Terre des hommes is looking for little slaves
Terre des hommes, Switzerland's largest children's charity, launched its national awareness campaign against child labor yesterday. The campaign was implemented by the Young & Rubicam Group Geneva in collaboration with Jobup.ch.
The "Little slaves wanted" campaign falls on the International Day against Child Labor on 12 June. This is also the last day of the International Labor Organization's negotiations to revise the 1930 Convention on Forced Labor. "Young girls wanted..." are the headlines of the disturbing job advertisements that appeared today and yesterday in the Swiss press, online and in various places.
These advertisements do not really exist - but the situations they describe are very real. "The plight of the 5.5 million children who are victims of forced labor worldwide is unknown to a large part of the Swiss public. On the one hand, because this problem primarily occurs in distant countries, but above all because these children are unable to report it. What if that were my child? is the question that people should ask themselves," explains Vito Angelillo, Managing Director of Terre des hommes.
Representatives of 185 countries, trade unions and employers' organizations gathered in Geneva for the 103rd session of the International Labour Organization to revise the Convention to Combat Forced Labour. As a defender of children's rights, Terre des hommes draws the attention of the population and the Swiss authorities to the great vulnerability of children who are victims of modern slavery in Switzerland and worldwide: in order to combat this problem, Switzerland must lead by example in the areas of prevention, protection and reparation. It must not only participate in the development and implementation of the mechanisms, but also comply with the obligations of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Accordingly, a child must first and foremost be recognized as such, with unrestricted access to fundamental rights, regardless of their legal status on national territory.
But condemning an unacceptable situation is not the only aim of this campaign, which was implemented by the Young & Rubicam Group Geneva agency in collaboration with Jobup.ch. Terre des hommes is urging Switzerland to set an example to other countries in light of its humanitarian tradition. It should call on the authorities to implement the necessary measures to protect the victims of forced labor as quickly as possible in accordance with the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
