Save the Children and UNICEF Child Protection Report

With more than 168 million children being subjected to child labour across the globe, the accounting teams and their finance directors need to be cautious of the issue. The manner in which the company responds to rights of children is a reputational and business risk. How they manage the impact could in the long run affect the shareholders value. With a lot of input from Save the Children and UNICEF, the report also states that the implementation of children’s policies and rights may bring several benefits. No business is allowed to overlook children’s rights.

According to the report, several basic questions should be asked with regard to the working conditions and child labour. What should we do to ensure that we are not employing underage children or those who are below the required minimum age? Are we offering good pay as well as good working conditions in order to enable them offer their children supportive environment?

The report was intended to correspond to the UN’s Universal Children’s day that is usually held on 20^th November every year. According to the report, the child labour impact and provision of decent work needs to be addressed in every boardroom of any organization. This report focuses on the rights of children at the place of work. It shows that protecting the rights of children is good for any business. It explains that if finance leaders and business fails to take account of the rights of children, they are likely to experience reputational, ethical as well as legal risks which will affect the bottom line.

The childhood time is meant for emotional, physical as well as mental development. The quality of water, food, education and affection that children receive impacts greatly on their lives thereafter and also their potential in becoming productive and engaged citizens. In the life of a child, social, economic and physical disruptions are events that define a child. Children are much more affected than adults. Moreover, children in most cases do not get an opportunity to make a voice in public. They are not able to form trade unions or vote. They cannot influence companies as they cannot buy shares and stocks or even attend shareholders meetings. Businesses therefore are responsible for the rights of children.