[child-rights] Child Labour News Service Release - March 15 2002

CHILD LABOUR NEWS SERVICE

15 March 2002

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** NATIONS 'GEAR UP' FOR THE DEVELOPMENT SUMMIT

** FORMER CHILD SOLDIERS SAID TO BE BACK ON FRONT LINES

** CENTRAL AMERICA BASTION OF CHILD SEXUAL EXPLOITATION

** TOBACCO INDUSTRY ACCUSED OF ENGAGING CHILDREN

** NEWS-IN-BRIEF

** NEW RESOURCES
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NATIONS 'GEAR UP' FOR THE DEVELOPMENT SUMMIT

Ahead of the UN summit on global poverty scheduled to being March
18 in Monterrey, Mexico, the world's poorest countries received
a double boost with President Bush unveiling a $5 billion package
of aid and the European Union promising a massive increase in
development assistance over the next five years.

In a move that marked a historic shift in Washington's stance
on aid after years of cuts, Mr Bush promised extra help for countries
that agree to respect human rights and reform their economies.
It is also seen as signalling a softening of America's unilateralist
approach under Mr Bush.

"To make progress, we must encourage nations and leaders to walk
the hard road of political, legal and economic reform so all
their people can benefit," he remarked.

In Barcelona, Europe's finance ministers overcame German opposition
and clinched a deal that will see EU aid spending rise by $5
billion a year by 2006.

Berlin, faced by severe budget pressure, had been resisting the
demands from Britain and the Scandinavian countries to increase
the proportion of EU GDP spent on aid from 0.33% to 0.39% by
2006. The deal will increase EU aid spending to $30 billion a
year over the next four years.

"This achievement shows Europe is not complacent about being
the world's leading aid donor," said Romano Prodi, president
of the European commission.

But campaigners warned that even with the extra spending, aid
budgets were still too low to meet the internationally agreed
targets for reducing global poverty by 2015.

According to the World Bank, financing the UN millennium development
goals could cost up to 60 billion dollars a year in additional
aid for the next 15 years. This is more than double the current
levels of aid.

"The EU/US pledges are a lot of money but it's not enough. In
fact, it's one tenth of what's needed for rich countries to keep
their promise to poor countries," said Justin Forsyth, Oxfam's
policy director. "This isn't just statistics. It's about children
dying, kids missing out on education and grinding poverty."

Washington's aid record is likely to come under intense scrutiny
at the Monterrey conference. Although, the proposal would effectively
boost US assistance to developing nations by about 14% over current
levels of more than $11 billion a year, the increase, which requires
congressional approval, would still leave the United States well
behind other nations in terms of the percentage of the economy
devoted to aid.

The disparity between American and European contributions was
highlighted by an agreement among European Union nations to donate
an average 0.39% of their GDP to aid by 2006, compared with America's
current 0.1% of GDP.

# # #
(From the files of The Guardian)
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FORMER CHILD SOLDIERS SAID TO BE BACK ON FRONT LINES

Former child soldiers are once again being conscripted to participate
in Liberia's civil war as fighting between government forces
and the rebel Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy
(LURD) moves closer to the capital of Monrovia.

In Liberia's past conflicts, boys as young as 6 years old were
forced to fight for Charles Taylor's National Patriotic Front
of Liberia (NPFL), and other rebel groups.  In exchange for their
years of fighting in the jungle, the former warlord promised
them rich rewards when they helped him reach the capital. Out
of estimated 15,000 child soldiers who fought during Liberia's
civil war, only 4,300 have been demobilised.

But five years after Mr Taylor was elected president, scores
of young ex-combatants are on the streets of Monrovia, trying
to eke a living from cleaning windscreens, begging or stealing.

Some of them tried to return to their villages when the war was
over, but they found their houses razed and their families dead
or missing.

Liberian Defense Minister Daniel Chea however, denied the government
was forcibly conscripting children, arguing that young people
are patriotically volunteering for such duty. He also criticised
the United Nations for failing to fulfil its promise to reintegrate
former combatants in Liberia and Sierra Leone, adding that many
of the rebels the government is now fighting are former child
soldiers recruited by the rebel LURD.

"At the end of our civil war in 1996, there was this promise
that the UN was going to come out with a comprehensive program
for the reintegration of former fighters into society," he said.

"Unfortunately that wasn't done in Liberia, in Sierra Leone and
in other places. Because those young men and women who were exposed
to violence for seven years, were only disarmed and demobilised
but with no proper incentive to be reintegrated into society,"
says Mr Chea.

"They were left alone, guns for hire... They've been recruited
by LURD forces, by the greedy, failed politicians to make war,"
he adds.

# # #
(From the files of the BBC Online)
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CENTRAL AMERICA BASTION OF CHILD SEXUAL EXPLOITATION

Central America has become one of the most attractive regions
for paedophiles.  Poverty, the low risk of facing criminal charges
and a high degree of government corruption contribute to attracting
men to the area who want to sexually exploit children,

The information was shared by Casa Alainza Director, Bruce Harris,
while presenting a study entitled, "Regional Investigation of
Child Trafficking, Prostitution, Pornography and Sexual Tourism
in Mexico and Central America."  The study was carried out in
all the Central American countries and in the states of southern
Mexico.

The director of Casa Alianza, which is affiliated with New York
City's Covenant House, and which advocates for street children,
said, "There are many children, who are desperate to eat," and
this, he said, facilitates child exploitation.

The study was done through interviews with victims, authorities
and others linked to child exploitation.  Investigators found
that exploitation was not limited to local consumers, but that
the business is also advertised internationally on the Internet.

According to the report, Nicaragua is the "principal supplier
of sexual victims for the whole region."  Harris said, "Many
Nicaraguans, adults, adolescents and even minors, end up in centres
in Honduras, El Salvador, and principally Guatemala, and in the
south their destination is Costa Rica, where there is the most
intense sexual tourism."

However, there are also networks in El Salvador and Guatemala
which practice "sexual slavery" in public places such as bars,
cabarets and other night spots, operating in an "undercover"
manner, according to researcher Rosamaría Sánchez. Travel agencies,
hotels and taxi drivers are also involved in these networks.

Researchers said the exploiters of the children use methods such
as changing birth certificates so that the ages of the children
are falsified, and they are taking advantage of the Central American
integration agreements that allow free cross-border traffic among
Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador and Nicaragua.

"The situation of trafficking of minors is much worse.  It is
increasing.  And the criminals are much more efficient than society,"
said Harris.  Even if a perpetrator is arrested for abusing a
child they are quickly freed, he added.

Casa Alianza plans to provide a legal team in each Central American
country to offer legal assistance to the victims of sexual exploitation
and abuse and to investigate, document and present accusations
against the abusers, Harris said.

# # #
(From the files of La  Prensa)
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TOBACCO INDUSTRY ACCUSED OF ENGAGING CHILDREN

The Malawi tobacco industry has come under renewed pressure to
stop using child labour and to make way for other more economic
crops in the country. But non-governmental organisations and
even the government are wary of the continuing recruitment of
children and are seeking to protect their exploitation.

Tobacco accounts for about 70% of the country's foreign exchange
earnings. But the industry is facing a decline following the
worldwide anti-smoking lobby.

NGOs are urging estate owners to stop employing children who
are under 14 years as labourers on the farms.

An official of the Tobacco Association of Malawi, TAMA, Sigman
Chirambo, reacted strongly, saying it was unfair for the tobacco
industry to be singled out when other industries were also flouting
the law.

His remarks were construed to refer to the tea industry, which
also engages extensive labour in clearing the fields and in some
cases plucking tea. But the tobacco industry has been widely
accused of "abusing" workers.

The industry thrives on a tenant system. Under this system workers
are recruited from two populous districts of Thyolo and Mulanje
in the country's Southern Region. Incidentally, these two districts
are the major growers of tea in Malawi, which is also labour
intensive. Child labour is also rampant in the tea industry.

Critics consider the recruitment procedure of the labour force
as near slavery.

The tobacco farmers drive in lorries hundreds of kilometres away
from their estates in the central and northern regions and search
of prospective tenants. The majority of the recruits are young
men lured by "free" transport and promises of bounties on the
tobacco farms.

In some cases, those who miss the free transport go by bus on
their own on borrowed money which they promise to repay later.
Such category of recruits are tempted to bring along their wives
and children to help top up the family income while labouring
on the tobacco farms. This is how the many more children become
part and parcel of the labour force on tobacco farms.

Concerned about harsh life for children on the tobacco farms
where they are robbed their right to education, the government
authorities are conducting a survey on child labour to establish
the gravity of the problem and seek remedial action. The survey
being carried out by the Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training,
was initiated two months ago.

The pilot phase covers the most affected districts of Mzimba
in the north, Lilongwe in the centre and Mulanje in the southern
region. The second part would be undertaken in April.

In Malawi the number of children engaged in labour, according
to official government statistics, was slightly over 100,000,
about 3-4% of the economically active population.

# # #
(From the files of the African Church Information Service)

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NEWS-IN-BRIEF

-- CHILD TRAFFICKING WORKSHOP OPENS
A three-day workshop aimed at strengthening efforts to fight
child trafficking in West and Central Africa concluded recently
in Libreville, Gabon. The Second Sub-Regional Consultation on
Cross-Border Child Trafficking was organised by Gabon's government,
the UNICEF and the ILO. The main aim of the workshop was to review
regional efforts since the first Sub-Regional Consultation on
Cross-Border Child Trafficking in 2000. Participants exchanged
information on national anti-trafficking strategies and discussed
closer regional co-operation. The meeting was viewed as an opportunity
to encourage governments to ratify international agreements that
seek to protect children, especially ILO conventions 138 and
182. During the last meeting, held in Libreville in 2000, participants
pledged to consolidate regional anti-trafficking efforts. (IRIN)

-- GHANA: NATIONAL PROGRAM LAUNCHED TO COMBAT CHILD TRAFFICKING
Recognising the country's reputation as a major supplier of child
slaves in West Africa, the National Program on Combating the
Trafficking in Children for Labour Exploitation has been launched
in Ghana. Implemented by the ILO in collaboration with the UNDP,
government and NGOs, the program will work to rescue 2,500 children
over two years, focusing on young children and girls working
in extremely hazardous conditions and those exposed to physical,
psychological, social and spiritual harm. The program will also
promote advocacy, awareness and community mobilisation initiatives
while working to bolster the capacity of legal and security agencies,
government ministries, NGOs and religious groups to respond to
the problem (Ghanaian Chronicle)

-- CHILDREN FOR PEACE
India -- In the wake of growing communal violence in the country,
thousands of children including former bonded child labourers
marched in the capital demanding for their 'right to peace.'
They were marching in solidarity with hundreds of children who
have been left homeless and destitute during these riots. These
children are now easy prey to child labour, beggary, prostitution
and others forms of exploitation. Having already gone through
a life of misery, the former child labourers urged the governments
to provide immediate rehabilitation to the riot effected children
to prevent them from slipping into the labour market.  The March
was organised by the South Asian Coalition on Child Servitude
(SACCS). It was joined by several other NGOs and child rights
groups.

-- GREECE -- DRAFT TRAFFICKING LAW FAILS VICTIMS
The Human Rights Watch urged the members of the Greek parliament
to strengthen the draft law on human trafficking to protect victims
and punish corrupt public officials complicit in the trade. The
draft law is currently under debate in the Parliament.  "The
Greek government has to protect victims if it really wants to
combat trafficking," said Elizabeth Andersen, Executive Director
of the Europe and Central Asia Division at Human Rights Watch.
"Without these protections, trafficking victims will not come
forward and they will not testify against their traffickers."
HRW's key concerns are that the draft law fails to criminalise
all forms of trafficking in persons; to provide explicit penalties
for complicity and other unlawful involvement in trafficking
by law enforcement officials; to explicitly prohibit the detention
of persons for being trafficking victims and; to outline explicit
measures for witness protection in trafficking cases (Human Rights
Watch)

-- KENYA: HOPES FOR CHILD WELFARE
Children's rights have been abused with impunity in the past.
To put in place full safeguards for the realisation of the rights
of the child in line with the UN Conventions on the Rights of
the Child (CRC), a new law has come into effect March 1. Under
the new law, a person who witnesses a child's rights being abused
can seek redress at the High Court. It also stipulates that those
found guilty of infringing on the rights of children will be
liable to a jail term not exceeding 12 months or a fine of up
to Sh50,000, or both. The Act also outlaws child labour and any
form of discrimination against children. The government reports
that there were estimated 3-4 million child labourers in the
country. Many of the children were working under hardship conditions.
In some sectors of the Kenyan economy children comprised 70%
of the labour force, many working in violation of national and
international laws. (IRIN)

-- CENTRE FOR REHABILITATION OF CHILD DOMESTIC WORKERS LAUNCHED
Islamabad-Ministry of Women Development, in collaboration with
ILO-IPEC launched the first Non-Formal Education Centre (NFE)
aimed at protecting and rehabilitating child domestic workers.
The centre will be run by an NGO "Service and Development". The
Ministry of Women Development has launched a program "Services
for Children in Difficult Circumstances (SCDC)" through National
Commission for Child Welfare and Development. Two months ago,
ILO-IPEC allocated US$ 120,000 for the various programs to be
carried out under the supervision of the Commission. Besides,
other projects aimed at rehabilitation of children, 9 more Non-Formal
Education Centres are to be set up with 3 centres each at 
Rawalpindi/Islamabad,
Peshawar and Quetta as one centre is already working at Dhok
Najju, Rawalpindi.  It has been estimated that 1000 children
with 70 per cent girls would be imparted training at these centres
meant for orientation, awareness raising, promoting education
and skills enhancement.
(Pakistan Observer)

-- UGANDA: UNICEF CALLS FOR RELEASE OF CHILD SOLDIERS BY LRA
With fighting intensifying in Uganda, UNICEF called on the rebel
Lord's Resistance Army to release 5,555 children it has abducted
in raids in the north of the country in the last several years.
"With renewed fighting under way, children could well be on the
front lines," UNICEF Executive Director Carol Bellamy said.
"It is time for the LRA, as well as those that have influence
with the LRA, to bring about the safe, immediate and unconditional
release of these children." Despite the condemnation, Bellamy
did say that LRA abductions of children have dropped in recent
years, with no new abductions being registered this year. (UNICEF)

-- CHILD LABOUR: UNICEF, NGO SAY COLOMBIA FAILS TO PROTECT 323,000
A recent report by UNICEF and Save the Children reveals that
Colombia is failing to protect child labourers.  "Despite being
a member of the UN and the ILO, Colombia has not applied pressure
in passing updated legislation or ratifying agreements that would
have been of vital importance in confronting child labour," it
says. Conducted last April, the study compares domestic labour
in the country to slavery, saying that of the 323,000 children
working in this market, nearly 90% are girls who work up to 60
hours a week without adequate nutrition, healthcare, education
or boarding. It proposed that changes in legislation be made
to guarantee children's rights and access to education and to
sensitise employers and families of their needs (El Tiempo).

-- ILO LAUNCHES PROGRAM TO COMBAT CHILD LABOUR IN NICARAGUAN
COFFEE INDUSTRY
The ILO is launching a $275,000 program in Nicaragua to combat
child labour in the country's coffee industry during the next
year and assist 1,500 working children attend school. In collaboration
with local businesses and aid groups, the program will work to
assist parents of working children, along with door-to-door public
awareness campaigns in some areas on the importance of education
at all levels and the negative effects of labour on a child's
physical and psychological development. The ILO effort will run
through March 2003, with the possibility of launching a second
phase and expanding to other industries within the country. The
ILO works with 5,000 Nicaraguan children in all sectors of the
labour market, investing more than $1 million in its efforts
to eradicate child labour.  Some 75,000 Nicaraguan children between
the ages of 10 and 14 years currently work. (La Prensa)

-- BRAZILIAN SMALL FARMS COMMONLY USE CHILD LABOUR
In Brazil, according to a study by the Getulio Vargas Foundation,
30% of the work force of small farms in the Brazilian states
of Goias, Pernambuco, Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo and Minas Gerais
is comprised of children under the age of 14.  According to the
study, carried out between August and September last year, up
to 40% of work in Goias and Pernambuco is done by children under
that age (O Estado de Sao Paulo).

-- PARAGUAYAN CITY IS A SEXUAL EXPLOITATION SPOT OF BRAZILIAN
GIRLS
In the brothels of the periphery of Ciudad del Este, a Paraguayan
city located in the border with Brazil, a large number of Brazilian
children and adolescents are victims of sexual exploitation.
Few weeks' back, the National Police of Paraguay found at these
places six girls, ages from 3-16, of which four were forced to
work as prostitutes. The girls stated that they were kept in
a two bedroom house to which clients were taken by Silvia Baez
Flores, 32. Silvia used to beat the girls up if they denied having
sex with the clients. One of the girls, aged 9, was Silvia's
own daughter. (O Estado do Paraná)

-- COPS LAUNCH WAR ON CHILD SEX AT DURBAN CLUBS
Police have declared war on Durban nightclubs that peddle drugs
and encourage teenage prostitution, warning their owners that
they will be shut down.  The police action comes after the Monte
Carlo night-club in Stanger Street was raided and 12 young prostitutes
were removed from the club. The raid was significant in that
it was the first time in South Africa that the Asset Forfeiture
Unit was involved in investigations involving child-related crimes.
  The club is known to be frequented by foreigners and young prostitutes,
some as young as 14 years old.  The 50-year-old owner of the
club was arrested after the raid.
(IOL)

-- NUMBER OF ARAB STREET CHILDREN INCREASING
Cairo - A study by the Arab Council for Children and Development
warns of the growing phenomenon of street children in the Arab
world and stressed on the importance of creating different programs,
policies and laws to combat and prevent it. Even though Arab
governments understand the dangers of this growing phenomenon,
they still depend on traditional institutional solutions. Arab
societies became more affected by the international phenomenon
due to the social, political and economic changes such as the
increasing population, migration to cities in addition to natural
disasters, civil wars and other conflicts. Also, children are
driven to live on the streets due to weak family ties, child
abuse, domestic violence, unemployment and child labour.  (Middle
East News Online)

-- NHRC ASKED TO PROBE BIHAR CHILD LABOURER'S DEATH
India -- The owner of a carpet factory in Uttar Pradesh has escaped
unscathed despite brutal murder of a child from Bihar, and torturing
many other kids who worked under him. The killing of Kari Sahini,
a13-year-old boy from Darbhangas Phulwaria village, is just another
example of the terrible plight of the children working in carpet
industries in Uttar Pradesh. Despite shocking eyewitness accounts
by fellow children before the court that factory owner Santosh
Kumar Mishra had killed Kari Sahini by knocking his head against
the wall, the police of UP and Bihar have done nothing in two
years to apprehend the culprit. Now veteran trade union leader
and CPI MLA Umadhar Singh has approached the National Human Right
Commission (NHRC) for a probe into the incident.

-- SRI LANKA: TAMIL TIGERS STILL RECRUITING CHILD SOLDIERS, RIGHTS
GROUP SAYS
Amnesty International accused the Sri Lankan rebel group, the
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, of continuing to forcibly recruit
child soldiers into its ranks, in effect violating the cease-fire
agreement it signed with the government last month. Under the
terms of that agreement, both parties pledged to protect the
civilian populace from abduction, harassment and intimidation.
According to Amnesty International, at least 18 children have
recently been recruited by the Tamil Tigers in the northern district
of Vavuniya, in addition to 13 others who were recruited in mid-February.
The rebel group has reportedly launched its own investigation
into the charges. It was not known whether the allegations against
rebel group will be considered a breach of the cease-fire agreement
by the committee assigned to monitor the pact. The committee,
led by Norway and including delegates from Nordic countries,
is due to start its monitoring tasks in the next few days. (BBC
Online)

-- ONLINE CHILD EXPLOITATION 'TIP LINE' GARNERS HEAVY USE.
The not-for-profit National Centre for Missing and Exploited
Children (NCMEC) recently reported that it has received more
than 64,000 online tips about suspected child abuse since launching
its CyberTipline in 1998. Established by NCMEC under legislation
passed by Congress in 1998, the CyberTipline's primary function
is to serve as an online clearinghouse for tips about suspected
child pornography on the Internet. Of the 64,000 reports that
the tip line has recorded since its inception, 55,000 related
to child pornography. The CyberTipline also records tips about
child prostitution, child sex tourism, child molestation and
other offences. Federal law enforcement agencies have access
to the CyberTipline database. (Washington Post)

-- YAHOO! PORN CLUBS INVOLVED IN PAEDOPHILE CASE
"Once again, a Yahoo! pornography club geared to paedophiles
has been involved in a child molestation case," said Patrick
A. Trueman of American Family Association. This time law enforcement
authorities intervened before molestation could occur. The case
involved a 55-year-old paedophile, John Ohlinge, of Eau Claire,
Wisconsin. Ohlinge posted a message seeking to arrange sex with
a child on a Yahoo! club that offers free child pornography to
those who merely join the club. Ohlinge has been arrested. Yahoo!
provided Ohlinge with all the tools he needed to find and molest
children. In January of this year a 13-year-old girl from Pennsylvania
was kidnapped by a man she corresponded with on a Yahoo! pornography
club. In August of last year, a man the kidnapped and raped a
15-year-old Massachusetts girl and then advertised the girl for
rent on a Yahoo! pornography club. (PR Newswire)

-- FOOD TO STOP CHILD LABOUR
Lilongwe, Malawi - The Norwegian Agency for International Development
and UNICEF launched a US $900, 000  program aimed at ending child
labour in Malawi by helping feed the children of this impoverished
southern African country.  The UNICEF-sponsored survey found
that 62% of Malawian children under the age of 14 work in family
businesses or on farms and another 19% do domestic work without
pay. Labour Minister Alice Sumani said the government was concerned
that poor parents who sent their children to work instead of
school were extending the cycle of poverty and illiteracy to
the next generation. "Malawi is locked in poverty because of
child labour," Sumani said.  Sumani said government was considering
the idea of introducing legislation that would make child labour
illegal.  (SAPA)

-- CANADA: FACTORY AUDIT DETAILS SOUGHT
A Canadian anti-sweatshop group, Ethical Trading Action Group,
is demanding that Hudson's Bay Co. (HBC) disclose the results
of an audit the retailer performed on factories in southern Africa
making private-label clothing for Zellers department store. The
Group approached HBC on October 23 with a number of complaints
about three garment factories in Lesotho. Allegations included,
among other things, the use of child labour. The group approached
HBC because the retailer has a code of ethical conduct for suppliers,
said Bob Jeffcott, policy analyst for the group. HBC assured
they would - and they did - hire an independent auditor to visit
the factories. No detailed public disclosure of audits has however
been made. (Toronto Star)

-- MELBOURNE BECOMES FIRST CITY TO EMBRACE UN GLOBAL COMPACT
"Melbourne business leaders, recognising that the triple-bottom-line
agenda is an opportunity rather than a threat, have played a
pivotal role in a world-first," by engaging the entire city in
the United Nations Global Compact. It encourages voluntary signatories
to embrace nine principles, drawn from international agreements
on human rights, labour standards and the environment. Committee
for Melbourne executive director Janine Kirk says the compact
is useful as it provides a solid, simple and universal framework
in which business and the wider community can begin to look at
putting triple-bottom-line projects into practice. (Australian
Financial Review)

-- ILO SETS UP WORLD COMMISSION ON THE SOCIAL DIMENSIONS OF GLOBALISATION
The ILO has launched a high-level commission, led by the presidents
of Finland and Tanzania, to examine the social dimension of globalisation.
The new body, comprised of politicians, academics, social experts,
and a Nobel economics laureate, will hold its first meeting in
Geneva, March 25. It is charged with developing recommendations
for harnessing the globalisation process to reduce poverty and
unemployment, and to foster growth and sustainable development.
Director General Juan Somavía and officers of the ILO's Governing
Body will serve as ex-officio members. Somavía termed the commission
"an unprecedented effort to promote international dialogue on
ideas to make globalisation more inclusive." (ILO-US)

-- UNIONS LAUNCH ETHICAL CLOTHING BRAND
In a move designed to drive the sweatshops out of the music business,
a new brand of ethically produced T-shirts - Ethical Threads
- has been launched by a group of trade unionists and their supporters
from the world of rock and roll. The first batch of Ethical Threads
shirts, sourced from a women's co-operative in Nicaragua, are
being used on the Billy Bragg UK tour which kicked off early
this month. The second batch of shirts, cut and sewn by Remploy,
are being used on the GMB public services campaign. The Ethical
Clothing Company, which owns the Ethical Threads brand, was set
up by the Battersea and Wandsworth TUC with the support of the
GMB London Region after being approached by Billy Bragg and other
key figures, who were concerned at the difficulty in sourcing
non-sweated merchandise. The vast bulk of the merchandise used
in the UK music industry comes from unverified sources where
sweated labour is rife. For more information contact Geoff Martin
(440 20) 8682 4224 or 07 831 465 103

-- WOOLWORTHS FALLS FOUL OF CHILD LABOUR REGULATIONS
Staines --  High street retail giant Woolworths has been fined
after breaching child employment laws at its Staines branch.
Appearing at Woking Magistrates' Court, representatives from
the company's Marylebone Road headquarters admitted to not having
work permits for four 16-year-old schoolchildren employed at
its Staines High Street store between October and November last
year. Council investigation revealed that the youngsters were
allowed to work until late at night. Woolworths accepts that
the health and education of these children were put at risk.
A spokeswoman for Woolworths plc, which was fined a total of
£1,200 and ordered to pay prosecution costs of £60, admitted
that the company would be taking measures to ensure a repeat
did not occur.

-- UK COMMITS $14 MILLION FOR PRIMARY EDUCATION
The United Kingdom will provide $14 million for a new fund aimed
at ensuring every child in the Commonwealth is enrolled in a
primary school by 2015, Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown
announced. Universal primary education by 2015 is one of the
UN Millennium development goals. 75 million Commonwealth children
now have no schools to attend, Brown said, pledging to help "most
of all the most vulnerable and disadvantaged, street children,
child soldiers and AIDS orphans." Oxfam, Save the Children and
ActionAid are to administer the fund, and Brown said most of
the money will be channelled through NGOs. Countries that could
benefit from the fund include Bangladesh, Cameroon, Gambia, Ghana,
India, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria, Pakistan,
Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe
(Associated Press).

-- BANGLADESH: WORLD BANK PROVIDES $121 MILLION CREDIT FOR GIRLS'
EDUCATION
The World Bank announced its approval of a $120.9 million no-interest
credit to support a Bangladeshi program aimed at raising school
enrolment rates and improving the quality of education for 1.45
million girls in rural areas. Under the program, the bank will
help expand Bangladesh's Female Secondary School Assistance Project,
which began in 1993 and gives out stipends as an incentive to
families to send girls to participating schools. According to
the bank, Bangladesh have made great strides in increasing school
enrolment in a short period of time. The enrolment has increased
from 462,000 in 1994 to more than 1 million last year. (The World
Bank)

-- PRIMARY EDUCATION MADE COMPULSORY: PRESIDENT PROMULGATES ORDINANCE
Islamabad -- President Musharraf promulgated an ordinance, making
primary education compulsory in the Islamabad Capital Territory
(ICT). The Islamabad Capital Territory Compulsory Primary Education
Ordinance, 2002, has come into force at once. Except for a reasonable
excuse, the ordinance binds the parents to send their children
to school till the completion of their primary education course.
In case of non-attendance, a union committee on education, that
is to be constituted later through a notification, will look
into the reasons. The committee has also been empowered to take
all the necessary steps. The parent who fails to comply with
the ordinance can be convicted with a fine of Rs500 that can
be increased to Rs20 per day after the conviction, until the
children are sent to school.  Similarly, in case of working children,
the employer if continues to employ a child, can be convicted
with Rs1,000 fine that can be increased to Rs50 per day after
the conviction. (Dawn)

-- PEANUTS FOR PRIMARY EDUCATION: EXPERTS
India -- The finance minister, Yashwant Sinha, announced an overall
hike of 30% in elementary education and adult literacy. The education
experts say the hike in primary education was nominal. "Last
year, allocation to primary education stood at Rs.4,000 crore.
This year it is Rs.4,900 crore which means there has been an
increase of Rs.900 crore only," said Sanjiv Kaura, co-ordinator,
National Alliance for Fundamental Right to Education. The Tapas
Majumdar Committee report on financing primary education suggested
Rs.18,000 crore for the sector. "This allocation is just peanuts."
An additional Rs.1,650 crore have been allocated for the Sarva
Siksha Abhiyan, a program for universalisation of elementary
education, a goal the government wants to achieve by 2003. (The
Telegraph)

-- PREMJI FOUNDATION PACT WITH UNICEF
India -- The UNICEF signed an agreement with the Azim Premji
Foundation to jointly support universal primary  education programs
in the country. The foundation and UNICEF will launch a joint
program in Karnataka, and have identified areas in the State
  such as Yadgir, Shahpur, Jewargi, Gulbarga rural, Aland taluk
in  Gulbarga District, Devdurga taluk in Raichur District, and
Maddur taluk in Mandya  District. The partnership would support
the Government's "Sarva Shiksha  Abhiyan" program and promote
universalisation of elementary education. The organisations would
focus on improving the quality of learning in schools, and  the
school environment, including sanitation, developing models of
  community processes that support community groups, and utilisation
of technology in  elementary education. (Indev)

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NEW RESOURCES

-- LEARNING CHANNEL: BEST PRACTICE IN EDUCATION [WEBSITE]
A new education website, www.learningchannel.org offers a rich
variety of news, thematic reports, and discussion. It seeks to
facilitate the sharing of experience between organisations and
individuals working in education, and focuses particularly on
highlighting best practice. "Success Stories", documenting case
studies of projects that have made a difference, are a regular
feature on the site and you can also sign up for an email news
digest.

-- E-BRARY PARTNERS WITH UN TO DISTRIBUTE PUBLICATIONS ONLINE
[WEBSITE]
Library patrons, students, scholars and researchers worldwide
will soon have online access to current publications in subjects
ranging from environmental protection to world health, labor
rights, agriculture and development economics through ebrary,
a provider of information distribution services. The World Bank
Group, The United Nations University Press, The World Health
Organization, The International Labor Organization and The Food
and Agriculture Organization will make their publications available
through its site, found at www.ebrary.com.

-- BACK HOME FROM BROTHELS [PUBLICATION]
This is a case study of the victims of commercial sexual exploitation
and trafficking across the Nepal-India border.  It studies the
process of repatriation of women and children rescued from brothels
in India, the challenges faced by NGOs in this process and how
these girls' lives are before, during and after their horrific
ordeals of sexual exploitation. For more information, contact:
Child Workers in Nepal, Tel: 977 1 278064; Email: cwin@mos.com.np;
Website: www.cwin-nepal.org

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For comments or any further information please contact:

Upasana Choudhry
Editor, Child Labour News Service
c/o Global March Against Child Labour
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Fax : (91 11) 623 6818
Email : 	yatra@del2.vsnl.net.in
	or childlabournews@vsnl.net
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"A CHILD IN DANGER IS A CHILD THAT CANNOT WAIT" - KOFI ANNAN