Child Labour is one of the most devastating matters in the world and in Turkey. Millions of children work under harsh conditions, which is not suitable for their physical and cognitive development. Turkey has a structural problem with child labour. The main reasons why children are forced into work are poverty, migration, and lack of continuous access to education.
Instead of being in schools or other facilities appropriate for their age, children work illicitly and open to exploitation and/or abuse, in agriculture, construction and industry. Regrettably, it is not possible to learn the number of child labourers as informal/illicit work is so prevalent in Turkey. Child labourers constitute %5.9 of total child population; unpaid domestic child workers constitute %49.2. Moreover, 1/20 of deaths in deadly work accidents in Turkey are minors.
Since the 20th century, there have been serious studies on child labour. They are not able to benefit from any legal regulation as most of them work informally/unregistered. It is possible to make child labour a preference rather than an obligation and to end exploitation/abuse, if we start large scale developmental policies, which also includes combating the public’s views, and if we tackle poverty, migration, unhealthy urbanisation, and overpopulation.
As the Commission on the Rights of the Child, on the World Day against Child Labour, we call on both the Government and the public to struggle with child labour as we believe it is the most basic human right to fight against the labour exploitation imposed upon children.
HUMAN RIGHTS ASSOCIATION (HRA) DIYARBAKIR BRANCH
Commission on the Rights of the Child