115: Rwanda tackles child exploitation

The government of Rwanda has announced new policies to eliminate child labour across the country. According to today's linked article from Rwanda's 'Sunday Times' newspaper, recent surveys suggest around 11% of Rwandan children aged 11-15 are engaged in some form of income generation - and about 50% of these children are involved in dangerous or highly exploitative work, such as quarrying or prostitution. Making policy in this area is difficult, as families often rely on income earned by children to survive - but the Rwandan government has been careful to distinguish between work that aids personal development and does not interfere with a child's education, and work that erodes a child's dignity, health or fundamental human rights. The new policy is designed to eliminate the latter, and players from across government, the private sector and civil society have apparently signed up to it. Implementation of the new policy will be more difficult, of course, but this is a promising start.