Child labour in Cambodia
[9] There are also many initiative and policies put in place to decrease the prevalence of child labour such as the United States generalized system of preferences, the U.S.-Cambodia textile agreement, ILO Garment Sector Working Conditions Improvement Project, and ChildWise Tourism.
[11] Without education and vital life skills, they are vulnerable to abuse and exploitation, which may exacerbate the existing cycle of poverty in their families.
[15] The purpose of this convention was to determine the minimum age permissible for employment, with the larger goal of eradicating child labour.
[15] They define the minimum age of employment at fifteen years old, except in countries with poorly developed economies and educational facilities.
[16] The purpose of this convention was to prohibit and eliminate the worst forms of child labour, with children being people under the age of 18.
[18] These include fishing, peeling shrimp, shucking crabs, producing tobacco, spraying pesticides, and logging for timber.
Many of the young women reported depression, hopelessness, inability to sleep, nightmares, poor appetite, and a sense of resignation".
[20] The United Nations conducted field visits in Cambodia and found that "60 to 70 per cent of the child victims of prostitution are HIV positive".
[4] In fact, a study by Hughes reported that "one-third of the 55,000 women in prostitution in Cambodia were under age 18 and most were Vietnamese".
[5] The study by the UN also found that forty-three percent of mine explosion victims in military hospitals were conscripted when they were between ten and sixteen years old.
[5] The UN study reported that twenty percent of children involved in mine and unexploded ordnance die due to their injuries.
[5] It is believed that Cambodia's economic growth and progress is a contributing factor to the increasing number of child labourers.
[1] The huge demands of the construction industry is one example where it has pushed children to work in factories or brick kilns, foreclosing the option of school education for most of them.
Tourists play a key role in this form of child labour as many are willing to buy from these children, out of good intentions, escalating demands.
[23] A study by Kim reports that wealth and child labour are actually positively associated, because wealthy families have assets like land.
[23] Kim's study finds that poverty and child labour are not as closely linked as was previously thought, which would mean that the efforts of the policy makers are not as effective as possible.
[24] The economic and societal impacts are far reaching, hence raising awareness and efforts to prohibit child labour are important.
[21] Other problems include long hours of work, respiratory and skin diseases, life-threatening tetanus, joint and bone deformities.
[25] They concluded these results by saying that they suggest that countries with high levels of child labour have low health status.
[25] A study by Miwa Kana in 2010 found that child labour actually improved the health and nutritional status when the number of hours is within a threshold level.
[3] The countries have to ensure the freedom of association, the right to organize and bargain collectively, and the prohibition of forced and child labor.
[3] The U.S. does suspend GSP provisions when labour rights are violated, but often fails to do so when the country involved is a major partner in U.S.
[3] The goals of the project included maintaining an independent monitoring system, creating new laws to improve working conditions, increasing worker and employer awareness of labour laws and rights, and increasing government capacity to comply with national and international labour standards.
[10] The training sessions take place in Thailand, Indonesia, Cambodia, Philippines, Lao PDR, Vietnam, and Myanmar.
