Children as young as 13 are involved in the drug trade in Jakarta, according to a survey of the five worst forms of child labour in Indonesia released today by the International Labour Organization. Reporting on various parts of Indonesia, the ILO cited trafficking of children for prostitution on Java and child labour in offshore fishing in North Sumatra, gold mining in East Kalimantan and the shoe industry in West Java. According to the survey, children in the country enter the commercial sex market at between 15 and 17 years of age, sometimes with the support of parents and other relatives. Although the survey does not contain figures, an ILO report released last month reportedly indicated that more than 10,000 children under 18 years of age are prostitutes in five major cities in Indonesia. Children who work in the shoe industry in West Java are often exposed to hazardous substances such as glue and leather dust and usually "work long hours in cramped, dusty workshops," the ILO said. Other children work long hours in dangerous conditions in offshore fishing and in gold mines, where they are "exposed to multiple hazards, such as cave-ins, (becoming) trapped in underground mines, exposure to dust and chemicals," reads the survey. According to the ILO, the Indonesian government will this year launch a four-year project to eradicate the worst forms of child labour. The United States and Germany are donating .5 million for the project. [source: UN Wire/Agence France-Presse/Jakarta Post,CRIN]