Stop child Labor

Aim

To ensure at least 15 years of full-time formal education for children, change the attitudes of those who keep children in work, and help create reliable sources of income for adults who see no alternative but to send their children to work.

Why

Hivos believes all people have the right – and the ability – to shape their lives on the basis of personal choices. But not when the choices of some hold sway over the destiny of others, as in the case of child labourers. No child should be working. All children have the right to a good education, the right to play, the right to enjoy their childhood and the right to realize their full potential as human beings. Eradicating child labour means development and better opportunities for everyone, and it is possible to eliminate child labour if all stakeholders take responsibility and work together.

How

Stop Child Labour works with organizations in Asia, Africa and Latin America that share its aim and promotes child labour free zones where inhabitants agree to eliminate child labour together. The program convinces businesses and CSR initiatives of the need to eliminate child labour and, where possible, collaborates with them. Globally, it encourages governments and international organizations to develop more coherent policies and programs on child labour and education and urges companies to remove children from their production chains. SCL’s campaign mobilizes citizens in the global North to demand the same rights for children in the global South that their own children enjoy.