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The Use of Child Labor in U.S. Agricultural Imports
&
Forced and Bonded Child Labor

A Report to the Committee on Appropriations
U.S. Congress
U.S. Department of Labor
Bureau of International Labor Affairs
Joaquin F. Otero, Deputy Under Secretary for International Affairs
1995

Acknowledgments

This report was written and edited by the staff of the International Child Labor Study Group, Bureau of International Labor Affairs. The staff includes: Maureen E. Jaffe, Monica Mills, Sonia A. Rosen, Robert B. Shepard, and Beth Slavet. Additional contributions were made by Daniel Solomon, Special Assistant to the Deputy Under Secretary. The report was prepared under the direction of Andrew J. Samet, Associate Deputy Under Secretary for International Affairs.

Thanks are due to numerous people and organizations. The support of many members of the Bureau of International Affairs was critical to the production of this report. In addition, labor reporting officers and labor attaches in U.S. embassies and consulates across the globe provided important input and advice under the guidance of the International Labor office of the State Department's Bureau of Democracy, Labor and Human Rights. The International Labor Organization (ILO) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) provided crucial information and insight. Representatives of foreign governments also contributed important information.

Finally, thanks must be given to the hundreds of individuals and non-governmental organizations throughout the world with whom we spoke, visited or corresponded -- but more importantly -- who are active in the battle to eliminate the exploitation of child labor and to develop real alternatives for working children and their families. Their work is to be commended.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. Executive Summary

II. Introduction

A. Overview

1. Child labor in commercial agriculture and fishing
2. Forced or bonded child labor
3. Methodology

B. Current Developments

III. Child Labor In Commercial Agriculture

A. Introduction

1. Overview and Scope

2. Why Children Work: Explanations for Use of Child Labor in Agriculture

3. Working Conditions: Health and Safety Issues
4. Terms of Employment
5. Education and Child Labor in Commercial Agriculture

B. Regional and Industry Profiles

1. Africa

2. Asia

3. Latin America

IV. Forced and Bonded Child Labor

A. Introduction

1. Overview
2. Definitions
3. Situations of forced child labor

B. Manufacturing and Mining

1. Asia

2. Latin America

C. Farm Labor

1. South Asia

D. Service Sector and Illegal Economy

1. The Sex Industry
2. Domestic Services
3. Camel Jockeys

V. Appendices

Appendix A: ILO Convention 138
Appendix B: ILO Recommendation No. 146
Appendix C: ILO Convention 29
Appendix D: UN Convention on the Rights of the Child
Appendix E: Delhi Declaration (1995) (excerpt)