From the Valencia International Film and Human Rights Festival we join today, June 12, in the celebration of the World Day against Child Labor.
In 2002, the International Labor Organization (ILO) declared this date with the purpose of publicizing the scope of the problem of child labor and promoting initiatives to solve it.
The latest ILO global estimates on child labour, published in September 2013, reveal that the number of children in child labor has fallen by a third since 2000, from 246 to 168 million. The number of children in hazardous work stands at 85 million, which represents a significant decrease from the 171 million children registered in 2000. Most of this progress was achieved between 2008 and 2012, when the global estimate of the The number of children in child labor decreased by 47 million, from 215 to 168 million, and the number of children in hazardous work decreased by 30 million, from 115 to 85 million. Despite this progress, the goal set by the international community of eliminating its worst forms by 2016 will not be achieved. To have any chance of achieving that goal in the short term, it is necessary to accelerate and intensify our efforts with the participation of governments, companies, unions, civil society, and each and every one of us.
A large number of children do domestic work, paid or unpaid, in the homes of third parties. Their lives are hidden from the gaze of society and they are usually isolated and far from their families. Therefore, these minors are particularly vulnerable to exploitation and stories of abuse are very common.
This year, World Day Against Child Labor focuses public attention on the role of social protection in keeping children out of or out of child labor. In 2013, within the framework of the Third Global Conference on Child Labor, held in Brasilia, the international community adopted the Brasilia Declaration, which highlights the need for decent work for adults, free, compulsory and quality education for all children, and social protection for all. Echoing these priorities, World Day 2014 wanted to make a special call for measures to introduce, improve and expand social protection so that it reaches particularly vulnerable groups of children.
To encourage reflection and participation on this issue, today we propose one of the short films presented to the Festival that deals with this topic. It was made by David Moreno and is titled "We Play."