Afghan child labour may rise as foreign aid dries up

Kabul: Dwindling development aid as the war winds down in Afghanistan means child labour in the country is at risk of becoming more widespread, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) warned yesterday.

Half of Afghanistan's population of 30 million are under 15, with almost two million children in full or part-time work, Unicef estimates.

With foreign troops fighting Taliban insurgents pulling out by the end of 2014, global attention is shifting away from Afghanistan and its humanitarian needs, the ILO's representative to Kabul, Herve Berger, said.

"The issue of child labour may fall below the radar screen and be seen as less important after 2014," Berger said.

Berger cited a report by the UN agency detailing one of the worst forms of child labour — brickmaking in the kilns in the country's east. Though both child labour and so-called bonded work are illegal in Afghanistan, children as young as five churn out hundreds of bricks a week for a few dollars to pay off family debts.

Poor health from harsh working conditions, reliance on shelter and electricity provided by brick employers and denied education mean brickmakers are tied to their work.

"All service sectors will be affected as aid dries up," Sarah Cramer, project manager at Samuel Hall Consulting, which conducted the study for the ILO, said.