In Brazil, the number of working children has been reduced by half in the last 15 years, thanks to government support. Families receive money if their children go to school regularly. What do you know about child labour?
1
Too much, too young
Activities
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Child working in South Ethiopia, 2009.
1. Describe the picture.
2. Listen to the UN definition of child labour. Which example is illustrated in the photo?
3.
Group work
Share your opinion on child labour.
2
Working in the shadows
Activities
Boys searching for ruby stones in Mogok mining sites, Myanmar (Burma), 2014.
1. Watch the video and describe the routine of these children.
2. What types of child labour are mentioned in the report?
3. Focus on the figures. What do you think of those numbers?
Human rights organisation Amnesty has accused Apple, Samsung and Sony, among others, of failing to […] ensure minerals used in their products are not mined by children.
Human rights organisation Amnesty [...] found children as young as seven working in dangerous conditions. Cobalt is a vital component of lithium-ion batteries. The firms said that they had a zero tolerance policy towards child labour. [Amnesty] also collected the testimonies of children who allegedly work in the mines. Paul, a 14-year-old orphan, started mining when he was 12 and told researchers: “I would spend 24 hours down in the tunnels. I arrived in the morning and would leave the following morning... I had to relieve myself down in the tunnels... My foster mother planned to send me to school, but my foster father was against it, he exploited me by making me work in the mine.” UNICEF estimates that there are approximately 40,000 children working in mines across southern Democratic Republic of Congo.
Jane Wakefield
“Apple, Samsung and Sony face child labour claims”, BBC, 19 January, 2016.
1. Read the title and react. Are you surprised? Shocked?