Legal status

In agreement with international conventions, the work of children under 14 is prohibited in Bolivia except under certain specific conditions.

Nevertheless, the real situation obliged the UN to face the problem in 1989's "Convention on the Rights of the Child":

The present states recognize the right of the child to be protected against economic exploitation, and against carrying out any work that could be dangerous, or hinder their education, or be harmful to their health or to their physical, mental, spiritual, moral or social development. Article 32.1

With this declaration in mind, the Bolivian government created the 1999 Plan for Progressive Eradication of Infantile Work, which has three objectives:

1. Total eradication of the worst types of child work.
2. Progressive eradication of work among children under 14.
3. Regulation and protection of working teenagers between 14 and 19.

However, this plan remains an utopian dream, and could lead to a worsening of the situation if it does not provide alternative solutions to working schildren.