[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 8]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 10616]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     WORLD DAY AGAINST CHILD LABOR

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. PHIL HARE

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, June 14, 2010

  Mr. HARE. Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong support and 
recognition of World Day Against Child Labor. I join with all of my 
colleagues in the House, and on both sides of the aisle, in condemning 
the horrendous practice of child labor. While great strides have been 
made in eradicating child labor in the United States, this Congress and 
our Nation must do more to end the practice across the world. 
Throughout the world, children are exploited and forced to work in 
often horrendous conditions. As a moral and just society, we can not 
continue to turn a blind eye.
  According to the Child Rights Information Network, from 1997 to 2007, 
more than 35 percent of African children were subject to illegal child 
labor. Statistics from other regions are just as alarming. In the 
Caribbean, Latin America, East Asia and the Pacific, 11 percent of 
children are laborers, and in South Africa, 13 percent of children are 
in the workforce. It is clear that we, as leaders in the global 
economy, must do more to work with the governments in these regions to 
rid our world of the practice of child labor. However, as we tackle the 
challenges posed by child labor, we must realize that the primary 
culprit in the continuation of this practice is global poverty. 
Unfortunately, many families are left with no other alternative than to 
send their children into the workforce to help support their family. In 
our capacity as a world leader, we have a responsibility to raise 
global standards in order to improve the global standard of living and 
thus eradicate the demand for child labor.
  Madam Speaker, although the problem of child labor in the United 
States is less evident when compared to the labor issues of many other 
nations, there is still and always will be progress that can be made. 
The U.S. Department of Labor calculates that 4 percent of all 14-year-
olds and 8 percent of 15-year-olds are working at ``high intensity'' in 
the United States. High intensity is defined as a child that works 15 
or more hours per week, and more than half of all school year weeks. 
This may not seem like a difficult burden to carry, but in a Nation 
with a population of 17 million citizens between the ages of 14 and 17, 
these numbers are far too high. Like their international counterparts, 
many American families can not afford to have an able bodied member of 
the family sit out of the workforce regardless of their age. We all 
know that poverty in the United States is a major problem and I call on 
my colleagues to remember the indirect problems caused by it, such as 
child labor.
  The recent Hague Global Conference Against Child Labour set a goal of 
completely eliminating the Worst Forms of Child Labor by 2016. Madam 
Speaker, I believe that the United States should display the same 
dedicated and unwavering leadership that was displayed at the 1999 ILO 
Conference Against Child Labor. If we are successful in eliminating 
child labor and unfair labor practices around the world, we will ensure 
that children, regardless of where they are born, are able to be just 
that, children.

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