Amnesty concerned about children in Haiti

Amnesty International said the authorities in Haiti must enact legislation to protect children working as domestic help in conditions that amount to slavery.

The lobby group was speaking ahead of Universal Children’s Day.



Yesterday, Amnesty launched a campaign to press the government in Haiti to enact measures to protect child domestic workers from abuse, ill-treatment and exploitation.



Many Haitian families, too poor to support their children, are forced to send them to work as domestic help.



Haiti researcher at Amnesty International, Gerardo Ducos said most child domestic workers in Haiti live as virtual slaves, working in inhumane conditions, suffering violence and abuse by their hosts.



UNICEF estimates that there were as many as 100,000 girl domestic workers in Haiti in 2007.