Children are exposed to toxic pesticides while working
on sugarcane plantations in the Philippines. This is what child rights organisation
Terre des Hommes Netherlands found in its research into hazardous child labour.

Worldwide, 60 children die as a result of hazardous labour. 170 million children
perform work under dangerous circumstances in quarries, mines and in agriculture.
Terre des Hommes Netherlands calls for an immediate halt to the involvement of
children in these worst forms of child labour.

In the research report 'Sweet hazards: Child Labour on Sugarcane Plantations in the
Philippines', launched last week, Terre des Hommes concludes that seemingly harmless
work done by children in agriculture causes substantial health problems. One of the
findings of the research is that children who work on commercial sugarcane
plantations in the Philippines are exposed to pesticides which the WHO classifies as
highly hazardous.

Exposure can lead to dizziness, nausea, lung problems and cancer. The most serious
health problems surface after childhood. The working children are exposed to the
burning heat of the sun for nine hours a day, they do not have the time to go to
school. Some of them are injured by the big machetes they use in the sugarcane
fields.

Working with pesticides is just one example of the many forms of hazardous child
labour that children face. Many governments have signed and ratified the ILO 182
convention, in which the elimination of the worst forms of child labour is given
absolute priority. However, this promise has not yet been fulfilled.

On 7 October 2005, Terre des Hommes Netherlands will hold a seminar to discuss the
impact of ILO convention 182 on children engaged in the worst forms of child labour.
The seminar will be held in The Netherlands. [Source: CRIN]

For more information, contact:
Terre des Hommes Nederland
Zoutmanstraat 42 - 44, 2518 GS Den Haag, The Netherlands
Tel: + 31 70 310 5000; Fax: + 31 70 310 5001
Email: info@tdh.nl
Website: http://www.terredeshommes.nl

Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=6018