Is child labour the lesser of two evils?

In a new report issued on World Day Against Child Labour, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) has warned that a high number of children are still trapped in hazardous jobs.
 
The report says that some 115 million children – more than half of the 215 million child labourers worldwide – are engaged in hazardous work.

Sub-Saharan Africa has the largest proportion of children in hazardous work relative to the overall number of children in the region, according to the report, while Asia has the largest number of children engaged in dangerous work. In Pakistan, for instance, the existence of child labour laws has done little to improve the fate of children.

The international community says it hopes to eliminate the problem by 2016, but is that realistic?

Is working, even in hazardous conditions, the lesser of two evils? Do children in poor countries have alternative options?

Inside Story with presenter Folly Bah Thibault discusses with guests: Susan Gunn, the author of the ILO report on Child Labour in Hazardous Work from Geneva; Marco Manacorda, an economics professor at Queen Mary College, University of London and a researcher at the Centre for Economic Performance at the London School of Economics; and Vandana Shiva, an ecologist and anti-poverty activist from New Delhi, India.

This episode of Inside Story aired on June 12, 2011.