Child Labor and Corporate Influence in Ethiopia

1278 Words3 Pages

The issues before the Special Political and Decolonization Committee 2014 are: Child Labour and Corporate Influence in Africa. The Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia fully expresses its desire to assist and support efforts in resolving both concerns. We are strongly committed to building a political community founded on the rule of law and capable of ensuring a lasting peace, guaranteeing a democratic order, and advancing our economic and social development, as is laid down in the Constitution of Ethiopia.

1. Child Labour

In 2003 Ethiopia ratified the two core ILO conventions regarding child labour: Convention 138 on minimum age, adopted in 1973, and Convention 182 regarding the worst forms of child labour, adopted 1999. However, children have always been a part of the economic infrastructure and role of societies in Ethiopia. The problem stems from the ever prevailing poverty which Ethiopia aims to reduce as our foreign policy focuses on diplomatic activity that should serve our economic agenda and advance sustainability.

Article 89 of Ethiopia’s Labour Proclamation No.377/2003 prohibits the employment of children less than 14 years of age. Additionally, Article 36 of the country’s Constitution states that every child has the right ‘not to be subject to exploitative labor practices, neither to be required nor permitted to perform work which is hazardous or harmful to his or her education, health or well-being’. Nevertheless, children of Ethiopia are still engaged in child labor that includes performance of physically demanding tasks and long hours. According to the 2007/8 report of the CSA the fertility rate is 6.7, and when this is combined with backward farming techniques and the cultural belief that children should st...

... middle of paper ...

...development and execution of customized economically-forward strategies that center on employee training, financial risk analysis, corporate responsibility and accountability, country specific political risk analysis, multi-stake holder engagement and management, and information system security. This will strengthen Ethiopian and African corporations and may even someday give them a level playing field with Asian and Western corporations. Ethiopia realizes that living up to promises is essential to success, and urges African corporations to implement commitments and develop healthy work relationships with both national and international consumers. Ethiopia calls on other African countries to support businesses in this way. The delegation believes that only through self-sustainability will Ethiopia truly be able to focus on fostering trade and bonds internationally.

More about Child Labor and Corporate Influence in Ethiopia

Open Document