International and national legal aspects of child labor. Brazilian experiences from the perspective of Polish researcher
| Autor | Beata Stepien-Zalucka |
| Cargo del Autor | University of Rzeszów, Faculty of Law, Poland |
| Páginas | 325-340 |
— 325 —
International and national legal aspects of child labor.
Brazilian experiences
from the perspective of Polish researcher
BEATA STEPIEŃ-ZAŁUCKA
University of Rzeszów, Faculty of Law, Poland
Summary: 1. Introduction. 2. International law acts. 3. Domestic law acts. 4. Factors
affectin ghild and adolescent labour in Brazil. 5. Résumé. 6. Bibliography.
1. Introduction
When we hear or talk about Brazil, this brings into our minds the image of
beautiful beaches and carnival in Rio de Janeiro. However, this image of Brazil
created for window dressing purposes is just one side of the coin, the darker side
are the problems related to overcrowded cities, poverty and corruption which has
been fought against in Brazil for many years1. In the very centre of the problems
there is one of equal importance, namely the widespread child labour. It has
been estimated that as much as 3 million children at the age between 5 and 18
are working in Brazil2. The number is terrifying, but the situation is still more
alarming when we view it from the perspective of a series of international law
acts and internal legal regulations aimed at preventing such a state of affairs.
Such background became basis for analysis of international and domestic legal
acts, and investigating their effectiveness in practice. This will be the subject of
my reflections, which will constitute an attempt to look at the problems of Brazil
from the perspective of a researcher from Poland, and thus from the perspective
of European standards.
1 A. Meyer, Brazilian Social Issues 2010, http://www.brazil.org.za/social-issues.html;
People are getting poorer’: hunger and homelessness as Brazil crisis deepens, https://www.
theguardian.com/global-development/2017/jul/19/people-getting-poorer-hunger-home-
lessness-brazil-crisis; Ch. Woody, The consequences of Brazil’s corruption scandal may be
more than political,http://www.businessinsider.com/r-un-worried-about-brazil-as-poverty-
seen-rising-in-latin-america-2016-3?IR=T.
2 J. A. Inciardi, Hilary L. Surratt, Children in the streets of brazil:Drug Use, Crime,
Violence, and HIV Risks, Substance Use and Misuse, 1997, https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/
f040/e76919fec350574ce3dd978090ee741d1fe1.pdf.
Beata Stepień-Załucka
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2. International law acts
The first international law act, in which children’s situation in Brazil has
been really paid attention to was the Geneva Declaration of the Rights of the Child
adopted on 26 September 1924 by the League of Nations, which in principle 4
stated that “The child must be put in a position to earn a livelihood, and must
be protected against every form of exploitation”3. Another document referring
to that subject was the Declaration of the Rights of the Child proclaimed by the
General Assembly of the UN on 20 November 1959. The document comprised
10 principles regulating and protecting the various areas of child’s life. Principle
9 referred to the protection of a child against all forms of neglect, cruelty and
exploitation and a ban on employing children before an appropriate minimum
age or forcing the children to engage in any occupation or employment which
would interfere with the child’s physical, mental or moral development4.
Similar idea is expressed in Article 19 of the American Convention on
Human Rights, which refers to the rights of the child, reading that “Every minor
child has the right to the measures of protection required by his condition as a
minor on the part of his family, society, and the state”5.
Another act of high importance on the international background regarding
child protection against labour exploitation was the Convention on the Rights of
The Convention was a breakthrough document in every respect, firstly because it
referred to any child rights, and secondly because it applied to a vast number of
countries (as much as 196 countries have signed it by today and, therefore, it
is often called the Constitution of the Rights of the Child). Article 2.1 reads
that “States Parties shall respect and ensure the rights set forth in the present
Convention to each child within their jurisdiction without discrimination of any
3 Geneva Declaration of the Rights of the Child, Adopted 26 September, 1924, Lea-
gue of Nations
http://www.un-documents.net/gdrc1924.htm; wider: Geneva Declaration of the Rights of
the Child, 1924, https://www.humanium.org/en/geneva-declaration/
4 Declaration of the Rights of the Child 20 November 1959, G.A. res. 1386 (XIV),
14 U.N. GAOR Supp. (No. 16) at 19, U.N. Doc. A/4354, http://www.cirp.org/library/ethics/
UN-declaration/.
5 American Convention on Human Rights, Adopted at the Inter-American Speciali-
zed Conference on Human Rights, San José, Costa Rica, 22 November 1969
6 Convention on the Rights of the Child, G.A. Res. 44/25, annex, 44 U.N. GAOR
Supp. (No. 49) at 167, U.N. Doc. A/44/49 (1989); 28 I.L.M. 1448 (1989), official Web site of
the United Nations, available at http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu3/b/k2crc.htm
signatured 26 january 1990, ratification date – 24 september 1990; https://treaties.un.org/
pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=IND&mtdsg_no=IV-11&chapter=4&lang=en
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