World Day Against Child Labor
NEW DELHI (AP) -- Arun Kumar
was born to disabled parents, beaten by his grandparents, ran away from
home, got a job in a garment factory and had all his savings stolen by
the police. He was only 11.
Today, at 13, he shares a cramped, dingy shelter with 63 other runaways and former street kids in New Delhi. He is one of the lucky ones.
Twenty years after the United Nations adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child, multitudes of children across the globe are still suffering from poverty, abuse and disease. Each year, 4 million babies die before they are a month old, 150 million children are engaged in child labor, more than 500 million have been affected by violence and 51 million have fallen so far through the cracks they have not even had their births registered, according to the United Nations. (19 images)
The International Labor Organization
(ILO) observes June 12 as the World Day Against Child Labor.
An estimated 10.5 million children worldwide, most of them underage, are working as domestic
workers in people's homes, in hazardous and sometimes slavery-like conditions, says the ILO.
An estimated 10.5 million children worldwide, most of them underage, are working as domestic
workers in people's homes, in hazardous and sometimes slavery-like conditions, says the ILO.
An Indian boy selling snacks sits beneath his trolley as it rains in Bhubaneswar, India, Wednesday,
June 12, 2013. AP / Biswaranjan Rout
Pakistani child, Jabro Mounir, 6, arranges bricks during his daily
work in a brick factory,
on World Day Against Child Labor, on the
outskirts of Islamabad, Pakistan, Wednesday, June 12, 2013. AP / Muhammed Muheisen
A Pakistan scavenger girl collects recyclable items from garbage
to earn a living for her family in
Islamabad, Pakistan, Wednesday, June
12, 2013. AP / B.K. Bangash
Pakistani girl, Shimraz Younis, 10, prepares clay while working at
a brick factory on World Day
Against Child Labor, in the outskirts of
Islamabad, Pakistan, , Wednesday, June 12, 2013. AP / Muhammed Muheisen
Pakistan scavenger boys collect recyclable items from garbage to a
earn living for their families
in Islamabad, Pakistan, Wednesday, June
12, 2013. AP / B.K. Bangash
A young boy works at a metal factory in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Wednesday, June 12, 2013.
AP / A.M. Ahad
A supervisor, left, instructs 13-year-old Ramesh Sardar,of Nepal,
center, as he works on
a construction site for a road in Katmandu,
Nepal, Wednesday, June 12, 2013. AP / Niranjan Shrestha
A Nepalese child worker carries tea for customers as he walks past
two school children waiting
for a bus in Katmandu, Nepal, Wednesday,
June 12, 2013. AP / Niranjan Shrestha
A young Nepalese boy works at an embroidery factory in Katmandu,
Nepal, Thursday, June 13, 2013.
Thirty nine children below the age of 14
were rescued from sari embroidery factories with
the help of Nepalese
police and steps are being taken to send them home to their families. AP / Niranjan Shrestha
A young Nepalese worker cries in fear after he is rescued by
policemen during a raid on
embroidery factories in Katmandu, Nepal,
Thursday, June 13, 2013. AP / Niranjan Shrestha
Young Nepalese boys work at an embroidery factory in Katmandu,
Nepal,Thursday, June 13, 2013.
Thirty nine children below the age of 14
were rescued from sari embroidery factories
with the help of Nepalese
police on Thursday.
Authorities said steps are being taken to send them
home to their families. AP / Niranjan Shrestha
Nepalese children peep out from a police van after they were
rescued from embroidery factories
in Katmandu, Nepal, Thursday, June 13,
2013. AP / Niranjan Shrestha
Nepalese children rescued by police during a raid on embroidery
factories sit in a police station
in Katmandu, Nepal,Thursday, June 13,
2013. AP / Niranjan Shrestha
An Indian boy, selling jackfruit, sits on a hand cart holding an
umbrella as he awaits customers
in New Delhi, India, Wednesday, June 12,
2013. AP / Altaf Qadri
An Indian boy displays readymade garments for sale in New Delhi, India, Wednesday,
June 12, 2013. AP / Altaf Qadri
An Indian boy yells to attract customers as another drinks water
while selling potatoes in
New Delhi, India, Wednesday, June 12, 2013. AP / Altaf Qadri
Young Indian rag-pickers walk on a street in New Delhi, India, Tuesday, June 11, 2013.
AP / Altaf Qadri
Young Indian bonded child laborers wait to be processed at a safe
house after being rescued
during a raid by workers from Bachpan Bachao
Andolan or Save the Childhood Movement,
at a factory in New Delhi,
India, Tuesday, June 11, 2013. More than 58 child laborers
were rescued
by the NGO in the Indian capital Tuesday, the agency said. AP / Kevin Frayer
Today, at 13, he shares a cramped, dingy shelter with 63 other runaways and former street kids in New Delhi. He is one of the lucky ones.
Twenty years after the United Nations adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child, multitudes of children across the globe are still suffering from poverty, abuse and disease. Each year, 4 million babies die before they are a month old, 150 million children are engaged in child labor, more than 500 million have been affected by violence and 51 million have fallen so far through the cracks they have not even had their births registered, according to the United Nations. (19 images)
A street child searches for recyclable material in a garbage dump on
the outskirts of Gauhati, India, Thursday, Nov. 19, a day ahead of
Universal Children's Day. Twenty years after the U.N. adopted a treaty
guaranteeing children's rights, fewer youngsters are dying and more are
going to school, but an estimated 1 billion still lack services
essential to their survival and development, UNICEF said Thursday. AP / Anupam Nath
A street child displays acrobatic skills with the help of an iron ring
during a street show in Katmandu, Nepal, Thursday, Nov. 19. AP / Gemunu Amarasinghe
A stray dog looks on near a group of street children sleeping on a pavement in Katmandu, Nepal, Friday, Nov. 20. AP / Gemunu Amarasinghe
Children eat a meal at a shelter for street children in Katmandu, Nepal, Friday, Nov. 20. AP / Gemunu Amarasinghe
A street child sleeps next to a stray dog, as another looks for fleas in his clothes, in Katmandu, Nepal, Thursday, Nov. 19. AP / Gemunu Amarasinghe
Bangladeshi child laborers work at a balloon workshop in Kamrangir
Char, on the outskirts of Dhaka, Bangladesh, Thursday, Nov. 19. AP / Pavel Rahman
School children chant morning prayers in an open-air government-run school in Jammu, India, Friday, Nov. 20. AP / Channi Anand
Roha, an infant, is left sleeping on the sidewalk of a busy street in Mumbai, India on Wednesday, Nov. 18. AP / Rafiq Maqbool
Children wash clothes and bathe at a water pipeline surrounded by sewage in Mumbai, India on Wednesday, Nov. 18. AP / Rafiq Maqbool
Dinesh, 8, cuts rose stems outside a flower shop in Gauhati, India on Wednesday, Nov. 18. AP / Anupam Nath
Sheela, 6, walks the tightrope during a street performance in Gauhati, India, Wednesday, Nov. 18. AP / Anupam Nath
Children play in a rickshaw at a garbage dump in Hyderabad, India on Tuesday, Nov. 17. AP / Mahesh Kumar A
Children study in a yard with scrap collected for recycling, in Hyderabad, India, Friday, Nov. 20. AP / Mahesh Kumar A
School children attend classes in an open-air government-run school in Jammu, India, Friday, Nov. 20. AP / Channi Anand
Children from impoverished families attend a class at a government-run school in Gauhati, India, Friday, Nov. 20. AP / Anupam Nath
Leonardo Sanchez, 12, tries to pull cactus spines from his hands as a
relative cuts more cactus pads at the La Merced market in Mexico City.
The United Nations adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child 20
years ago, yet millions of children the world over still suffer from
violence and abuse, hunger and disease. AP / Gregory Bull
Internally displaced women line up to receive therapeutic food for
their children at a food distribution centre run by an organization
called CAACID, funded by the UN agencies and European Union, in
Mogadishu, Somalia, on Nov. 15. AFP / Getty Images / Mohamed Dahir
Children gather to celebrate children's rights in Harare, Friday, Nov. 20. AP
Children push a cart through a darkened street in Kabul, Afghanistan, Friday, Nov. 20. AP / Mustafa Quraishi
