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Business Alliance reconfirmed its commitment to do an extra effort and promote the Children's Rights and Business Principles in Belgium and abroad. The result of the commitment is the launch of the Children's Rights and Business Principles Forum in 2012 in Brussels and the establishment of a committee within the governance structure of the Global Compact Network Belgium that promotes the principles in Belgium.
The Second Step - Assessing your impact on children's rights The question the Rosy Blue Business Alliance has asked itself is how and where we can make a substantial difference in the lives of children. Looking at our operations, we believe principle 1,2,3,4 and 10 are the most relevant for our business and we recognize that the following groups of children are affected Workers, either as direct employees or hired indirectly in the supply chain
- Domestic workers of employees - Employees children - Citizens and members of the local community - Children who may be put at risk through the supply chain from mining to retail
In order to really determine what the Rosy Blue Business Alliance can do to protect children's rights, it is important to have a clear picture of the risks involving them in the countries where we have operations. That is why we asked external guidance from Maplecroft, one of the leading global risk researching agencies, to help us understand our potential impacts on children in the workplace, marketplace and community in China, India, Sri Lanka and Thailand. These data give us a clear picture on the potential risks and opportunities to Rosy Blue's operations and help us make the right strategic decisions.
The Third Step - Integration and Action Let us take the example of Rosy Blue's operations in Thailand. Looking at some of the facts highlighted in the Maplecroft(18) due diligence report on Thailand, we noticed that Thailand represents a high risk for children. Approximately 7.7% of Thailand's children under 15 years are working of which 20,000 children labour on the streets. Immigrants and poor families rely heavily on the income from child labour. The majority of children trafficked from neighbouring countries like Laos and Cambodia are found employed in agriculture, domestic work, fish processing, street vendors and garment production. Women and girls belonging to ethnic minorities and from poor rural areas are most vulnerable.
In Thailand, 10, 8% of the population live in extreme poverty and many families survive only on the bare minimum, causing an adverse impact on access to education and other basic services. AIDS is a big issue in Thailand. Children affected are often neglected or abandoned and girls are particularly vulnerable to the pervasive sex tourism.
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