Year 5 United Nations Rapporteurs Investigate Child Labour

The Year 5 students at the Aga Khan Academy, Mombasa, undertook a difficult role this week for the end of their Unit of Inquiry. They were asked to represent various nations from Africa, Asia and South America as rapporteurs for the United Nations and investigate the issues surrounding child labour in their respective delegations.

The conference was collaboration between the Senior School Humanities Department and the Junior School, with some of the Diploma Programme students coming in to observe their younger counterparts’ participation and offer their help to guide the delegates in their lines of questioning.

Before the conference started, there was some lighthearted interaction between the delegates and the Chair, and the Chinese delegation confessed that they had been very tired out by their 12-hour flight to Mombasa, and that they had had to use an interpreter to carry out interviews for their presentation. The Afghani delegation also complained about turbulent flying conditions, and the lengthy security screening they had to go through.

The presentations lasted between five and ten minutes each, and the delegations then faced questions from their peers and teachers regarding issues they had addressed. There, rapporteurs each showcased the striking and harrowing realities of child labour in their respective countries, and the global repercussions of this practice. They also looked into the various factors that contributed to this violation of children’s rights.

Furthermore, they also investigated the potential solutions we can put into place to eradicate child labour, such as using mainstream and social media to spread awareness, mobilise governments and other organisations to enforce laws that protect children against child labour, and doing our part by trying as much as possible to make sure the products we use every day have been produced without exploitation.

Thank you Year 5s, you all represented your delegations very well and brought an extremely serious issue to light. We hope to continue to see more thought-provoking projects from you!