International Labor Organization alerts to potential increase in child labor in Paraguay

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – A report released by the International Labor Organization (ILO) called for increased investment in children and adolescents in the region’s countries. Special emphasis was placed on the greater risk of a potential increase in Paraguay.

The ILO estimates that 160 million children and adolescents are currently engaged in child labor worldwide, 79 million of whom in hazardous work.

Furthermore, 1 out of every 10 children and adolescents in the world is engaged in child labor and 70% of the world’s children and adolescents work in the agricultural sector.

This issue, which is likely to worsen in the coming years in Paraguay, Bolivia and the region, was analyzed during the international forum “Child labor and pandemic: reality and challenges,” organized by the Global Media Group and UNICEF Paraguay.

“The projected increase in poverty, in addition to the lack of basic public goods, clearly indicates that there is a risk of an increase in child labor in Paraguay, Bolivia and the whole region,” said Patricia Roa, ILO’s Programming Officer for the Southern Cone.

In addition, Mariela Gómez, coordinator of the National Commission for the Prevention and Eradication of Child Labor (CONAETI), offered a local overview of child labor, although she clarified that there is no updated data on the situation as the last study was conducted in 2011, the Survey of Activities of Children and Adolescents (EANNA).

According to these data, 22% of the country’s children and adolescents fall into the category of child labor and in 97% of cases it is hazardous child labor. Moreover, half of children and adolescents work in agriculture, livestock and fishing; 20% in commerce, restaurants and hotels; 17% in community, social and personal services; 8% in manufacturing industries; and 5% in construction.