| Summary: | Child labour is recognised as the most important source of child exploitation and abuse in the developing countries. Endemic in today's poor countries, it seems also to have re-emerged in developed countries. This research explores the present position of child workers in Pakistan and in one of the most developed countries, namely, the UK. The rationale for investigating the situation of working children in a developed country is that the experience of such countries provides important evidence by which to test the assumptions that guide policy in the developing world, with a view to reducing the problem of the worst forms of child labour. It is also the case that some of the problems associated with the child labour still persist in the most developed countries. Workers under 18 contribute to the economy in most developed world, and no country has been able wholly to protect them from physical, economic and social harm. In particular, some of the worst forms of child labour as set out in the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Convention No.182 on Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour 1999, including hazardous work, prostitution, child pornography, child soldiering and child trafficking, continue to attract attention. Recently, concerns about child labour have come to be linked to the issues of trade and trade liberalisation, and the possibility has been raised that international trade regulations may provide a weapon against child labour. The research therefore investigates the role and effectiveness of the ILO, international trade mechanisms and the impact of trade sanctions in combating the problem. In particular, it focuses on the following main issues. Is imposing trade sanctions on developing countries, irrespective of the causes and distribution of the problem, an appropriate approach to the problem? What would be the impact of international trade restrictions on the elimination of the worst forms of child labour? Is the World Trade Organisation (WTO) the appropriate forum to discuss the child labour? Will the imposition of sanctions lead to more protectionism in this era of globalisation, in which the prevailing ideology favours the dismantling of trade barriers rather than their erection? Is the use of the trade sanction as an instrument against child labour justified, and will it work in developing countries? Can the ILO play an effective role in eliminating the worst forms of child labour? Has child labour in the developed countries declined through trade sanctions? The research examines the actual position of child workers and legislation relating to them on international, regional and national levels. At the regional level, it considers the EU laws and directives on the Protection of Young People at Work. At the national levels, it analyses the lacunas in child labour legislation and considers the difficulties in its enforcement in Pakistan and the UK. A comprehensive overview is provided of relevant conventions including the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) 1989, and ILO conventions for combating child labour and its standards for the protection of child. The contribution of various relevant conventions, notably, the Minimum Age Convention No. 138 and Convention No. 182 on strategies to combat child labour is subjected to scrutiny. Discrepancy between law and practice are revealed and the impact of various factors in undermining the impact of legislation and its enforcement is analysed. It is argued that in order to strengthen the legal safeguards for the elimination of worst forms of child labour there is a need for reforms and a comprehensive legal framework, as well as the proper enforcement of existing laws. Moreover, a future plan of action should be developed for the effective promotion and protection of rights in relation to child labour.
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