Report on the Roundtable Conference

On Tuesday 27th of November 2007 The Stop Child Labour - School is the Best Place to Work campaign organised a Roundtable in Brussels to discuss the EU's contribution to strategies which aim to support education programmes and eliminate child labour in a number of African countries. With representation from North and South civil society organisations, members of the European Parliament, the European Commission, ACP Embassies (African, Carribean and Pacific Group) and Permanent Representatives, the Roundtable facilitated lively discussion and debate on the key issues.

Christopher Wakiraza from Kids in Need in Uganda and Manuel Henrique, project coordinator of the Millennium Village project of Welthungerhilfe in Mangue, Angola, recommended the inclusion of integrated strategies to combat child labour and they noted that the elimination of child labour is a precondition for development, not a by-product of it.

The Country Strategy Papers under review, with the exception of Tanzania, do not include any reference to child labour. As these Country Strategy Papers will be implemented through annual action plans, it is crucial that civil society and trade unions are invited to make inputs into the development of these plans.

Read the report about the Roundtable Conference by Caroline Wildeman (Hivos)