Child labor prevention is needed in Colombian mines, according to the country’s national family welfare body.
The Colombian Family Welfare Institute (ICBF) called on Colombian authorities for more surveillance and prevention of child labor in Colombian mines.
ICBF will start an intervention in the Bajo Cauca district in the central department of Antioquia, in the eastern department of Santander and in the western Choco region of Colombia where mining is most prevalent.
There are currently over 2,000 children in these departments who receive subsidies from the “Families in Action” program which gives money to parents who pledge to send their children to school, said the Director of ICBF, Diego Molano. He stressed the Colombian government is focused on these families and that they understand the value of education for the lives of children.
The International Labor Organization (ILO) said in 2009 that more than 1.6 million Colombian children between five and 17 years old perform some sort of labor — 787,000 work in commercial and agricultural jobs, while another 841,000 perform labor in and around the house.
