Child labour is work undertaken by a child that is harmful to them in some way. The labour could be harmful to their health, safety, or ability to have a childhood. Child labour deprives children the right to normal physical and mental development, and often interferes with children’s education. Roughly 160 million children were subjected to child labour at the beginning of 2020, with 9 million additional children at risk due to the impact of COVID-19. They are everywhere, but invisible, toiling as domestic servants in homes, labouring behind the walls of workshops, hidden from view in plantations. The consequences are staggering. Child labour can result in extreme bodily and mental harm, and even death. It can lead to slavery and sexual or economic exploitation. And in nearly every case, it cuts children off from schooling and health care, restricting their fundamental rights and threatening their futures.
Children and young people have the same general human rights as adults and also specific rights that recognize their special needs. Children are neither the property of their parents nor are they helpless objects of charity. They are human beings and are the subject of their own rights.
Children are innocent, trusting and full of hope. Their childhood should be joyful and loving. Their lives should mature gradually, as they gain new experiences. But for many children, the reality of childhood is altogether different. Right through history, children have been abused and exploited. They suffer from hunger and homelessness, work in harmful conditions, high infant mortality, deficient health care and limited opportunities for basic education, A child need not live such a life. Childhood can and must be preserved. Children have the right to survive, develop, be protected and participate in decisions that impact their lives.