人权观察-新冠疫情下加纳、尼泊尔和乌干达的贫困与童工（英文）-2021.5-75页_4mb

Summary of "I Must Work to Eat": Covid-19, Poverty, and Child Labor in Ghana, Nepal, and Uganda

Core Content

This report by Human Rights Watch, in collaboration with local organizations in Ghana, Nepal, and Uganda, examines the rise in child labor and poverty in these three countries during the Covid-19 pandemic. It highlights the impact of the pandemic on children's rights, including their right to an adequate standard of living, education, and protection from child labor. The report underscores that while child labor has decreased globally in recent decades, the pandemic has reversed this trend in many regions.

Main Findings

• Economic Impact: The pandemic caused widespread job losses and income reductions, forcing many families to rely on children's labor to survive.
• School Closures: Nationwide school closures led to a significant number of children losing access to education and school meals, which in turn increased the likelihood of them entering the workforce.
• Child Labor: Children were engaged in various hazardous and exploitative forms of labor, including gold mining, brick kilns, carpet factories, and construction. Many worked long hours with minimal or no pay.
• Gender Disparities: Girls were often subjected to lower wages and faced additional risks of sexual harassment and exploitation.
• Social Protection Gaps: Only 28 out of 81 interviewed children received any government assistance, primarily in the form of food aid, with no cash transfers. This indicates a significant gap in social protection mechanisms.

Key Information

• Interviews Conducted: 81 children (48 boys and 33 girls) aged 8–17 were interviewed in Ghana, Nepal, and Uganda between January 19 and March 1, 2021.
• Work Environments: Children reported working in dangerous conditions, such as exposure to toxic substances, heavy lifting, and repetitive tasks, often without adequate safety measures.
• Impact on Education: Many children struggled to return to school even after closures, either due to financial constraints or the burden of work.
• International Standards: The report references international human rights treaties, including the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), which obligates governments to provide social security and an adequate standard of living, including access to education.

Recommendations

To All Governments

• Social Protection:

  • Ensure children enjoy an adequate standard of living and benefit from social security, including through universal child allowances.
  • Improve communication and accessibility of social protection programs, especially for low-literacy and no-internet populations.
  • Ensure women can apply for and receive benefits as heads of households.
  • Avoid quotas and ensure objective selection processes for social protection programs.
  • Establish grievance mechanisms and maintain comprehensive data for program planning.

• Education:

  • Guarantee free and quality primary and secondary education without tuition fees or indirect costs.
  • Fund schools adequately, especially under-resourced ones, to cover budget gaps previously filled by family contributions.
  • Launch national "back to school" campaigns, focusing on marginalized children, to encourage their return to education.
  • Monitor and support students who have dropped out or are not attending regularly.

• Child Labor:

  • Align national child labor laws with international standards.
  • Enforce child labor regulations through monitoring and appropriate penalties.
  • Require companies to conduct human rights due diligence across their supply chains.

To Donors

• Establish a Global Fund for Social Protection to support low- and middle-income countries in implementing social protection programs.
• Increase international aid for social protection, especially from G20 and OECD countries.
• Support the transition from means-tested to universal social protection programs.
• Encourage the World Bank and IMF to fund and allow social spending without austerity conditions.

To Companies

• Conduct human rights due diligence across global supply chains to prevent child labor and other human rights abuses.

Methodology

• The report was conducted by Human Rights Watch, Initiative for Social and Economic Rights (ISER) in Uganda, and Friends of the Nation (FoN) in Ghana.
• Interviews: 81 children were interviewed in person, with most conducted individually and in private, to ensure confidentiality and safety.
• Languages: Interviews were conducted in local languages (Nepali/Hindi, Twi/Ewe, English/Luganda) depending on the country.
• Sources: In addition to interviews, the report reviewed secondary sources such as government reports, ILO and World Bank data, and UN documents.

Conclusion

The pandemic has significantly increased the risk of child labor, particularly in low-income countries, by exacerbating poverty and disrupting education. Cash transfers and child allowances are proven tools to reduce poverty and child labor, yet many governments have not scaled them up adequately. The report calls for urgent action to implement and expand social protection programs to ensure children's rights are protected and their future is not compromised.