Tom Harkin: “yesterday was the annual commemoration of the International Labor Organization's, ILO, World Day Against Child Labor…”

“yesterday was the annual commemoration of the International Labor Organization's, ILO, World Day Against Child Labor, the day we set aside to speak out against the fact that millions of children around the globe continue to be trapped in forced and abusive labor, often in extremely hazardous conditions. The good news, this year, is that child labor is in decline across the globe. According to the recent ILO report, ``The End of Child Labor: Within Reach,'' released on May 4 of this year, between the years 2000 and 2004, the number of child laborers worldwide fell by 11 percent, from 246 million to 218 million. Even better, the number of children and youths aged 5-17 trapped in hazardous work decreased by 26 percent, declining from 171 million in 2000 to 126 million in 2004. Among younger child laborers, the drop was even sharper at 33 percent. This is remarkable progress in just 4 years' time. And looking to the future, the ILO report cautiously predicts that, ``if the current pace of decline is maintained, and if global efforts to stop child labor continue.'' We have a real opportunity to eliminate child labor in its worst forms within 10 years' time. However, difficult challenges lie ahead, especially in agriculture, where 7 out of 10 child laborers work. I know this firsthand from my work trying to end child labor in the cocoa industry. Child labor is deeply entrenched in cocoa plantations in Ivory Coast and elsewhere.…”