opinion

Children, the future of every country, should naturally be the object of national concern and protection.

But what is the plight of children in Western countries that boast of economic development and “civilization”?

The results of a survey on housing problem which started last year were mentioned at the British Parliament on April 3. According to them, 164 000 homeless children are living in temporary shelters in England.

Seventy-four children died due to poor conditions and environment, and 58 of them were babies under one year.

A woman who failed to find even a temporary shelter sent an email to the city authorities for help, but as they do not take relevant measures, she is waiting for help staying in her car with her child.

Meanwhile, the maltreatment of children is getting more serious in Japan.

According to data released by the Ministry of Welfare and Labour of Japan on March 25, the number of consultations on child abuse was a record high of 225 509 cases nationwide in 2023, a 5 percent increase over the previous year.

As was reported, the number of child abuse cases has been increasing continuously for 33 years.

What is surprising is that parents are the main culprits in child abuse.

The same is the case with the US.

A large number of children are subjected to harsh labour exploitation in this country. It is a country which legally allows child labour.

Children’s working hour is unlimited and the minimum age of boys who can work on small farms is not defined. A law amendment was once proposed to ban children under 16 from working on tobacco farms, but it was rejected by the congress.

The New York Times said that child labour force has witnessed a gradual increase in the past ten years and the number of child labourers has multiplied explosively since 2021.

This shows that a system for protecting children has collapsed, the American newspaper deplored. 

This is the children’s human rights situation in Western countries which often pick on other countries over human rights.