Webinar Series Part 3 – Remediating Child Labour

How should child labour be remediated? What are the models and experiences of remediation systems?

Be Slavery Free – Embode 5-Part Webinar Series

The Be Slavery Free - Embode webinars is a five-part series held in 2021 exploring the complexities of child labour. Together with experts that have on-the-ground experience the series explains the laws, root causes and the remediation frameworks that exist. The series aims to explore the complexities of child labour and shares the concepts and experiences of how we can respond to child labour. 

This third episode conducted in May 2021 focuses on remediation of child labour. The panellists featured include Sarah Dekkiche from International Cocoa Initiative (Director of Policy and Partnerships), Dr. Shantha Sinha from M V Foundation (MVF) (Founder Secretary), R. Venkat Reddy from M V Foundation (National Convener).

What do we understand about remediation? 

Remediation is the act of remedying a situation where someone has been harmed. In the case of human rights violations against children, remediation is about restoring the affected child or children, to the furthest extent possible, to their original and full potential. In order to remediate and respond to child labour across different parts of the world there are some defined and integral steps to take. The first and perhaps most obvious of these steps is to identify children who are in a situation of, or who are at risk of, child labour. Understanding the indicators of child labour and child work are critical. It is also necessary to then know how to actively support and alleviate them from that situation. Monitoring the vulnerability of children who are at risk of being put in a situation of potential or actual labour, needs to be regularly undertaken so that remediation steps can be commenced as early as possible  to prevent and/or mitigate the situation before the child is  harmed. 

Why is remediation relevant now? 

Remediation and mitigation have always been relevant and necessary. However, whilst it is the responsibility of governments to eradicate and respond to child labour, increasing human rights due diligence requirements are also calling on multi-national companies to take more responsibility. Human rights and business regulations in many Global North countries are requiring businesses to identify and remediate any instances of child labour in their supply chains, from cotton to cocoa, from fields and farms to factories and mills. At the same time many businesses are asking what does remediation mean? Where do we start? And how should governments work with local actors, government and civil society to support children in situations of, or at risk of, child labour?  In this webinar, the panellists look at how to identify and monitor child labour in contexts and discusses different approaches to remediating child labour, and how they can be applied across a supply chain. 

Panellists share their experiences working in the cocoa sector, shoe making and other industries, as well as from a geographical-based approach. You are welcome to access this informative webinar to unpack distinct concepts and experiences from the grassroots perspective. At the end, there is also an insightful question and answer session with Aarti and the panellists. 

The webinar can be found here.