Organized by the Child Labor Coalition in advance of World Day Against Child Labor (June 12):

In the United States and around the world, tobacco continues to be one of the most ubiquitous crops that relies on exploitative child labor. Currently, at least 15 countries use child labor to harvest this hazardous crop. One country, Malawi, has been identified by the US Department of Labor as using both child labor and forced labor in tobacco harvesting. This briefing will examine the dangers of tobacco and the often exploited children and adults who help bring it to market, as well as solutions that would help end that exploitation.

Featuring: 

The Honorable David Cicilline
Representative from Rhode Island, and lead sponsor of H.R. 1848 legislation to amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to prohibit employment of children in tobacco-related agriculture in the US by deeming such employment as oppressive child labor

Zama Coursen-Neff
Executive Director of the Children’s Rights Division, Human Rights Watch

Judy Gearhart
Executive Director of the International Labor Rights Forum

Raphael Sandramu
General Secretary of the Tobacco and Allied Workers Union of Malawi (TOAWUM)

Celia Ortiz
Teen tobacco worker, North Carolina

Moderator: Norma Flores Lopez, Governance and Collaboration/Development Manager of East Coast Migrant Head Start & Chair of Domestic Issues Committee of The Child Labor Coalition