List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor

There is evidence that children ages 5 to 17 grow melons in Paraguay. In 2016, the Government of Paraguay published representative results from the Survey of Activities of Rural Area Children and Adolescents 2015. The survey considers a working child to be engaged in child labor if the child is below the minimum age for employment of 14 or the child is performing work that is hazardous according to national legislation. The survey estimates that 301,827 children ages 5 to 17 perform hazardous work in rural areas of Paraguay and indicates that children working in agriculture experience accidents and illnesses, including from using dangerous tools and handling chemicals. According to the survey, almost 13 percent of Paraguayan children engaged in child labor in agriculture do not attend school. The survey estimates that 8,879 child laborers grow watermelons and 5,292 child laborers grow melons throughout rural areas in Paraguay. Approximately 4,879 child laborers growing watermelons are under the minimum age for employment in Paraguay. The survey indicates that more boys are engaged in child labor producing watermelons and melons than girls. The release of this survey demonstrates the Government of Paraguay’s commitment to addressing child labor and its acknowledgement that data collection is vital to the design and implementation of sound policies and programs. 

Spanish Translation

There is evidence that children ages 5 to 17 grow manioc/cassava in Paraguay. In 2016, the Government of Paraguay published representative results from the Survey of Activities of Rural Area Children and Adolescents 2015. The survey considers a working child to be engaged in child labor if the child is below the minimum age for employment of 14 or the child is performing work that is hazardous according to national legislation. The survey estimates that 301,827 children ages 5 to 17 perform hazardous work in rural areas of Paraguay and indicates that children working in agriculture experience accidents and illnesses, including from using dangerous tools and handling chemicals. According to the survey, almost 13 percent of Paraguayan children engaged in child labor in agriculture do not attend school. The survey estimates that 159,167 child laborers grow manioc/cassava throughout rural areas in Paraguay. Approximately 71,932 child laborers growing manioc/cassava are below the minimum age for employment in Paraguay. The survey indicates that more boys than girls are engaged in child labor producing manioc/cassava. The release of this survey demonstrates the Government of Paraguay’s commitment to addressing child labor and its acknowledgement that data collection is vital to the design and implementation of sound policies and programs.

Spanish Translation

There are reports that political prisoners in Belarus are forced to produce lumber. The Belarusian state penal system includes 20 state-owned woodworking enterprises employing approximately 8,000 prisoners, including hundreds of political prisoners. These enterprises use forced labor from political prisoners to produce various lumber goods such as laminated chipboard, planks, plywood parts, sawn wood, and pallets. Political prisoners include human rights defenders, journalists, lawyers, opposition politicians, artists, writers, trade unionists, and activists, imprisoned for expression of political views and peaceful assemblies against the government’s regime and repression. Political prisoners are singled out in the prisons by wearing yellow bibs, treated more harshly than regular prisoners, work long hours without a day off, and work under hazardous conditions that often result in injuries. Refusal to work is often punished with solitary confinement and sometimes with torture, as well as deprivation of food, water, or sleep.

Belarusian Translation