Address by

Mr. Yadav Amatya, Project Director

in the Meeting with

National Sub-Committee on Child Labor

7 October 2008

Chairperson and Secretary of State Her Excellency  Prak Chantha

Honorable members of the National Sub-Committee on Child Labor

Mr. M.P. Joseph, CTA, ILO- IPEC

Mr. Veng Heang, Director of Department of Child Labor

Directors of Provincial Department of Labor and Vocational Training

and distinguished guests

On behalf of the Winrock International in Cambodia, I would like to extend warm greetings to all the distinguished guests in this meeting.

Madam Chairperson, it is my privilege to have this opportunity to participate in the meeting of the National Sub-Committee on Child Labor and I take pleasure in informing you that Winrock International’s “Children’s Empowerment through Education Services (CHES): Eliminating the Worst Forms of Child Labor in Cambodia” is part of a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Department of Labor.  We carry out the initiative in close collaboration with governmental and non-governmental organizations through proposing and implementing innovative methods and solutions to break the cycle of hazardous child labor, poverty, lack of educational alternatives and access to quality education for all children. 

On the other hand, Winrock will coordinate with the ILO’s Timebound Programme of Support to build synergy in the fight against the WFOCL as both initiatives are funded by the US Department of Labor.

In Cambodia, ILO has worked closely with the Ministry of Labor and Vocational Training for many years through IPEC to protect and ensure the rights of working children and laws related to it.  Winrock would like to share the ILO platform expressed in the ILO Global Report which is that “child labor is an indicator of social and economic development.”

As economies and educational indicators go up, child labor goes down.  Relative to this, Winrock takes a holistic, development approach to addressing the complexities of culture, behavior change, tradition, economic and social need and biases concerning education - Winrock with its partners, brings a development approach to child rights, child protection, and improved livelihoods and provides capacity building measures to its partners.

Taking into account the Royal Government of Cambodia’s commitment to eliminate the worst forms of child labour by 2016, the CHES project attempts to pave the way for families to have alternatives to the cycle of child labor and lack of access to quality education. Winrock finds that given a choice for safe, affordable, and relevant education, parents and children are eager to support and participate in education.

The CHES project compliments and supplements in achieving the objectives of National Plan of Action on the Worst Forms of Child Labor and National Plan of Action of Education for All (EFA) by bringing hard to reach children into the mainstream education through the provision of support for formal, non-formal and skill training program. 

The development objective of the CHES Project is to reduce the overall number of children engaged in hazardous labor in agriculture through education and other services.

The project strives to withdraw and prevent 8,250 (3,750 withdrawn and 4500 prevention) children working or entering into hazardous conditions in subsistence agriculture, tobacco, cassava and fresh water fishing by providing them and their families with education, skill training, livelihoods and other viable alternatives.

Madam Chairperson, ladies and gentlemen,

WI sees the Ministry of Labor and Vocational Training (MOLVT) as an important strategic partner and will be working closely with the Department of Child Labor (DOCL), Provincial Departments of Labor and Education in strengthening its capacity to address the worst forms of child labor. Thus, the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Ministry of Labor and Vocational Training has become inevitable. In this regard, the draft MOU prepared in collaboration with the Department of Child Labor that is under review and awaiting your kind and positive approval. Once the MOU is signed, the WI will collaborate with the DOCL in:

• Conducting workshops on national and provincial to discuss policy recommendations for hazardous child labor in subsistence agriculture sector;
• Develop a capacity building plan on the Department of Child Labor (DOCL);
• Organize national, provincial and district level child labor capacity building meetings for government officials and for labor inspectors to strengthen child labor monitoring system;
• Develop and implement plan to increase awareness on the hazards of child labor in subsistence agriculture at all levels;
• Participate in research on hazardous child labor in subsistence agriculture, fresh water fishing, tobacco and cassava;
• Review policy papers and publications;
• Develop, disseminate, recommend and advocate for a Prakas on hazardous work in subsistence agriculture;

At the same time, WI wishes to work closely with the National Sub-Committee on Child Labor, Provincial Coordination Committee on Child Labor and the International Labour Organization in order to strengthen coordination and cooperation with various Ministries and Departments so as to build synergy into the Project.

Currently CHES is being implemented in 3 provinces, 8 districts, 12 communes and 60 villages of Prey Veng, Pursat and Siem Reap. the program in the fourth province – Kampong Cham – will start from early 2009 after the research on child labor in tobacco and cassava plantation is completed.

So far, 872 children (445 boys and 427 girls) who have dropped out of school in the past year from Grade II to VI have been selected by the local committees for service provision. These children have completed a two months re-entry program in three target provinces and they are being enrolled in formal school this month.

Madam Chairperson and distinguished guests,

We are very much thrilled to hear the news of the endorsement of the NPA on the Worst Forms of Child Labor (WFOCL) by the RGC in September. However, there will be challenges ahead to accomplish this daunting task to eliminate the WFOCL by 2016 unless there is national and international cooperation to implement various components of the NPA. The ILO C. 182 also calls for international cooperation to combat such intolerable forms of child labor as none of the single agencies can support the whole area of action of the NPA. At this moment, there is also task ahead for all of us to bring all child-focused and child centred agencies under the umbrella of the NPA so that everyone takes fair share of the NPA.

On our part, CHES will strive its a best to compliment and supplement the spirit of NPA. At  Winrock Cambodia, we appreciate very much your continued support and guidance in implementing CHES activities and we are looking forward to working with you more closely in the future.

Thank you!