Abstract
Child labor is a widely condemned practice which can have staggering effects on the health and wellbeing of children, as it can often involve toiling in mines or quarries, being exposed to harmful chemical substances, or sitting and standing for long hours in dreadful conditions. In response to this plight, which is still shared by millions of children in developing countries today, a principle of protection of children's rights has emerged under the aegis of the human rights movement. This principle finds a concrete manifestation in many international conventions and legal texts.
However, in most emerging or third-world countries, economic necessity and the process of economic development demand a very large workforce, prompting companies to resort to abundant and cheap child labor. Under pressure from international organizations and bodies of law, the States fostering this phenomenon have been compelled to adopt laws and policies aimed at fighting child labor. India has notably enshrined the prohibition of child labor in its first independent Constitution, and has since described in more detail the extent of this prohibition (which is not comprehensive), in its 1986 Child Labor Act.
