Minister of International Development and Human Rights, Hilde Frafjord Johnson

Opening remarks at the Informal Consultations on Child Labour

Oslo 28-29 September 1998

Ladies and Gentlemen,

• First of all, I would like to welcome you to Oslo to what I am sure will be a fruitful and productive meeting that will bring us forward in more coordinated efforts to end the practice of child labour. I am very pleased that so many of you have taken the time to participate.
  Almost a year has passed since we agreed to an Agenda for Action at the conference here in Oslo. This Agenda should help us develop appropriate action that will gradually eliminate all forms of child labour. But we all know the limitations of conferences. They are important for the creation of consensus on common goals and for the mobilisation of political will. But only action in the field will make a difference to the lives of children.

• Political will must be translated into practical and appropriate action. For this reason I made the commitment last year to organise follow-up consultations to the conference. I am pleased to report that we have received many indications that the Agenda for Action is being put to good use. News from countries both in the North and in the South, and from both NGOs and international organisations, gives grounds for optimism.
• The Agenda for Action points out a number of important factors that can help eliminate child labour over time. Education, legislation and the mobilisation of civil society are all key areas in efforts to bring about change. The most important question now is how to promote and support the development of national plans of action in the countries which committed themselves to this process during the conference. This is maybe the most important follow up, where we all should be engaged.
• The Agenda for Action focuses on an area where the international community has an important role to play. The key to appropriate action is a thorough understanding of the problem. The problem of child labour is not only a complex issue. Its causesand modes of operation, and therefore also the remedies needed, vary in different regions and from one country to another in the same region. Although we have a substantial amount of documentation already, there is a need for more data, in particular qualitative data, to inform our actions. The Agenda for Action calls for our support in developing better systems for data collection and analysis, in developing research capacity in the countries affected and in assessing the impact of our programme support. I believe this is an important area where it can be particularly fruitful to work together and share experiences.

Africa is an area of particular concern to me. This is a continent where the AIDS epidemic alone will leave many children to fend for themselves. Child labour in Africa has not yet received the same attention as it has in Asia and Latin America even though we suspect that there is a higher proportion of child labourers in Africa than in other areas. The girl child is particularly vulnerable even if her labour is often less visible. The consequences of her labour and her lack of educational opportunities will, however, become obvious in time. The impact will be seen in the welfare and in the productivity of her future family. This vicious circle must be broken. To target our actions appropriately we need more information. This is an area where the diversity of our approaches and experience needs to be brought together in concerted action.

• This is not to say that we should wait with other support until we have obtained all the data. Not only should we continue our emphasis on poverty reduction and strengthening the social sector, but we should continue to support community action designed specifically to reduce the burdens of working children.
• We need to take stock and look at what has happened since the Oslo conference. Which countries have started to develop national plans of action? What stage have these plans reached? What can we do to promote them? What can we do together? How can we encourage other countries with child labour problems to develop national plans of action against child labour themselves?
• The Norwegian Government gives high priority to this work. It is both a human rights issue and a development issue. It is also a problem of such magnitude that it can only be solved by cooperation on the part of many partners. We have therefore chosen to work with international organisations such as the three represented at this meeting, and we would like to work in cooperation and coordination with other countries. Trade unions, employers’organisations and NGOs will continue to be important partners in this process.
• The Norwegian Government has implemented its follow-up to the Agenda for Action at different levels, through programme support in collaboration with multilateral organisations and through NGOs. Bilateral support for government programmes on child labour has not yet been developed.
• A policy dialogue has started with partner countries, NGOs, trade unions, business communities, researchers and human rights institutions. This work includes preparations for the new convention on the most unacceptable forms of child labour.
• I hope that during this meeting you may find some specific ideas for how we can pursue these efforts together. I would therefore like to conclude by providing you with some food for thought with regard to opportunities for future cooperation:
  • We often discover that we are involved in supporting development work in related sectors in the same countries. Could we explore the possibility of establishing a theme group at country level on child labour or, more broadly, on child issues in general? I envisage a forum for exchanging information as well as for discussing priority issues. If the answer is yes, how could such a group be organised, and who should participate? Could such a forum serve as a link in encouraging various government departments to establish a dialogue? Could it assist in establishing a dialogue between civil society and government? Could this forum promote national discussions on a plan of action? Could this model be applied in any of the countries that participated in the Oslo Conference? What experience can we draw on in establishing a forum of this kind?
  • I have mentioned cooperation and coordination. Is it feasible to entertain the idea of a multi-agency, multi-country and multi-donor programme on child labour which would pool human and financial resources for one purpose? If the answer is yes, around what common denominator could such a programme be developed? How might each of us define our role? What steering mechanisms could be feasible? What experience could we draw on?
• Action requires resources. We all know that the resources available are too limited to meet all the challenges we are facing. It is therefore all the more essential that we use the resources available as efficiently and productively as possible. I believe that this can be achieved most effectively by working together.
• I hope that this meeting will strengthen our sense of purpose and enable us to actively explore opportunities for closer cooperation and for bringing the battle against child labour forward. The Agenda is already in place. Let us make sure that it is followed up by action. After all - action is the only thing that really counts.

Thank you.