§ 26. Mr. Gordon PrenticeTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps she is taking to promote the outlawing of child labour. [62770]
§ Clare ShortWe are supporting the International LabourOrganisation's work aimed at producing a new International Convention on the Worst Forms of Child Labour which we hope will be agreed by all members of the ILO at the International Labour Conference in June 1999. This will cover forms of labour which enslave, corrupt, maim and kill children and young people under the age of 18.
We are also working with developing country governments and international organisations to help tackle the problem in practical ways because in many countries despite laws against child labour, children from very poor families—often female headed—work as a result of extreme poverty. Programmes are needed to enable their parents to work for a better income and to provide schooling for children. Examples include a project in Sialkot to provide social support for children leaving the football stitching industry. We are also discussing with ILO's International Programme for the Elimination of Child Labour a possible programme on child labour in small-scale mining in Tanzania. Earlier this year we provided a grant of $1 million to IPEC to help take forward their programmes.