児童労働と義務教育 : メキシコおよびペルーの事例より

Abstract

This paper explores the politics of child labour and compulsory education in Mexico and Peru. highlighting the trajectories of compulsory education and the worldwide childrights movements. Mexico and Peru are selected as they have contrasting child labour policies despite the similarities in geography and child labour profiles. While Mexico extended compulsory education starting the age of three, and the government has been strongly encouraging children's human rights, the country has not yet ratified the ILO's Minimum Age Convention 138, which forbids labour for children less than 15 years of age. Lenient standards for child labour result partially from disseminated cultural traditions that children's work is beneficial for their personal and social development. Peru ratified the Minimum Age Convention 138 in 2002, yet the concept of protagonismo, the capacity to participate in society and transform it forcibly remains. Major advocates are the local NGOs and working children who argue that children should be perceived as independent individuals who can judge and design their own lives, including continuation of work. The paper concludes that child labour and education policies are complex and that examining the relationship between compulsory education and child labour requires in-depth cultural analysis as well as policy analysis.