Presentation by NELICO on the worst forms of child labour. Day 3 of the 6th ICGLR-OECD-UN GoE Forum on responsible mineral supply chains, 13 November 2013. Visit: http://mneguidelines.oecd.org/icglr-oecd-un-forum-kigali-2013.htm

1. 6TH ICGLR-OECD-UN GoE
JOINT FORUM ON RESPONSIBLE
MINERAL SOURCING
13-15 NOVEMBER 2013
WORST FORMS OF CHILD
LABOUR IN THE MINING
SECTOR.

2. INTRODUCTION:
• This presentation will focus on the “Worst
Forms of Child Labour in the Mining Sector”
by addressing the three key questions of the
forum which are:
• Clarifying the definitions of “worst forms of child
labour” in international law as compared with
national laws and existing practice.
• What are we aiming for when we say elimination
of extreme forms of child labour and how can it
be done?
• And should we aim for a mandate going forward
and a roadmap for achieving this mandate?

3. • The topic for discussion designed to carry the image
of the forum is very relevant to what is happening in
my country especially the Geita Region which we
have an intervention of dealing with elimination of
worst forms of child labour in eleven small scale
mining wards of Geita District.
• I and our organization, New Light Children Center
Organization (NELICO), through funds from
European Union via European Commission are
implementing a three year project aimed at
eliminating worst forms of child labour in the
aforementioned areas. I have really been to the field
and witnessed what actually is the worst forms of
child labour as compared to the theoretical definition
of the worst forms of child labour in the community.

4. I am going to share with you the experience I have in
line with the questions aforesaid in this part. So I
really beg your attention for a while.

5. THE DIFINITIONS OF THE WORST
FORMS OF CHILD LABOUR:
I am going to share with you various definitions of the
worst forms of child labour.
1. The international definition:
2. The national definition:
3. Why is it talking about child labour is a
contentious issue:

6. • The international definition:
The Convention concerning the Prohibition and
Immediate Action for the Elimination of the Worst
Forms of Child Labour, known in short as the Worst
Forms of Child Labour Convention, defines the worst
forms of child labour as follows:
All forms of labour that endangers health, safety and
morals of children. It implies also to commercial sexual
exploitation of children including the use, procuring or
offering of a child for prostitution, the production of
pornography or for pornographic performances. Slavery
or practices similar to slavery such as sale of a child,
trafficking e.t.c constitutes worst forms of child labour.

7. • National definition:
Under the Tanzania context, the definition of worst
forms of child labour reads in line with that of the
international law. It is all activities that affect health
and development of a child in general as stipulated
in the Law of the Child of 2009 and also in the
Employment and Labour Relations Act, 2004.

8. Why is talking about child labor a
contentious issue?
• Some of the elements of the definition of child labour
stated in the international and national laws appear in
the communities and children help with income. So
telling the community members that this is a worst form
of child labour might be difficult for them to conceive it.
• So to speak children engaged in worst forms of child
labour feed their families as some are heading their
families and living with their grandparents who
are helpless to them after the death of their parents due
to HIV/AIDS.

9. EXISTING SITUATION:
• Worst forms of child labour exist in Mining Sector in
Tanzania especially small scale mining industry.
Children are used in all process of minerals such as
stone quarry, crush gold ore, almagation e.t.c.
Mainly boys are used in exploitative works in mining
areas in Tanzania such as Geita, Chunya, Kahama
and Mererani-Arusha.
• At Geita Gold Mine Limited owned by Anglo Gold
Ashanti children and youth are used to steal from
mine by either being employed/hired by their friends
and sometimes by their families.

10. • Children are preferred to adults because they are
easily manipulated, exploited and they do not know
their rights. Some children tend to mix both
schooling and working in mines whereas others
have dropped. Girl children alongside with women
are working in mines as labourers as well as being
sexually exploited.
• Exposures to dust, chemicals, noise, smoke fumes
are the daily realities of working children.
• Minors aged less than a year who accompany their
mothers are also exploited to the hardship of mining
areas.

12. THE AIM AND HOW TO ELIMINATE THE
WORST FORMS OF CHILD LABOUR:
The aim of elimination of worst forms of child
labour:
i. To improve the capacity of duty bearers to address
child labour and child protection;
ii. To raise awareness on child rights, address poverty.
iii.To improve the quality of education for better
prevention and integration of working children;
iv.Application of best practice mode that integrate
multi-sectoral approach.

13. What we do:
• We work in partnership of three NGOs which are
Plan International, NELICO and CODERT. We
work
in
association
with
Government
departments, which include Police force,
Education, Community Development, Social
Welfare, Planning, Mining and Justice.
• We work as a Regional Network under the
chairmanship of the District Commissioner.

14. THE MANDATE AND ROADMAP:
• The roadmap for achieving this mandate should among others
be as follows:
• Need to involve/participation of small scale miners in the
process of Elimination of child labour in all levels (Policy, Law,
Implementation).
• Empowerment of small-scale miners:
-Enlighten on good methods of mining,
-Safety, market information, financial management,
technological, e.t.c.
• Better opportunities in Public and Private sector for decent jobs.
• Duty bearers to stand firmly to implement the laws.
• Collective commitment of government, Association of Tanzania
Employers (ATE), Trade Union Congress of Tanzania
(TUCTA),
International
Organizations,
faith-based
organizations, community based organisations and civil society

16. SUCCESS:
• We support 4,500 house holds through
Village Saving and Loans association to attain
improved access to economic security by
creating saving and getting microfinance loans.
• We support 6280 girls and 5880 boys to
access/reintegrate them to school so they may
complete primary education, currently 4,000
children have been rescued from Child Labour.

17. Summing-up:
Addressing the issue of worst forms
of child labour is not an easy task.
Several actors should come to play.
Addressing poverty alleviation is a
key issue because this is a driven
factor that forces children to
engage/be engaged in the problem.

18. AHSANTENI