Israeli settlement farmers in the occupied West Bank are using Palestinian child laborers in dangerous conditions in violation of international laws, Human Rights Watch (HRW) [advocacy website] reported [text] Monday. The report [press release] states that hundreds of Palestinian children, some as young as 11 years old, are working on the farms for low wages to grow, harvest and pack agricultural produce. HRW condemned the Israeli practice of using child laborers, stating that Israel should not be able to profit from rights abuses against Palestinian children. HRW stated that this is a violation of international laws, which protect children from “being exploited economically and performing work that is likely to be hazardous or interfere with the child’s schooling.” HRW has called upon Israel to dismantle the settlements on occupied Palestinian lands and asks that other countries and businesses uphold their own responsibilities to not benefit from or contribute to the human rights abuses against the Palestinian children.

In recent years child labor laws have become a growing subject of international attention. Last July the Bolivian National Congress [official website, in Spanish] passed legislation permitting [JURIST report] children as young as 10 to join the workforce as long as it does not interfere with one’s education and is done independently in an effort to provide for their family. In 2013 the UN International Labor Organization (ILO) [official website] released a report on child labor advocating social protections [JURIST report] as the key to ending the practice. “[The] report contributes to a better understanding of the underlying economic and social vulnerabilities that generate child labour.” Globally, the ILO estimates that at least 215 million children are in an adverse labor situation, with 115 million suffering the worst treatment including “practices akin to slavery, debt bondage, offering a child for prostitution, using a child for illicit activities and work that is harmful to health, safety or morals of children.” To combat the problem, the ILO advocates the implementation of “social protection floors” in all countries to provide for the most basic needs of children.