Aboutone in three children below the age of 15 is economically active in the region. (17)

		Child Labor in the Shadows

Children working in export industries (such as textiles, clothing, carpets and footwear) have been featured on news stories causing international uproar. However, the ILO has found that child workers in export industries are relatively few compared to those employed inactivities geared to domestic consumption. HIV/AIDS has already increased the number of child orphans. Efforts to Eliminate International Child Labor

There are a number of other international organizations and international non-governmentalorganizations (NGOs) that address child labor, but this report focuses on the international effortsof the International Labor Organization. However, the ILO monitors and reports on international child labor practices. Congressional Action

Congressional support for the abolition of child labor, particularly the worst forms of child labor,is very strong. Congress has acted to fund programs to combat child labor, expand the United States'role in the global fight against child labor, and include clauses that require action on eliminatingchild labor in trade agreements. (68)

	Issues and Questions for Congress

Although Congress has consistently supported American efforts to eliminate child laborworld-wide, proponents of these efforts say that a number of issues continue to complicate theseinitiatives, including: ineffective enforcement mechanisms, sparse monitoring systems, and insufficient funding for programs that alleviate poverty, decrease incidences of HIV/AIDS, andincrease access to relevant education. (72) This issue has spurred debates on a numberof issues, including whether the United States should continue to use international trade forums tocontribute to the abolition of international child labor. Appendix

		Definitions of Child Labor

The ILO divides child labor into three categories: 
labor performed by a child who is under the minimum age ;
children engaged in hazardous work ; and
children in the unconditional worst forms of child labor 
Labor that is performed by a child under the minimum age is unacceptable because this work is likely to impede on a child's education and full development (74) , and thus the ILO considers it to bethe first form of child labor to be immediately abolished. An estimated 171 million children between ages 5 and 17were estimated to work in hazardous conditions in 2000.
International child labor has become an increasingly important issue in discussions concerninginternational trade, human rights and foreign aid. While a number of international, national and localinitiatives seek to abolish the practice, there continues to be a debate on what constitutes child labor. Some consider any work undertaken by children to be child labor, while others may use the term torefer to work under abusive conditions. The International Labor Organization (ILO) defines childlabor as a form of work that is inherently hazardous, employs children below the internationallyrecognized minimum age, or is exploitative. Child labor is used in this report as defined by the ILO. According to the ILO about 246 million children were engaged in child labor in 2000. Some 186million child laborers were below the age of 15, and approximately 110 million were below the ageof 12.
While awareness of the issue has increased, the ability to address the complex problem has been complicated by a number of related issues including, rising poverty, surging HIV/AIDS infectionrates, and a lack of relevant education. News stories have featured children working in exportindustries (such as textiles, clothing, carpets and footwear) and caused international uproar. Whilethe news stories have contributed to a heightened awareness about the problem of international childlabor, the ILO has found that child workers in export industries are relatively few compared to thoseemployed in activities geared to domestic consumption.
Congressional support for the abolition of international child labor, particularly the worst formsof child labor, is very strong. Congress has funded programs to combat international child labor,initiated bills that expand the United States' role in the global fight against child labor, and includedclauses that require action on eliminating child labor in international trade agreements. AlthoughCongress has consistently boosted American efforts to eliminate child labor world-wide, there area number of issues that continue to impede these efforts, including: ineffective enforcementmechanisms; sparse monitoring systems; and insufficient funding for programs that alleviatepoverty, decrease incidences of HIV/AIDS, and increase access to relevant education. This reportwill discuss the ILO definition of child labor, outline the scope of the problem, explain thedifficulties in eliminating it, describe U.S. and international efforts to counter exploitative childlabor, and present some issues Congress may consider. This report will be updated as events warrant.