Pope Francis laments child labour as ‘modern slavery’



"Today there are many children in the world who are slaves"

ROME: -- They are the forgotten youngsters – the estimated 168 million, globally, trapped in child labour.

More than 40 per cent of them are between the ages of 5 and 11 according to the International Labour Organization which has raised the alarm – as has Pope Francis – on the World Day Against Child Labour.

“All together we renew the commitment to eliminate the cause of this modern slavery, which deprives millions of children of some fundamental rights and exposes them to serious dangers,” Francis said at a mass in St Peter’s Square on Sunday, dedicated to disabled people and their carers.

“Today there are many children in the world who are slaves.”

This year’s focus is on child labour and supply chains with tech giants including Apple accused by Amnesty International of failing to do basic checks to ensure that cobalt mined by child labourers has not been used in its phones.

Apple has insisted that it has a zero tolerance policy towards child labour. The firm has said it has been working to evaluate ways to improve its identification of labour and environmental risks.

-- (c) Copyright Euronews 2016-06-13

Do the supporters of Amnesty use Apple products? Why were they singled out in the report?

Do the supporters of Amnesty use Apple products? Why were they singled out in the report?

Two reasons I can think of: (1) if you are one of the largest corporations in the world, you have a greater responsibility to do the right thing and to be seen to be doing the right thing; (2) if you want to make a point about corporations failing to consider the impact of their policies on the weakest in society, aim high.

It's good to see the Catholics condemning child labor. Perhaps soon they will also condemn child sexual abuse and finally after so many scandals, stamp it out in their own house.

Okay, let's get this straight. Pope Francis feels that corporate business should prioritize the fight against the abuse of children. But the gruesome and obscene record of his corporate religion gets a pass?

Okay, let's get this straight. Pope Francis feels that corporate business should prioritize the fight against the abuse of children. But the gruesome and obscene record of his corporate religion gets a pass?

I am not sure he is saying that at all. Despite how you feel about him, he is a man of immense influence - should he stay quiet about the mess in his neighbour's garden just because he is struggling to tidy his own? Personally, I think not - it seems that the Catholic church is making progress in tackling the cancer within; I also think that he has an obligation to highlight double standards elsewhere.