Children's Rights Child Labor in Agriculture June 10, 2002 Of nearly 250 million children engaged in child labor around the world, the vast majority- 70 percent, or some 170 million-are working in agriculture. Child agricultural workers frequently work for long hours in scorching heat, haul heavy loads of produce, are exposed to toxic pesticides, and suffer high rates of injury from sharp knives and other dangerous tools. Their work is grueling and harsh, and violates their rights to health, education, and protection from work that is hazardous or exploitative. Child Soldiers and the Child Labor Convention June 2000 The Global Use of Child Soldiers: An estimated 300,000 children under the age of eighteen are currently participating in armed conflicts in more than thirty countries on nearly every continent. While most child soldiers are in their teens, some are as young as seven years old. While many child soldiers start out as cooks, messengers, porters or guards, too often they end up on the front lines of combat. International Trafficking of Women and Children February 2000 The number of persons trafficked each year is impossible to determine, but it is clearly a large-scale problem, with estimates ranging from hundreds of thousands to millions of victims worldwide. The State Department estimates that each year, 50,000-100,000 women and children are trafficked into the United States alone, approximately half of whom are trafficked into bonded sweatshop labor or domestic servitude.

WORLD REPORT 2001  2000  1999 Backgrounders By Region Africa Americas Arms Asia Children’s Rights Europe and Central Asia Middle East and Northern Africa United States Women's Rights CURRENT EVENTS