Children as young as nine say they are ill from work recycling plastic in Turkey
Children as young as nine are working in plastic waste recycling centres in Turkey, putting them at risk of serious and lifelong health conditions, according to Human Rights Watch
Workers including children, and people living in homes located "dangerously close" to the centres, told researchers they were suffering from respiratory problems, severe headaches and skin ailments.
In a new report, HRW accuses the Turkish government of exacerbating the health and environmental impact on the workers by failing to enforce laws that require strict licensing and regular inspections of recycling centres.
The EU, the biggest plastic waste exporter to Turkey between 2017 and 2021, and the UK, the largest single plastic exporter during the same period, were also contributing "significantly" to health and environmental rights abuses in Turkey, the report said.
After China banned plastic waste imports in 2018, the EU's plastic waste exports to Turkey skyrocketed by 1,200% from 38,804 tonnes to 446,432 tonnes in 2021. In 2021 the UK exported 122,898 tonnes of plastic waste to the country, a member of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.
Krista Shennum, Gruber fellow at HRW and the report's lead researcher, said: "The government of Turkey is failing to implement its laws. It has regulations to protect people and the environment but a lack of enforcement is increasing people's risk of serious lifelong health conditions.
link to article:www.theguardian.com
The rattling of metal can be heard yards away from the scrapyard. A steady trickle of people struggle in: small children laden with sacks of tins and bits of car engines, and adults with handfuls of jagged objects, unidentifiable beneath the rust. Some push handcarts as scrapyard attendants take turns to weigh the metal brought in, then hand over a few dirty US dollar notes in return. Children are regulars amid the hustle and bartering that Zimbabwe's poorest are resorting to in order to eat. With the economic crisis ever deepening, Unicef says 47% of Zimbabwean youth have now dropped out of school. Most of the children here in Hopley, 10 miles (16km) from the capital, Harare, have not been in class since the Covid pandemic began and are not returning due to rising poverty. In sub-Saharan Africa, population growth, recurrent crises, extreme poverty, and inadequate social protection measures have led to an additional 16.6
million children in child labour over the past four years. Even in regions where there has been some headway since 2016, such as Asia and the Pacific,
and Latin America and the Caribbean, COVID-19 is endangering that progress. The report warns that globally, 9 million additional children are at risk
of being pushed into child labour by the end of 2022 as a result of the pandemic.
A simulation model shows this number could rise to 46 million if they don't have access to critical social protection coverage. Additional economic shocks and school closures caused by COVID-19 mean that children already in child labour may be working longer hours or under worsening conditions,
while many more may be forced into the worst forms of child labour due to job and income losses among vulnerable families. "We are losing ground in the fight against child labour, and the last year has not made that fight any easier,"
said UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore. "Now, well into a second year of global lockdowns, school closures,
economic disruptions, and shrinking national budgets, families are forced to make heart-breaking choices.
We urge governments and international development banks to prioritize investments in programmes that can get children out of the workforce and back
into school, and in social protection programmes that can help families avoid making this choice in the first place." Link to article: www.theguardian.com/global-development
NEW YORK/GENEVA, 10 June 2021 The number of children in child labour has risen to 160 million worldwide an increase of 8.4 million children in the last four years with millions more at risk due to the impacts of COVID-19, according to a new report by the International Labour Organization (ILO) and UNICEF. Child Labour: Global estimates 2020, trends and the road forward released ahead of World Day Against Child Labour on 12th June warns that progress to end child labour has stalled for the first time in 20 years, reversing the previous downward trend that saw child labour fall by 94 million between 2000 and 2016. The report points to a significant rise in the number of children aged 5 to 11 years in child labour, who now account for just over half of the total global figure. The number of children aged 5 to 17 years in hazardous work – defined as work that is likely to harm their health, safety or morals – has risen by 6.5 million to 79 million since 2016. "The new estimates are a wake up call. We cannot stand by while a new generation of children is put at risk," said ILO Director-General Guy Ryder. "Inclusive social protection allows families to keep their children in school even in the face of economic hardship. Increased investment in rural development and decent work in agriculture is essential. We are at a pivotal moment and much depends on how we respond. This is a time for renewed commitment and energy, to turn the corner and break the cycle of poverty and child labour." In sub-Saharan Africa, population growth, recurrent crises, extreme poverty, and inadequate social protection measures have led to an additional 16.6 million children in child labour over the past four years. Even in regions where there has been some headway since 2016, such as Asia and the Pacific, and Latin America and the Caribbean, COVID-19 is endangering that progress. The report warns that globally, 9 million additional children are at risk of being pushed into child labour by the end of 2022 as a result of the pandemic. A simulation model shows this number could rise to 46 million if they don't have access to critical social protection coverage. Additional economic shocks and school closures caused by COVID-19 mean that children already in child labour may be working longer hours or under worsening conditions, while many more may be forced into the worst forms of child labour due to job and income losses among vulnerable families. "We are losing ground in the fight against child labour, and the last year has not made that fight any easier," said UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore. "Now, well into a second year of global lockdowns, school closures, economic disruptions, and shrinking national budgets, families are forced to make heart-breaking choices. We urge governments and international development banks to prioritize investments in programmes that can get children out of the workforce and back into school, and in social protection programmes that can help families avoid making this choice in the first place." Link to article: www.unicef.org
Living on scraps: the Zimbabwe children who eke out a living from rusty metal
Child labour rises to 160 million, first increase in two decades
