25 years of failure of the ILO’s international campaign!
Our Latin American and Caribbean Movement of Working Children and Adolescents brings together collectives, networks, and national movements from Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Chile, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, and Venezuela. We are an autonomous organization and comprised of NNATs who work in urban and rural areas. We are involved at work in the sale of food and sweets, creating art, providing childcare, and offering educational support, both in tutoring and direct teaching to other boys and girls. Additionally, we actively take part of the agricultural tasks, from planting to harvesting. We not only contribute to and support the family budget and our own needs, but also contribute to the economic development of our countries.
We fight and advocate for our right to work in safe and dignified conditions, denouncing and rejecting all forms of exploitation of childhood. Our work under dignified conditions not only generates wealth, but also educates us, allows us access to play, and enables constant learning and improves our circumstances for a dignified life.
Twenty-five years have passed since the international policies of the ILO failed, even with the ineffective promotion of June 12th, the international day against us, the working children and adolescents. As the Latin American and Caribbean Movement of Working Children and Adolescents, we vehemently reject their eradication policies because we witness that the actions of the ILO are solely punitive, involving persecution and discrimination against the working children and adolescents.
Therefore, we propose:
- To the States: Defend the dignity of all children and adolescents, ensuring they are not victims of exploitation, human trafficking, persecution, or discrimination.
- To Society: Promote the active participation of children and adolescents in the development of public policies and investing more in childhood.
- To current Governments: Guarantee the implementation of policies and laws that uphold and promote the full exercise of children’s rights.
Since our movement’s foundation 36 years ago, we continue to reaffirm our fight for a fairer, more dignified, and humane work.
Yes to dignified work, No to exploitation!
*NNATs: An umbrella term used in Latin America for ‘working children and adolescents’
