I've signed up for Bloggers Unite, which is arranged by BlogCatalog. Every May 15th, bloggers are asked to blog about a specific topic.
This year, we are asked to blog about a human rights issue, and I would like to focus on something that is directly linked to my blog's main topic:
THE USE OF CHILD LABOR IN THE ASIAN CARPET INDUSTRY
Convention on the Rights of the Child
"The Convention on the Rights of the Child is the first legally binding international instrument to incorporate the full range of human rights for children, including civil and political rights as well as economic, social and cultural.
Article 32 states that children have the right to be protected from economic exploitation and from performing any work that is likely to be hazardous or to interfere with the child's education, or to be harmful to the child's health or physical, mental, spiritual, moral or social development.
The Convention is the most universally accepted human rights instrument in history and has been ratified by 192 countries–– every country in the world except two, the United States and Somalia." (Rugmark)
"The Convention on the Rights of the Child is the first legally binding international instrument to incorporate the full range of human rights for children, including civil and political rights as well as economic, social and cultural.
Article 32 states that children have the right to be protected from economic exploitation and from performing any work that is likely to be hazardous or to interfere with the child's education, or to be harmful to the child's health or physical, mental, spiritual, moral or social development.
The Convention is the most universally accepted human rights instrument in history and has been ratified by 192 countries–– every country in the world except two, the United States and Somalia." (Rugmark)
About child labor
An estimated 300 000 children work in carpet looms throughout India, Nepal and Pakistan. In many cases, these children face appalling conditions:
Children as young as 4 years are kidnapped and trafficked. They are subjected to commercial sexual exploitation, bonded child labor, child domestic work and the recruitment and use of children for armed conflict or drug trafficking. Girls from Nepal are often trafficked into the sex industry in India.
In Pakistan, parents take money in advance for their children's work. These children are paid half the wages of older workers, and they are not allowed to leave the premises where they work until the debt has been paid off, which effectively means that they are slaves. They are also easy targets for sexual abuse from older workers.
Children who work in the carpet industry often get health problems like impaired vision and deformities because they work long hours in dark and cramped loom sheds. They are also subject to malnutrition. They suffer respiratory diseases from inhaling wool fibers and wounds from using sharp tools.
And, in most cases, children who work in the looms don't get to go to school, which means that their chances of improving their situation are small, even when they grow up.
Laxmi Shrestha
About Rugmark
RugMark is a non-profit organization that works to end child labor in the Asian rug industry. It consists of a coalition of nongovernmental organizations, businesses, government entities, and multilateral groups like UNICEF.
Rugmark inspects looms in India, Pakistan and Nepal to make sure that they don't employ children. The organization helps children to get out, and offers help with rehabilitation, daycare, literacy, formal schooling and vocational training. Efforts are also made to reunite the children with their family.
To read more about child labor and about Rugmark's work, visit this link:
Rugmark Foundation
Angela Adams' Island rug
What can we do?
We, as small-scale consumers, can contribute to ending child labor and to improve the lives of these children by checking the rug companies before making purchases.
To find designers and retailers that have joined Rugmark:
Children as young as 4 years are kidnapped and trafficked. They are subjected to commercial sexual exploitation, bonded child labor, child domestic work and the recruitment and use of children for armed conflict or drug trafficking. Girls from Nepal are often trafficked into the sex industry in India.
In Pakistan, parents take money in advance for their children's work. These children are paid half the wages of older workers, and they are not allowed to leave the premises where they work until the debt has been paid off, which effectively means that they are slaves. They are also easy targets for sexual abuse from older workers.
Children who work in the carpet industry often get health problems like impaired vision and deformities because they work long hours in dark and cramped loom sheds. They are also subject to malnutrition. They suffer respiratory diseases from inhaling wool fibers and wounds from using sharp tools.
And, in most cases, children who work in the looms don't get to go to school, which means that their chances of improving their situation are small, even when they grow up.
Laxmi ShresthaAbout Rugmark
RugMark is a non-profit organization that works to end child labor in the Asian rug industry. It consists of a coalition of nongovernmental organizations, businesses, government entities, and multilateral groups like UNICEF.
Rugmark inspects looms in India, Pakistan and Nepal to make sure that they don't employ children. The organization helps children to get out, and offers help with rehabilitation, daycare, literacy, formal schooling and vocational training. Efforts are also made to reunite the children with their family.
To read more about child labor and about Rugmark's work, visit this link:
Rugmark Foundation
Angela Adams' Island rugWhat can we do?
We, as small-scale consumers, can contribute to ending child labor and to improve the lives of these children by checking the rug companies before making purchases.
To find designers and retailers that have joined Rugmark:
Rugmark/Spotlight on Importers/Rug Designers
To find companies that offer online purchasing of RugMark certified rugs:
Rugmark/Buy Online
Angela Adams' Studio Wool Rug
I found out about Rugmark on
re:modern
More articles about child labor can be found on:
Unicef
Amnesty International
Business & Human Rights Resource Centre
Read more about Bloggers Unite on this link:
BlogCatalog/Bloggers Unite/Blogging for Hope
Please help spreading this information by emailing my blog post or other articles, or simply by telling your friends about what you've read!
Faqs on the Asian rug industry are from Rugmark.
Pictures are from Rugmark and re:modern.
To find companies that offer online purchasing of RugMark certified rugs:
Rugmark/Buy Online
Angela Adams' Studio Wool RugI found out about Rugmark on
re:modern
More articles about child labor can be found on:
Unicef
Amnesty International
Business & Human Rights Resource Centre
Read more about Bloggers Unite on this link:
BlogCatalog/Bloggers Unite/Blogging for Hope
Please help spreading this information by emailing my blog post or other articles, or simply by telling your friends about what you've read!
Faqs on the Asian rug industry are from Rugmark.
Pictures are from Rugmark and re:modern.
1 comments. Add yours here - it makes my day!:
Thanks for your thoughts on this important human rights issue. As the Preamble to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights reminds us, “…recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world.”
Dave Donelson, author of Heart of Diamonds
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