Child workers dig for cobalt at an artisanal mine in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Photo: Fr Jacques Nzumbu, SJ
On World Day Against Child Labour, June 12, Canadian Jesuits International (CJI) draws attention to the plight of an estimated 160 million children worldwide who are subjected to child labour and deprived of their basic rights to dignity, education, health care and well being, and protection from harm.
CJI reaffirms its commitment to advocate for an end to child labour and to support the work of its Jesuit partners in Africa, Asia, and Latin America who provide education to poor and marginalized children, especially those at risk of being forced to work because of poverty or human trafficking.
The Jesuit-run Moran Memorial School, a CJI partner in Nepal, educates the children of tea estate workers and children from the Rajbanshi tribe, with an emphasis on educating girls. Girls in the country have historically been expected to work in the fields and help at home instead of attending school.
The Jesuit Refugee Service, a CJI partner, provides formal and non-formal education to refugee children and youth to protect them from child labour, child marriage, forced recruitment into militias, and sexual exploitation.
In Canada, CJI is involved with the Canadian Network of Corporate Accountability, which is urging Parliament Hill to pass legislation that would compel Canadian companies to eradicate forced or child labour and practice human rights due diligence in their supply chains, among others.
CJI hosted a series of events on “Green Justice,” to raise awareness that green energy technology to combat climate change must not come at the expense of the environment and the human rights of vulnerable people like those in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Congolese priest Fr Jacques Nzumbu, SJ, noted how child labour is rampant in artisanal mines. Nzumbu, who visited artisanal mines, saw children cleaning cobalt in muddy, toxic water. Cobalt is used for lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles, laptops and smart phones.
At an event co-sponsored by CJI this year, Dr. Evelyn Namakula Mayanja, Assistant Professor at Carleton University, Ottawa, discussed how mining companies, including Canadian ones, have forced millions of Congolese off their land, and robbed them of their access to food and water, schools, and hospitals. Families unable to farm and children unable to go to school end up as artisanal miners in order to survive, she said.
This World Day Against Child Labour, the UN calls for “national, regional and international action to end child labour in all of its forms” by adopting national policies and addressing its root causes.
The COVID-19 pandemic has pushed more families into poverty, and increased child labour, the UN said. The Africa and Asia-Pacific regions account for nearly nine out of every 10 children in child labour worldwide, it noted.
