[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 125 (Thursday, September 18, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9631-S9632]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  ABUSIVE AND EXPLOITATIVE CHILD LABOR

  Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, I rise today to speak about an important 
issue, child labor. Over the years, I have come to this floor many 
times to speak about abusive and exploitative child labor and have 
introduced legislation to combat it.
  But today I am here to specifically raise awareness about child 
servitude and to speak out against this horrific practice. Several 
years ago, the South Asian Coalition on Child Servitude (SAACS) based 
in New Delhi, India, began to devote this day, September 18, to raising 
awareness about children forced to work. I would like to take a moment 
to talk about SAACS and their endeavors under the leadership of my good 
friend, Kailash Satiyarti. In April of this year, I visited Mukti 
Ashram or liberation retreat established by SAACS which is located 
outside of New Delhi. This is a place where bonded child laborers are 
freed from the shackles of slavery and are able to attend school, learn 
a trade and most importantly to regain their self-worth. I was deeply 
moved by these children and impressed by their progress in overcoming 
their previous circumstances.
  Mr. President, I want to be clear. I am not talking about children 
who work part-time after school or on weekends. There's nothing wrong 
with that. I worked in my youth--perhaps so did you. That is not the 
issue.
  The issue is children who are forced to work in hazardous 
environments--many under slave-like conditions who sweat long hours for 
little or no pay and are thus denied education or the opportunity to 
grow and develop. It's the kind of work that endangers a child's 
physical and emotional well-being.
  And let there be no mistake: When the growth of children is stopped 
so is the growth of a nation.
  I would also like to take a moment to remember a former child laborer 
whose life was ended but whose message still resonates throughout the 
world. His name was Iqbal Masih. He was sold into slavery at age of 4. 
He was shackled to the carpet looms to slave 14 hours a day, 6 days a 
week for 6 long years. Until, he broke free.
  But instead of turning away from the hell that was his life, Iqbal 
did the opposite. He brought his world to us. He showed us things we 
didn't want to see. He told us things we didn't want to hear. And he 
challenged us, when he said ``the world's enslaved children are your 
responsibility.'' Iqbal Masih was a leader and a crusader, sadly, he 
was assassinated on April 16, 1995. At the age of 13, his voice was 
silenced. We remember him today and the hundreds of millions of 
children who toil away and remember them in the best way possible--by 
keeping his message alive and his crusade going strong.
  As I mentioned earlier, I traveled to South Asia in April and laid a 
wreath at Iqbal's grave in Pakistan. I also visited the school in Kasur 
that was built in Iqbal's memory with the support of students from the 
Broad Meadows School in Quincy, MA and donations from children 
throughout the United States.
  Throughout my visit to South Asia, I carried the same message 
everywhere I went and to anyone who would listen: child labor is a big 
concern in the United States and that concern is not going to go away. 
I am going to continue to work hard to make sure that it's on the 
agenda in Congress, at the United Nations next month, and at the ILO.
  The definition of child labor is not an American standard--it is an 
international one. ILO Convention 138 is clear. The minimum age for 
employment is 15 years--developing countries may invoke a transitional 
age of 14--and 18 years is the minimum for hazardous work.
  Virtually every nation on Earth has similar laws on its books today. 
So let me put to rest the notion that somehow this is the ``West'' 
imposing its will on others. These are not the West's standards. These 
are the world's standards.
  And the fact is, some of the most powerful calls for the elmination 
of child labor have been sounded from the governments of the developing 
world. The Delhi Declaration, adopted in 1995, includes a strongly 
worded resolution on child labor. As does a resolution adopted at last 
year's ministerial conference of the South Asian Association of 
Regional Cooperation held in Pakistan.
  I believe that it is our job to work together to transform the 
resolutions we adopt from words to deeds--from intentions to actions. 
And that is what I have committed much of my time and energy to doing.
  In 1992, I introduced the Child Labor Deterrence Act, the most 
comprehensive legislative initiative in the United States to end 
abusive and exploitative child labor. Some called it revolutionary 
legislation but, in truth, it is rooted in the most conservative of 
notions: International trade cannot ignore international values.
  It is true that the vast majority of child laborers do not work in 
the export sector. And of course, the exploitation of children is 
deplorable under any circumstances. But, the reason I have focused on 
child labor in industries that export to the United States is that we 
need to begin somewhere. The export sector is an area where we have 
leverage and where we can try and effect some change now.
  Since the time I began my effort, support has grown tremendously. As 
I have traveled around the United States and spoken with people about 
the issue of child labor, I have found that consumers want to get 
involved. They want information.
  They want to know if products on the shelves are made by children. 
And they don't want to buy it if it is. A recent

[[Page S9632]]

survey by Marymount University of Virginia found that more than three 
out of four Americans said they would avoid shopping at stores if they 
were aware that the goods sold there were made by child labor.
  Consumers also said that they would be willing to pay more for a 
garment if it were guaranteed to be made under humane conditions. So, 
Mr. President, American consumers have spoken. They don't want to 
reward companies with their hard earned dollars by buying products made 
with child labor.
  And the Senate too has spoken. In 1993, this body appropriately put 
itself on record in opposition to the exploitation of children for 
commercial gain. In my view this was the first step toward ending child 
labor.
  Earlier this year, I introduced a bill, the Child Labor Free Consumer 
Information Act, to inform and empower American consumers by 
establishing a voluntary labeling system for wearing apparel and 
sporting goods made without child labor. I support labeling for three 
fundamental reasons. First, it takes a comprehensive approach. It says 
legislative assemblies--such as the U.S. Congress--can't do it alone 
through legislation. The U.S. Department of Labor--can't do it alone 
through enforcement. It takes all of us from the private sector to 
labor groups to human rights organizations--to take responsibility and 
work together. We must attack the scourge of child labor from all 
fronts.
  Second, labeling is based on choice. Companies can choose whether to 
use the label to keep consumers fully informed and consumers can choose 
to vote against child labor with their pocketbook.
  Third, I support labeling because it is practical. It is working. 
Earlier this year, I traveled to India to visit Kailash Satyarthi, the 
founder of South Asian Coalition on Child Servitude, and the RUGMARK 
headquarters. RUGMARK is a label placed on hand-knotted carpets to 
assure consumers that they were made without child labor. In Europe, 
about 700,000 carpets have been imported from India bearing the RUGMARK 
label. And here in the United States, where the RUGMARK campaign just 
began, several thousand rugs have already been imported.
  So, Mr. President, I would conclude by saying this. We have made some 
progress. Five years ago, I introduced the Child Labor Deterrence Act.
  Four years ago, the U.S. Senate unanimously approved a resolution, 
which I sponsored, prohibiting the importation of products made by 
child labor.
  Three years ago, the U.S. Department of Labor began a series of 
reports on child labor that represents the most thorough documentation 
ever assembled by the American Government on this issue.
  Two years ago, a historic memorandum of understanding was signed in 
Bangladesh to move children from garment factories to schools.
  Last year, a similar effort began in Pakistan in the soccer ball 
industry.
  Mr. President, in the coming weeks we will be debating the fast track 
legislation which gives the President the authority to negotiate trade 
agreements. I have been a supporter of such legislation in the past. 
During these past weeks, I have had several meetings with members of 
the administration and have raised my concerns about children making 
goods or picking agricultural products in Mexico that end up in the 
United States.
  So, Mr. President, I have to ask are the NAFTA side agreements on 
labor standards adequately preventing the exploitation of children for 
commercial gain?
  According to the September 1 issue of the U.S. News and World Report, 
as many as 4 million children work in Mexico. These children can be 
found gluing shoes in workshops, lifting two or three times their body 
weight in produce and cleaning up toxic oil residues, despite the laws 
in their country outlawing child labor.
  Mr. President, the administration is fond of saying that trade 
agreements are necessary to level the playing field for American 
workers, but for the life of me I can't understand how an American 
worker can compete with a child working 7 days a week, 14 hours a day 
for 14 cents. The United States must not lower its standards rather we 
should insist on countries raising their standards to ours.
  It seems to me that the challenge before us is how to stop this 
exploitation. The global market is now the local market. Today our 
neighbors are no longer around the block, they are around the world. 
And we all have a responsibility to help our neighbors.
  Now is the time to learn from our past trade agreements and insist on 
a basic fundamental premise of protecting children. While, I don't 
claim to have all the answers on eradicating child labor. I will 
continue my efforts to end the scourge of child labor. I am always 
looking for new suggestions, ideas and approaches. But I do say the 
progress that's been made on eradicating child labor is irreversible. 
We must keep looking forward.

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