Anti-poverty bands made with forced labour, Oxfam says

by redjade Mon May 30, 2005 17:48

An estimated 246 million children are engaged in child labour. Of those, almost three-quarters (171 million) work in hazardous situations or conditions, such as working in mines, working with chemicals and pesticides in agriculture or working with dangerous machinery.

[....]

Regional estimates indicate that:
* The Asian and Pacific regions harbour the largest number of child workers in the five to 14 age group, 127.3 million in total. (19 per cent of children work in the region.)
* Sub-Saharan Africa has an estimated 48 million child workers. Almost one child in three (29 per cent) below the age of 15 works.
* Latin America and the Caribbean have approximately 17.4 million child workers. (16 per cent of children work in the region).
* Fifteen per cent of children work in the Middle East and North Africa.
* Approximately 2.5 million children are working in industrialized and transition economies.

by redjade Mon May 30, 2005 17:53

At least 12.3 million people are trapped in forced labour around the world, the International Labour Office (ILO) said in a new study released today. ILO Director-General Juan Somavia called forced labour "a social evil which has no place in the modern world".

The new report, entitled "A global alliance against forced labour" (Note 1), says that nearly 10 million people are exploited through forced labour in the private economy, rather than imposed directly by states. Of these, the study estimates a minimum of 2.4 million to be victims of human trafficking.

[....]

The new study confirms that forced labour is a major global problem which is present in all regions and in all types of economy. Of the overall total, some 9.5 million forced labourers are in Asia, which is the region with the highest number; 1.3 million in Latin America and the Caribbean; 660,000 in sub-Saharan Africa; 260,000 in the Middle East and North Africa; 360,000 in industrialized countries; and 210,000 in transition countries.

Forced economic exploitation in such sectors as agriculture, construction, brick-making and informal sweatshop manufacturing is more or less evenly divided between the sexes. However, forced commercial sexual exploitation entraps almost entirely women and girls. In addition, children aged less than 18 years bear a heavy burden, comprising 40 to 50 per cent of all forced labour victims.

http://www.ilo.org/public/english/bureau/inf/pr/2005/22.htm

- - -

The ILO report, entitled
"A global alliance against forced labour"
(.pdf format)
http://www.ilo.org/dyn/declaris/DECLARATIONWEB.DOWNLOAD_BLOB?Var_DocumentID=5059

by hmmmm. Tue May 31, 2005 12:55

has told the Daily Telegraph that he wants a million to march, (and buy the record) (just like Bono) during the G8 in scotland "against poverty".
I suppose if anything goes wrong, we can blame him.
WHAT IS IT WITH IRISH POP MUSICIANS?
why is, it that they feel the need to associate themselves with "good causes"?
Is it guilt? Is it part of the deal/ contract they sign?