Empowering the Youth, Reducing Child Labour

Kevin Bernard

While the ministry is seeking to empower young people, the statistics show that in some traditional communities, child labour does occur. Minister of Youth Kevin Bernard says it is about striking that balance to ensure that a young person’s rights are not violated.

Kevin Bernard, Minister of Youth

“The youth needs assessment survey is very important to Belize and we are committed to ensuring that is done. When you talk about balancing child labour and also looking at these traditional employment areas where young people for example in the cane field, you have young people go out there. We do indeed have to look at international standards that we sign on to; there’s a lot of things that we sign on to in Belize – regulatory frameworks and arrangements – so we have to honor that. We have to understand and we expect those things. But at the same time, we have to also live the Belizean reality. We have to make sure that these decisions that are made; that we are not infringing indeed on these young people’s rights, but that there are other opportunities for them. And those opportunities are what we at the Department of Youth Services are saying that through training. We get them to train so at the same time they are not out of school. We want to promote that they continue their education in school – getting the training, but at the same time, also opening up their mind that going into a cane field is not just about cutting cane, but about working in the industry. It is about becoming owners of your work – whether it is in cane or any other crop development.”

The Belize Sugar Cane Farmers Association and Fairtrade International collaborated to enable youth in Belizean sugar cane production to drive change in achieving sustainable development. Back in 2020, a youth policy and guidelines was developed to enable decent youth employment, skills development, business opportunities and participation in decision making in the sugar cane sector of Belize.