Canada's+position+paper+(1st+draft)

Created by Diego Suárez

Committee:International Labour Organization. Topic:Child Labour. Country:Canada.

Child labour has been important in Canada's History. Since Jacques Cartier discovered Canada, child labour has been very natural until the developing of the country.Slaves from all the world: Africa, Asia, European prisioners.... The developing of Canada has been a big step to avoid Child labour inside the country and now it is erradicated but Canada continues fighting for a best future in all the world.What Canada do to stop it is aproved by the United Nations. In this society children work because different reasons, the most common ones are work in order to pay their school supplies, to be a soldier. Our oppinion is that members of different groups like UN don´t have to stop child labour, in fact they have to be concerned on balance work and school, with that anyone lose nothing, children continue working but they go to school to be ready for a better future.

In order to defend the children rights,Canada has created a group called Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) Helping children who work and their rights is the priority of this assocciation. The CIDA is guided by the rules from the United Nations in order to act in foreign countries. It stresses that children are actors in their own development and are contributors to their families and societies. Article 12 of the Convention outlines children's rights to participate in decisions that affect them according to their age.This Article is used as a philosphy by the CIDA in order to protect the childhood. Canada supports the International Labour Organization (ILO) that in 1999 approved Convection 182 on the Prohibition and Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour which include works like prostitution, recruitment of child soldiers, slavory, child pornography, and some other forms of work that concern healthy of the children,safety or morals. Canada colaborated in the drafting of this convection, ratified it in 2000 and encourage countries that didn't ratified the Convection. Canada also participates openly with other groups like ILO's International Program for the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC) and Statistical Information and Monitoring Program on Child Labour (SIMPOC) Program giving substancial amounts of money. Canada's Child Labour strategy is based basicly in two aspects, development cooperation and poverty reduction. The Canadian International Development Agency approved projects which promote acces to primary school for all the children in the world, good governance and regulations in the status of the women that allows a better future for everyone. In addition to the International Labour Organization Convection 182, Canada consider other organizations that Canada support,including the UN Convection on the Rights of the Child, the UN Slavery Convection, the North American Agreement on Labour Cooperation, and the ILO's Convection on the Elimination of All Forms of Forced or Compulsory Labour. Juan Somavia,Director General of the International Labour Organization said a very important quote for the CIDA, it sais: "The faces of hazardous work are disturbing and painful. The lives and bodies of these children are literally diminished by what they do. If adults need protection against hazardous work, think how much more imperative it is for us to save children in the same situation. We must do better for them." "//The change starts within each one of us, and ends only when all children are free to be children.//” – Craig Kielburger(Canadian activist) 5 percent of child workers make good for export like working in sweatshops, brands very recognizable as "GAP" or "NIKE" had children working a lot of hours in exchange of a little amount of money with that the children couldn't ensure thei family live. Many schoolchildren spend much time working that in the school in countries froms Africa or Asia for example.

Canada has a different oppinion from the rest of the members in the UN, we think that instead of try to stop harmful and child labour is more important to attend their primary necesities,specially education because if they study they will have a chance for their future to avoid harmful in his family anymore. Take away child labour had been considered by the Goverment of Canada and we have observed that what is needed are child-friendly schools that teach students with interesting and comprehension.This means schools with a different time to give a opportunity for children to study but continuing working, build schools near the children's home and try to do it in poor rural and urban places because good-quality is relevant for the improvement of the life. Our most international, program the CIDA colaborates with UNICEF in Thailand because girls with 12 years start in the world of prostitution.CIDA and UNICEF are working together to stop girls traficking and to provide them education. CIDA realizes that sometimes children have to work.The times has teach us that to bans on child labour don´t work and the children expelled from their job always finish in a most dangerous job.Cida allows them to work but improving their safe and health conditions. CIDA is also colaborating in Bolivia because in this country when children is 12 years start to work in the mines.They are working in poor conditions descending to the darkness without knowing if they will see again the light,CIDA is helping child miners to find better jobs and receive an education. In Cöte d'Ivoire, a big part of the global cocoa prodution takes place,normally child labours work on plantations.CIDA is concerned about this topic also helping the children forcing factories to applied the importance of protect child. When children have to work CIDA work with them to research a better future for them and at the same time is reducing poverty and the conditions that obligate children to work.

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