Child Labour in the Congo

In the small town of Kipushi in the Congo, all covered in dust, sits little two year old Sylvian in an ore heap alongside his mother pounding rocks with a makeshift mallet.

Rocks, dust and sun; this is the only life Sylvian has ever known.

He spends long days working away with his five siblings, his mother sees no other way of feeding her hungry children. For many young children, working in awful conditions like this is just how life is. Without outiside help, this is how they will spend all of their childhoods. 

An estimated 158 million children aged 5-14 are engaged in child labour – that is one out of every six children in the world.

Millions of children are engaged in hazardous situations or conditions like working in mines, working with chemicals and pesticides in agriculture or working with dangerous machinery. They are everywhere but invisible, toiling as domestic servants in homes, labouring behind the walls of workshops, hidden from view in plantations.

What Causes child labour?

There are many reasons that children may be forced to work. The most common is poverty, which is both a cause and consequence of child labour. Difficulty accessing education can contribute to children entering the workforce early. Also, children are often trafficked and forced to work, including across borders.

Child labour not only prevents children from acquiring the skills and education they need for a better future, it also perpetuates poverty and affects national economies though losses in competitiveness, productivity and potential income. Withdrawing children from labour and providing them with education whilst assisting their families with training and employment opportunities, contributes directly to creating decent work for adults. The more educated a person is the more employable they are and they are also more likely to notice when someone is taking advantage of them.

One of the main focus areas for UNICEF is child protection. According to Article 32 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, children have the right to be protected from economic exploitation.

How unicef is helping stop child labour

In the Congo, a UNICEF supported organisation is working to remove children from the hazardous working conditions in the quarry and get them back to school.

"One of the things we need to do is try to take these children out of this economy," says UNICEF representative Pierrette Vu Thi. "It means working on building social protection systems and helping these children's families by giving them the means to send the children to school."

UNICEF is involved in many initiatives to reduce child labour rates worldwide, including increasing school enrolment, supporting the income of poor families through self-help groups, and community education on the importance of education for children. Children will never be free from exploitation until all levels of society - from the family to the international community - work together. That is why UNICEF and its partners work with all involved parties including advocacy aimed at government, community education programmes, advocacy and training within the community and educational programmes for children to help them developing life-saving skills.

World Day against Child Labour is celebrated on 12 June. Celebrate today. Help stop child labour by donating to our general fund now.