Opinion Editorial: Chlild Labor in India

Child Labor in India
In an effort to improve its economic status India has abused the most precious resource we as humans have children. Currently this nation needs international support to resolve this issue. The countries government needs help starting programs from a grass roots level in order to fully combat this problem.
According to statistics given by the Indian government there are 20 million child laborers in the country while other agencies and organizations such as the International Labor Organization (ILO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) report that the number is closer to 60 million. Senator Dan Burton a member on the House Committee on Foreign Affairs and Tom Harkin the presenter of the Child Labor Deterrence Act, a bill that was meant to prohibit the importation of products using child workers with governments that trade with the United States but the government did not pass it for unknown reasons although this bill would’ve helped combat child labor a great deal. The Child Labor Deterrence Act also included that the United stated contribute to the UNICEF and the ILO.
Child labor is a human rights issue many believe that because there country is developed and child workers are not surrounding them that it is not something that needs to be bothered by but that thought is wrong. Child labor is not just the problem of third world countries but a global issue that we all should be concerned about. The United States is one of the very few members of the United Nations the only other country being Somalia that has yet to ratify the Convention on the Rights of the Child. This convention requires its ratifyers to report and appear before the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child once a year and be evaluated on their progress regarding children’s rights. By not signing this treaty the U.S. government is telling the world that the rights of children are not high on its priority list and telling people of the U.S. that child labor is something that they don’t need to be concerned about. Also the United States neglected to publicize the Global March Against Child Labor a huge movement that motivated many people and organizations to join the battle against child labor. This march took place in numerous major cities in the world and shed a much needed light on child labor and slavery. By not drawing media attention to this issue the US has continued to tell its citizens and the world that the issue is not something of importance.
The United States has continuously failed to show that the issue of child labor is not something of importance. Since the government is does not express the much concern it is up to its citizens to effectively combat it and show the government that this issue is of great importance.

Petition to End Child Labor in India

To: Congressman Dan Burton
India needs to amplify penalties for people that use children as workers to increase the prevention of child labor. India cannot do this alone they must be assisted by a developed country such as the United States in order for the Indian children to have any hope in stopping this vicious cycle. The United States and other developed countries play a vital role in aiding the elimination of child labor in India because they have the resources to do so. Please sign my petition to encourage the Indian government to increase penalties for those that use child workers and to encourage developed countries to become more involved in India’s efforts to end child labor.
Sincerely,
Dominque Bryant

Link: http://www.petitiononline.com/labor/

Child Labor in India: letter to official

To Dan Burton of Indiana, member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, ranking member of the Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia, Ranking Member.
Dear Honorable Congressman Dan Burton of Indiana,
I am writing this letter to discuss our government’ s lack of focus on child labor in international countries specifically, India. I am also displeased by the fact that our government has the necessary resource to stop, or at least hinder child labor yet little has been done to do so. Bills such as the Child Labor Deterrence Act have been introduced into Congress, but have not been passed. The Act according to the bill’s introducer “Prohibit the importation of products that have been produced by child labor and included civil and criminal penalties for violators.” Other bills have also been introduced into congress that would help child workers stay off the streets by providing them with a pension and starting programs for the children and parents and none have been passed. The government of India has set up National Child Labor Projects that are intended to provide non-formal education, vocational training, and nutrition to Indian youth that are withdrawn from employment but India needs more help from the United States to have a significant effect on India’s child labor policies. I urge Congress to pass this bill. I also would like Congress to look at child labor from a child worker’s perspective. There are 60 million child laborers in India,who are abused, tortured, and beaten because they have to work to support their family or have been sold as a means for their familes income. They are also forced to work obscene hours often from morning to night that the average American would consider absurd to work especially for a young child.
I would like to push Congress to help the children of India and free them of inhumane task , and allow them to have a complete childhood. The length of one’s childhood should not be determined by the location of their birth. The government of the United Stated of America should be helping India in their efforts to prevent child labor because it is not something that can be done alone. Starting programs to help provide jobs for the parents would gravely influence the prevention of child labor in India. Also pressuring the Indian government to strictly enforce child labor laws would help its prevention.
If we, as Americans can look upon other governments and custums and determine whether or not their actions are acceptable, then we should do something to change it. Although these children are not Americans, they are children of the world and their cries can no longer go unheard.
Sincerely, Dominque Bryant