IV Asia
| DOI | 10.1177/016934419401200309 |
| Date | 01 September 1994 |
| Published date | 01 September 1994 |
| Subject Matter | Part B: Human Rights News |
NQHR 3
/1994
The Commission intends to publicize its work through aquarterly newsletter in
Arabic, English and French. The second issue of its Review is ready for distribution. An
analysis of the reporting system under the African Charter, prepared by a former intern
at the Secretariat,
was
approved for publication. The Commission is also considering a
proposal to transcribe tape recordings of the public examinations of States' reports.
Members of the Commission regard it as a body concerned primarily with promotion
of human rights; protection, they argue, is only one among its activities. Accordingly,
considerable time during the session was devoted to Commissioners' activities. Several
seminars will be held
in
coming months, covering issues such as the right to fair trial and
legal assistance (Cairo), implementation of the African Charter and its reporting system
(Tunis.) human rights education (South Africa), and the status of women under the
African Charter (Banjul). In its Final Communique the Commission made no reference
to the workshop's proposal that an additional protocol be drafted on women's rights.
The Commission issued a resolution on the situation in Rwanda, noting with concern
the withdrawal of the UN peace-keeping forces and urging the United Nations to make
all efforts to protect the people of Rwanda. At the same time, the Commission called on
the OAU to increase its assistance for the country.
It
also passed a resolution on South
Africa calling for the cessation of violence and for a free and fair election. Unfortunately,
the Commission did not find time to adopt the Rules of Procedure as revised by a
working group at the previous session in Addis Ababa, a matter under discussion for four
years.
The 15th session
of
the Commission saw major changes in the Secretariat, namely
the introduction of anew Secretary,
Mr
Germaine Baricako from Burundi, who
participated actively
in
the deliberations
of
the Commission together with the newly
appointed Promotion Officer,
Mr
Muhammed B. Fofana from Sierra Leone. However,
the Commission remains hampered by the absence of a Legal Officer.
The 16th session will be heldin Banjul, The Gambia from 31 October to 9November
1994.
IV
ASIA
Hans Goderbauer
A. International
Child
Labor Study
Children are a cheap workforce and they have always been. A 1986 study by the
International Labour Organization
(lID)
reported that the number of working children
under the age of 15 is somewhere between 100 and 200 million worldwide. The largest
number of child workers, like world population, is to be found in Asia. Their numbers
are steadily increasing, particularly in the manufacturing sector, as more industries look
to Asian countries for cheap imports. Shirts from Bangladesh, rugs from India, leather
bags from Thailand, shoes from Pakistan and toys from Indonesia may very well in whole
or in
part
be the
work
of children. In some Asian countries, children constitute as much
as 11 percent of the workforce. Frontrunner is India, which in the late 1980s was
estimated to have as many as 44 million child workers held in some kind of servitude.
In Asia, child labour is as widely practised as it is condemned. India, as well as
China, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, the Philippines and other countries in the region are
signatories to ILO Convention No. 138 Concerning the Minimum Age for Admission to
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