Ministry of Labor Hosts Workshop Promoting the Reduction of Child Labour in Belize

Frontline workers from across several ministries participated in a child labor training session. The workshop was facilitated by the Government of Belize through the Ministry of Labor. The one-day training aims to educate law enforcement personnel, social workers, labor officers, and other stakeholders on identifying, addressing, reducing, and even preventing child labor in Belize. The program also focused on getting them versed in the legal framework that has been put in place by the Government of Belize and understanding their role in the implementation of this policy. The Minister of Labour, Oscar Requena, explains that the training is a positive step in eradicating child labor in Belize, which has been a persistent issue in the country, especially in the agriculture sector. 

Hon. Oscar Requena, Minister of Rural Transformation, Community Development, Local Government and Labour: “It is very heartwarming to hear that whilst you know on a global level we see increases in child labour for the region particularly for Latin America and even for us in Belize we are seeing that there is a reduction in the forms of child labour and I want to say that as a government we are very proactive since taking over government in July we actually developed a very comprehensive child labour policy and you know we’re working very diligently with our labour officers across the country and other stake holders our front line worker and that is why we are having this training because want them to fully understand what is the child labour policy that we have you know and what is their role in ensuring that the child labour policy is implemented and we reduce all forms of child labour by 2025.”