Child Labor in Global Tobacco Production: A Human Rights Approach to an Enduring Dilemma

摘要

Tobacco production is a multi-billion-dollar global industry. Unfortunately, the cultivation of tobaccoengages the labor of children throughout the world in extremely dangerous environments, which hasboth immediate and long-term consequences for children and society. This paper explores the humanrights concerns associated with child labor in tobacco production by highlighting three countries—theUnited States, Kazakhstan, and Malawi—and examines the impact that the United Nations Conventionon the Rights of the Child, the International Labour Organization’s (ILO) Worst Forms of Child LabourConvention, and the ILO’s Safety and Health in Agriculture Convention have on child labor practicesin tobacco production. It also proposes general actions to address the human rights concerns relatedto child labor practices in tobacco production, as well as specific actions for selected countries. Ahuman rights-based approach to reducing child labor in agriculture could create meaningful changesthat improve lives and opportunities for health, education, and economic stability among children andfamilies across the globe.