Gold tops a list of products made with child labour, ranked by number of countries where instances have been discovered.
A report by the US Department of Labor (DoL) on goods produced by forced and child labour said instances of child labour involving gold occurred in 24 countries, followed by bricks (18 countries), sugarcane (18), coffee (17), and tobacco (17). The report said Cameroon and Zimbabwe had been added to the gold list of countries this year.
Concerning Cameroon, the report said: “Children often mine alongside their families in artisanal mines, and reports indicate that their ages range from under 10 to 17. Sometimes, children mine gold by themselves to sell on the black market. “Children mine in hazardous conditions, including standing in stagnant water, working underground, and using mercury to separate out the gold dust. Many children leave school to work in gold mining, and a report indicates that over 75% of the students in one school stopped attending school in order to mine gold.”
The report warned global supply chains hide abusive labour conditions out of sight of purchasers “at the bottom end”.
The DoL estimated 27.6m people were currently in forced labour, up from 24.9m in 2016.
This year for the first time the Bureau of International Labour Affairs (ILAB) included specific supply chains identified as using inputs made in violation of international labour standards. It aims to safeguard federal procurement and prevent imports of goods made with forced labour.
The list of goods produced by child labour, by number of countries:
Gold (24)- Bricks (18)
- Sugarcane (18)
- Coffee (17)
- Tobacco (17)
- Cotton (15)
- Cattle (13)
- Rice (12)
- Fish (11)
- Garments (9)
- Cocoa (7)
The report also documented the presence of child labour in the production of 17 mined substances across 35 countries. It found global demand for minerals converged with factors such as poverty, lack of access to education, and armed conflict to perpetuate exploitation of children.
More than 160m children engaged in child labour globally, the report found, with many of them in the informal work sector. This referred to unregistered jobs or enterprises with little to no legal oversight, poor working conditions, and a lack of social protection for workers. The report warned in certain countries, such as Bangladesh and Mozambique, labour laws did not apply to children in the informal sector.
A significant share of child labour in supply chains occurs in the lower tiers, such as raw material extraction and agriculture.
In order to promote due diligence in supply chains, ILAB emphasised improved traceability. Both private and public companies can use traceability systems to address ESG standards and track the goods feeding into their supply chains, the report stated. To trace these supply chains will require knowledge of trade data, supplier information, transport routes, and processing steps, it said.
“Overcoming the challenges of addressing longstanding labour abuse requires knowledge and data,” the report added. “ILAB’s reporting and other tools and resources are at the forefront of the effort to generate and disseminate that knowledge. ILAB’s research is also built on strong and credible data that informs US policies and actions to eliminate forced labour and child labour, which in turn supports US leadership in global efforts.
“Yet knowledge and data on global labour abuses is just the first step. Achieving our global vision of ending child labour requires collaboration between workers, trade unions, businesses, civil society, and other relevant stakeholders.”
ILAB also emphasised the Durban Call to Action, a commitment to scale up multistakeholder efforts to prevent child labour by strengthening prevention and the 
protection of survivors through data-driven and survivor-informed policy, realising children’s right to education, achieving universal access to social protection, and increasing financing and international cooperation.
Source: Supply Management
