Finding Effective Approaches to Reduce the Worst Forms of Child Labor: Introducing Pace
Excerpt from the 2020 State of the Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining Sector
Focus Area: Eradicate Child Labor and Create Decent Youth Employment
Case Study: Finding Effective Approaches to Reduce the Worst Forms of Child Labor: Introducing Pace
Worldwide, 152 million children are estimated to be involved in child labor (ILO 2017). Much of this exploitation is defined by the International Labour Organization (ILO) as the Worst Forms of Child Labor (WFCL) (ILO 1999). In the Central African Republic (CAR) and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), it is estimated that between 30 percent and 40 percent of all children aged 5-14 are engaged in child labor (USDOL 2018a; 2018b), with underage labor in artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) sites, children recruited into armed groups, and trafficking of girls into sexual exploitation among the most notorious examples. The extractives industry in particular is often singled out for criticism; with weak regulation in the two countries struggling with chronic conflict and poverty, the exploitation of children in the extraction of valuable minerals such as diamonds and tin, tungsten, tantalum, and gold (3TGs)—essential for the production of jewelry, mobile phones, computers, and renewable energy technology—is widespread. The economic uncertainty brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic is only likely to make this worse.
Additional Info
- Author(s)
- Stefano Battain, Quintin Lake, B Delgado, C Ford, C F d’Andon, C Barrett, Q Lake, S Battain
- Publication Year
- 2021
- Associated Partners
- UN Global Compact Network UK, Thomson Reuters Foundation, CPC Learning Network/Columbia University, World Vision, Fifty Eight, War Child UK
- Language
- English
- Publishing Institution Webpage
- https://www.delvedatabase.org
- Data Source Classification
- Global Report
- Research Type
- Both
- Research Methodology
- Primary - OBSERVATION, Secondary - PREVIOUS RESEARCH, Secondary - OFFICIAL STATISTICS
- Thematic Tags
- Social, Child Labor, Employment, Human Rights, Labor and Working Conditions, Livelihoods, Modern Slavery, 2020 State of Sector
- Country
- Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo
- Last Updated
- July 1, 2021