Tag: eclt

  • UN Global Compact Asked to Expel ECLT

    UN Global Compact Asked to Expel ECLT

    Photo: Lewis Tse Pui Lung

    STOP, a global tobacco industry watchdog, has sent a letter to the United Nations asking the organization to remove the Eliminating Child Labour in Tobacco-Growing (ECLT) foundation as a participant in the U.N. Global Compact.

    “We, the undersigned civil society representatives,” the letter reads, “request that the Eliminating Child Labour in Tobacco-Growing Foundation (ECLT) be removed as a participant to the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC), in accordance with U.N. policies, including UNGC’s 2017 policy update, the Model Policy for Agencies of the United Nations System on Preventing Tobacco Industry Interference (Model Policy), and the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals (U.N. SDGs), which embody the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC). ECLT has undeniable ties with the tobacco industry and has failed in its stated objective of ending child labor in tobacco—a problem directly linked to the exploitative business practices of its funders and members.”

    STOP cites the ECLT’s connection to tobacco manufacturers and producers as the main reason it should be removed from the UNGC. According to STOP, the tobacco industry’s interest are irreconcilable with the interest of human rights and sustainable development goals and are antithetical to the UNGC’s mission.

    “We urge UNGC to act according to its mandate, practice good governance and align its policies with those of U.N. agencies, international bodies and member states that accord with WHO FCTC Article 5.3 and work to protect policy, health and development objectives by rejecting partnerships and interactions with the tobacco industry and its allies. End ECLT’s participation in UNGC,” the authors write.

  • GTNF helps Tanzanian children attend school

    GTNF helps Tanzanian children attend school

    Primary school children from Kasisi primary school received school supplies, including uniforms, shoes and note books.

    Students in Tanzania’s Tabora region have benefited from money raised at the recent Global Tobacco Networking Forum in Antwerp, Belgium.

    During the GTNF gala dinner, in June, the organizers auctioned off various items and donated the proceeds—almost $3,000—to the Eliminating Child Labor in Tobacco Growing Foundation (ECLT).

    The ECLT has added the funds to its scholarship support program for students at a school in Kasisi Village in Urambo, Tabora region. The GTNF donation enables 72 children to buy uniforms, shoes and other materials required to attend school.

    ECLT is running a project through two districts of Tabora. Thousands of children are enrolled in school or in vocational training thanks to the support of the project, collaboration from the district and the mobilization of volunteers from the villages who watch over the children and educate parents so that children are sent to school.

    According to ECLT, children in tobacco-growing families are often forced to work on the farm because they are too poor to purchase school uniforms or materials.

    In a four-year project, ECLT, along with its partners, are developing capacity of the district and local communities to provide for their children themselves and to ensure they stay in school even after the project ends.

     

  • Malawi commits to tackling child labor

    Malawi commits to tackling child labor

    During a recent conference in Lilongwe, Malawi’s government and other stakeholders endorsed a plan to eliminate child labor in agriculture. Malawi’s child labor incidence is among the highest in southern Africa.

    Held Sept. 4-6, the Malawi National Conference on Child Labor in Agriculture was the first of its kind in Malawi. The event was convened by the Ministry of Labor and sponsored by the Eliminating Child Labor in Tobacco Growing Foundation (ECLT Foundation) in partnership with the International Labor Organization.

    Themed “Our Children, Our Future,” the event drew more than 350 government representatives, agricultural stakeholders, members of labor organizations, business, civil society and NGOs—and children.

    In her opening address, Malawi’s president, Joyce Banda, called for synergy among all stakeholders to end child labor. “I will not let children continue working in these estates instead of concentrating on their studies. And to you who are employing these kids, it is my humble plea that you stop such acts to give room to these children to be future leaders,” she said.

    Under the banner “Anything for us, without us, is against us,” 40 children from Malawi’s agricultural industries presented recommendations for ending child labor.

    The conference resulted in sector-by-sector agreement to actions to be implemented by 2016 and the Malawi government’s charge to conduct a National Child Labor Survey to map child labor and the effectiveness of programs in place to stop it.

    More information about the initiative is available at http://www.malawichildlabourconference.com.