Child Labor in Latin America

CHILD labor practices in developing countries are a significant problem and have become a focus for attention internationally.In fact, approximately 250 million children between the ages of five and fourteen in developing countries are working.'Due to an increasing number of child laborers in developing countries, the International Labor Organization (ILO) created the International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC) in 1992.2The IPEC's objective is to promote a worldwide movement to eradicate child labor. 3IPEC is operating in nineteen different Latin American countries and ninetytwo countries worldwide. 4 But as a result of the many different sectors of child labor as well as its expansive causes, it has been difficult to successfully combat child labor in regions such as Latin America. 5 According to ILO in its most recent issue of the global child labor trend estimation, out of 141 million children between the ages of five and seventeen in Latin America and the Caribbean, fourteen million were child laborers. 6 In other words, "[o]ne in ten children were child labourers in Latin America and the Caribbean." 7 The effect of child labor is not only a direct negative impact on the child, but a negative impact on society because it prevents the child from acquiring the skills and education necessary to promote society and create a better future.Therefore, the prevailing objective of this paper is to analyze the causes and effects of child labor, different sectors of child labor, conventions and international