectations.   So, with little more than 100 days […]