A House with Two Rooms - The Advocates for Human Rights

• The Government of Liberia should “recognize the right of the child to be protected from
economic exploitation and from performing any work that is likely to be hazardous or to
interfere with the child’s education, or to be harmful to the child’s health or physical, mental,
spiritual, moral or social development.” 81 The government should take measures to ensure
this right, including setting minimum age(s) for employment, appropriately regulating hours
and conditions of employment, and imposing appropriate sanctions as enforcement. 82
• The Government of Liberia should prevent the engagement of children in the worst forms
of child labor using measures outlined in International Labour Organisation Worst Forms of
Child Labour Convention, Art. 7(1)-(2). 83
• The Government of Liberia should designate one governmental body to be responsible for
formulating a coherent policy on child exploitation, which includes a component to educate
the public about combating child exploitation. 84
• The Government of Liberia should establish a code of conduct for staff working with
children; violations of the code of conduct should be criminal offenses under national law.
• The Government of Liberia should continue to work toward the full implementation of
the recommendations set forth by the Committee on the Rights of the Child in its 2004
Concluding Observations.
Potential Implementation Strategy: The Sankhu-Palubari Community School
The Advocates for Human Rights partners with the non-governmental organization Hoste Hainse in
Nepal to provide free elementary education to Nepalese girls and boys to promote education as an
alternative to harmful child labor. These girls and boys would otherwise be subjected to child labor.
In addition to their lessons in reading, writing, and arithmetic, the children receive a free meal—a
very important and popular part of the program. The teachers have been trained in human rights
awareness and are incorporating human rights into the curriculum. The school also currently provides
immunizations for all of its students. The Advocates has worked with volunteers, individual donors, and
school groups to support the school in Nepal. For example, U.S.-based school groups have collected
school supplies and organized fundraisers to benefit the school. 85
Programs for Vulnerable Groups: Orphans & Children Separated from their Families
In addition to general human rights protections for children, specific international standards
govern the rights of orphans, children deprived of their family environment, and unaccompanied
or separated children. The Convention on the Rights of the Child and related Comments and
Concluding Observations, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and
related Comments, and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child provide a guiding
framework for the effective promotion and protection of the human rights of orphans, children
deprived of their family environment, and unaccompanied or separated children. The Advocates
recommends the following:
• The Government of Liberia should take special measures to protect and assist children and
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Chapter Fourteen