Background In June 1999, government officials, workers, and employers organizations from 174 countries gathered at the annual International Labor Conference in Geneva, Switzerland and after due deliberation unanimously adopted ILO Convention (No. 182) Concerning the Prohibition and Immediate Action for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labor, commonly known as ILO Convention 182 (or C182) on the Worst Forms of Child Labor. Quickly endorsed by a majority of the nations of the world, C182 is the most rapidly ratified convention in the history of the ILO. Article 3 of C182 defines the worst forms of child labor as: all forms of slavery or practices similar to slavery, such as the sale and trafficking of children, debt bondage and serfdom and forced or compulsory labour, including forced or compulsory recruitment of children for use in armed conflict; the use, procuring or offering of a child for prostitution, for the production of pornography or for pornographic performances; the use, procuring or offering of a child for illicit activities, in particular for the production and trafficking of drugs as defined in the relevant international treaties; work which, by its nature or the circumstances in which it is carried out, is likely to harm the health, safety or morals of children. C182 calls upon ratifying countries to take immediate and effective measures to secure the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labor. As a result, it is helping to spur legislative actions around the world designed to harmonize national child labor laws with international standards. Project Overview Some databases containing labor and human rights laws that have resulted from international action are currently available through ILO NATLEX. However, not all of them are available either in their full texts or in English, and those that are available in both their original language and in English are not consolidated for easy access. The UICHR, with preliminary financial support from the U.S. Department of Labor (US-DOL) and continuing support from The University of Iowa, is working to fill in these gaps with the Child Labor Legislative Database. In September 2004, the UICHR completed legislative research of 31 countries in Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, and North America and made the resulting database avaiable online at http://www.childlaborlaws.org/. The Child Labor Legislative Database is intended to serve a wide range of individuals and institutions working to reduce and eliminate child labor. It is expected to increase the legislative information available to the ILO and its networks. Also, it is expected to enhance (as well as expand upon) what is already available on the ILO's NATLEX and other such databases. At a click of a button, national policy-makers and decision-makers can examine and analyze existing legislation from throughout the world to develop their own laws. NGO activists and researchers in their respective countries can determine the extent to which their governments are in compliance with international obligations. Corporations can gain help to improve their corporate social responsibilities. And colleges and universities as well as other institutions can find guidance to uphold their codes of conduct. By building and constantly strengthening this legislative database, the UICHR is bridging a legislative information gap relative to child labor worldwide and in this way helping to reduce and eliminate the worst forms of child labor throughout the globe. Project Personnel The Child Labor Legislative Database project was managed by UICHR Project Associate Mary Galligan. Legislative research and data preparation was completed by Research and Graduate Assistants from the UI College of Law and the College of Liberal Arts. Database development was performed by Michael Peil. Technical direction and web development were provided by Brett Lorenzen. Project Status In September of 2004, the UICHR completed research on the first 31 countries to be included in the database, and made them available publicly via the Internet at http://www.childlaborlaws.org. With the conclusion of the grant that provided primary funding for the CLRI, the database development effort is currently unfunded. No new countries are being researched for addition to the database at this time, but the UICHR is committed to pursuing new opportunities and maintaining the current system as long as the data is useful. Further Information For further information, please contact: UI Center for Human Rights Email: uichr@uiowa.edu
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