“Children shall be protected from all forms of neglect, maltreatment and exploitation. Children shall not become objects of a transaction. Children shall not be employed until they have reached the appropriate legal minimum age. On no account shall children be forced or permitted to have a job or to work in a profession that is harmful to their health or education, or that hinders their physical, spiritual or moral development.” This is not just a wish; these statements are to be found in the International Convention on the Rights of the Child. Countries that have ratified the convention are obliged to respect the rights mentioned in it and to take any necessary means to protect children.
It was the United Nations’ fight against the exploitation of children that led to the publication of the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1989. According to the Convention, signatory states must protect children from all types of employment. However, for many children throughout the world, things are not much better than they used to be. The truth is that in developing countries nothing has changed. The problem is still there and in fact, it is getting worse.
Today, over 12 million children over the age of seven in Syria, Bangladesh and other developing countries, have become slaves to the large chains of mass-produced clothes manufacturers. These companies sacrifice children on the altar of profit and commercialisation and force them to work – obviously illegally and without health insurance – in factories, crumbling buildings and ships that float in international waters for the sake of tax evasion. The children work between 12 and 16 hours per day in truly appalling conditions. Pressure and abusive behaviour are daily occurrences. The risk of illness from the filth and from exposure to harmful chemicals is continuously present. Physical health is not the only thing affected by child labour. According to numerous studies carried out by various medical centres and organisations concerned with child protection, this practice has a severe effect on both the mental state and the future of those children. By having to work, they are unable to go to school, meaning that they are condemned to live the whole of their lives in misery.
You may be wondering why we are so interested in this issue. The exploitation of children is without doubt something truly awful. At the same time, it is something distant, and surely not something that interests the “developed” West. Correct?
Wrong. On two counts. Firstly, because children’s rights are first and foremost human rights. Which means that whenever they are violated we are all affected, in the sense that we become further removed from a just world that offers equal opportunities to all and respects human life. Secondly, because we ourselves encourage that type of child labour. A T-shirt might cost as little as five euros, but costs much more in terms of the health, dignity and future of a child. The decision is ours: do we over-consume and make thoughtless purchases, or do we offer someone protection?
In order to ensure that you are not supporting the violation of human rights, search the Internet for companies that conform to labour standards by typing “ethical clothing”.
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BBC, The refugees who make our clothes
Netflix, The true cost
UNHCR, https://www.unhcr.org/
Marks and Spencer, Asos : des réfugiés syriens exploités dans leurs ateliers turcs
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This text was originally published in the 27th issue of the school newspaper “Echo d ‘Eugene”, which is published by the students of the Hellenic French School Eugenios Delacroix. The authors of the article attend the 3rd Lyceum, while the photo is by Michalis Karatzis, a student of the 2nd Lyceum.
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