Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2001-05-17-Speech-4-215"
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"en.20010517.10.4-215"2
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"Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, as we have just heard, UNICEF estimates that there are 250 million children under the age of 14 in the world who are still working. In Africa, thousands are in forced labour in the coffee and cocoa plantations, the produce from which is often destined for export. That makes us indirect accessories to what is happening. Many of these countries, it should be said, have signed the convention on children's rights or the convention banning child labour.
I think that Parliament cannot simply continue to take note of the multiplicity of legal instruments intended to ensure that children's rights are respected at international level or to issue a sort of good conduct label under the various conventions which these countries have signed unless there is a binding force somewhere. It is up to us to react rapidly, as has been said, by punishing or even excluding any country which violates these conventions.
I should, however, like to point out that there are different debates, which take place at three different levels. There is the first level, which is the direct result of misery and unemployment, as we have heard, and it goes without saying that the IMF and the World Bank cannot continue to burden Africa with so-called structural adjustment policies. We know full well today that this debt hangs over Africa like a sword of Damocles and the IMF in particular needs a clear policy here. However, there is another debate which I think, as a parliamentarian, involves questioning if it is conceivable nowadays to keep all these conventions, all these different conventions, and accept that these countries are not going to comply with them. What is the point? Finally, I think it is important for us to think about much more potent matters. In particular, I think that we should introduce a European social label which requires products from Africa and Asia to indicate their exact origin, so that we can see if they come from countries which exploit children or violate the labour code. Finally, I think that, as my fellow Member has said, the summit of Least Developed Countries is being held at this very moment with the European Parliament, including European leaders. I think that it is important for us to be able to call on them and for them to be able to take urgent measures on this form of modern slavery which affects children, children the same age as our children in Europe."@en1
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