International and National Laws Related to Child Labour

UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC)

ILO's Minimum Age Convention 138

National Laws Pertaining to Child Labour

UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC)

This Convention was adopted by the UN General Assembly on November 20, 1989. The scope of this convention extends to persons up to the age of 18. Pakistan has ratified this Convention in 1990. Article 32 of CRC reads

"State Parties recognise the right of the child to be protected from economic exploitation and from performing any work that is likely to be hazardous or to interfere with the child's education, or to be harmful to the child's health or physical, mental, spiritual, moral or social development".

ILO's Minimum Age Convention 138

This Convention was adopted by ILO in 1973. It states that minimum age for employment may not be set lower than the age of completion of compulsory schooling and, in any event not less that 15 years (initially 14 years in the case of developing countries). Although spirit of this Convention is reflected in several Pakistani laws, it has yet to be formally ratified by the Government of Pakistan.

Laws in the United States of America Against Child Labour in Other Countries

The law makers in the United States of America have been legislating for many years to introduce bills that prohibit the import into their country of the products made by child labour. In 1997, the US Congress passed "the Bonded Child Labour Elimination Act" introduced by Rep. Bernard Sanders. The law amends Section 307 of the US Tariff Act of 1930 (19 USC 1307). After its passage, imports of articles produced or manufactured with bonded child labour , who are under the age of 15, are prohibited. The amended Section 307 of the Tariff Act now reads as follows.

All goods, wares, articles, and merchandise mined, produced, or manufactured wholly or in part in any foreign country by convict labor or/and forced labor or/and indentured labor under penal sanctions or/ and bonded child labor shall not be entitled to entry at any of the ports of the United States, and the importation thereof is hereby prohibited, and the secretary of the Treasury is authorized and directed to prescribe such regulations as may be necessary for the enforcement of this provision. The provisions of this section relating to goods. Wares, articles and merchandise mined, produced, or manufactured by forced labor or/ and intentured labour , shall take effect on January 1,1932. The president may waive the application of this section with respect to particular goods, wares, articles, or merchandise, if the president determines land certifies in writing to the Congress that it is in the national economic interest of the United States to allow the entry into the United States of such goods, wares, articles, or merchandise

In 1996 Senator Tom Harkin introduced the "Child Labour Free Consumer Information Act" in the Congress. The purpose of this Bill is to inform the consumers in the United States about a voluntary labeling system concerning wearing apparel or sports goods made without abusive and exploitative child labour. The Bill calls on the manufacturers to voluntarily label their products with "no child labour" guarantee to give the consumers an educated choice when they make their purchases.

Another legislation called the Harkin Bill was introduced by Senator Tom Harkin in 1992. The Bill has not yet been passed, but is introduced every year in the US Congress. It is also known as "The Child Labour Deterrence Act". The purpose of the bill as defined by its mover, is to eliminate the role of the Unite4d States in providing a market for foreign products made by children under the age of 15; supporting activities and programmes to extend primary education, rehabilitation and alternative skills training to underage child workers and to improve birth registration.

The above mentioned laws become especially relevant for exports from Pakistan viz; made up textiles, carpets, soccer balls, surgical instruments etc. Efforts are being made in Pakistan to ensure that our exports meet the child labour standards. This is especially true for Punjab from where most of exports orginate.

National Laws Pertaining to Child Labour

The Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan states: "No child below the age of fourteen, shall be engaged in any factory or mine or in any other hazardous employment." Also, "All forms of forced labour and traffic in human beings is prohibited." A number of laws contain provisions prohibiting child labour or regulating the working conditions of child and adolescent workers. The most important laws are:

The Factories Act 1934.
The West Pakistan Shops and Establishments Ordinance 1969.
The Employment of Children Act 1991.
The Bonded Labour System Abolition Act 1992.
The Punjab Compulsory Education Act 1994