Children Labor in Indonesia's Tobacco Fields: Human Rights Watch

Overview

Human Rights Watch highlights illegal child labor in Indonesia’s tobacco-growing regions. Children are reportedly working in hazardous conditions despite national rules that prohibit child labor in risky industries and set the minimum working age at 15.

The report estimates that thousands of children—some as young as eight—are employed on tobacco farms.

Key Risks and Harms

The report underscores specific dangers tied to tobacco agriculture:

• Nicotine exposure: Tobacco plants contain nicotine, which children can absorb through their skin during field work.
• Pesticide exposure: Children handling plants and raw tobacco are also exposed to pesticides, which may contribute to symptoms such as dizziness and nausea.
• Illustrative incident: One account describes a child who vomited after watering tobacco due to the smell and exposure, reinforcing the severity of health risks.

Why the Problem Persists

The video explains that the issue continues despite strong regulations because:

• Weak enforcement: Regulations are not effectively enforced in the fields.
• Underregulated supply chains: Tobacco supply chains are described as insufficiently regulated.
• Difficulty tracing sourcing: Tobacco sourcing is hard to trace, especially because:
  • Most tobacco is used domestically, but a portion is exported.
  • Exported tobacco can be purchased by multinational cigarette companies through local suppliers.

As a result, cigarettes sold internationally could be made with tobacco produced using child labor.

Call to Action

Human Rights Watch’s report calls on the Indonesian government to:

• Improve enforcement of existing protections, and
• Address failures in how tobacco labor regulations are implemented.

Presenters / Contributors

• Not explicitly named in the provided subtitles. (The content is described as including a Human Rights Watch representative and a child interviewee, but no personal names are given.)