Child labour in Swaziland

Child labour in Swaziland is a controversial issue that affects a large portion of the country's population.Child labour is often seen as a human rights concern because it is "work that deprives children of their childhood, their potential and their dignity, and that is harmful to physical and mental development," as defined by the International Labour Organization (ILO). Additionally, child labour is harmful in that it restricts a child's ability to attend school or receive an education. The ILO recognizes that not all forms of children working are harmful, but this article will focus on the type of child labour that is generally accepted as harmful to the child involved.

During the colonial period between 1914 and 1947, child labour played an important role in the British government's control of Swaziland. Swazi labour history has previously failed to acknowledge the contributions children made to the labour industry during the colonial period, perhaps because children are often seen as extensions of their parents rather than as individuals. At the beginning, children usually performed unpaid labour, but beginning in the 1930s paid labour became more common. Like today, agriculture and farming was one of the largest sectors of child labour.

Many of the children in Swaziland subjected to harsh work conditions are victims of human trafficking. Despite the Swazi government's attempts to reduce child labour, victims of human trafficking have historically worked in the most severe types of child labour jobs. AIDS orphans are also at a greater risk to be exploited for cheap labour. In 2006, half of all children engaged in Swaziland's sex trade were orphans.

Poverty is one of the most common determinants of child labour, and 69% of Swazis were living in poverty as of 2006. Because child labour interferes with schooling, an individual's ability to escape poverty is significantly reduced. This can create child-labour traps, in which the next generation is also forced into child labour because their family is still in poverty. Specifically, the cost of transportation is a barrier that prevents poor children from attending school in many African countries. According to Hannie Dlamini, the chairman of the Swaziland Aids Support Organisation (Saso), "the extended family system is breaking down and there is no-one to look after orphans," meaning that "fifteen year olds are responsible for homes."

Swaziland is a lower middle-income country, and yet serious poverty exists because there is a very unequal distribution of wealth. The richest 10% control nearly half of the country's wealth, with the bottom 43% living in chronic poverty. In 1999, UNICEF found that many children initially went to work because their parents were unemployed, and the family needed a source of income.

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