Child labour is a complex challenge facing many countries around the world, including Vietnam. Spurred by the development of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989), it has been a topic of increasing interest for governments and researchers, especially over the past two decades. The focus of many studies on child labour in Vietnam has tended to be urban, particularly as it intersects with the tourism and manufacturing sectors (ILO 2014), street children and child labour (Huong 2016), and the relationship between child labour and child trafficking, human rights and child labour, and the impact of child labour on health and education (Bélanger 2014, Kiss et al 2015, Le and Homel 2015, Bandyopadhyay et al., 2021). Edmonds and colleagues (see for example, Edmonds and Pavcnik (2002b), Edmonds and Turk (2002), Edmonds and Pavcnik (2005)) have also conducted multiple studies on child labour and its correlation with economic development, and the causes, consequences and policies to tackle it. However, less attention has been given to the ongoing problem of child labour in rural areas in Vietnam (exceptions including O’Donnell et. al., 2005 and Trinh, 2020).
Three rural provinces in the Mekong Delta (MD), An Giang, Soc Trang and Kien Giang, are the focus of this study. The thesis systematically re-sequences the complex causes of child labour through the voices of caregivers and authorities. An overview picture of the causes of child labour in rural areas has been presented which has made it easier for policymakers to devise strategies and targets for 251 eliminating child labour. There are no hazardous forms of exploitation found in the study through the voices of the representatives – (grand)parents, but child labour exists many risks for human resources because of the lack of professional training.
Child labour is a challenge to child development in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam. Concerned parties have been aware of the impacts of child labour on the region. However, this knowledge is general. Therefore, an in-depth child labour impact evaluation focusing on the intergenerational cycle of poverty, education, health, and remedial policies needs to be implemented. In addition, raising awareness of child labour must play a principal role in improving the effectiveness of programs for children. The implementation of child labour policies in the long term requires legal bases and support from donation programs
