In spite of labor laws prohibiting child labor, millions of children between 10 and 14 years old work almost as slaves and with no future in Latin America, as was revealed in recent reports by international and domestic organizations.

Behind this fact there are many others: child abuse at home, total poverty, family neglect and Mafia-like businesses which profit from the sexual abuse of children.

According to the United Nations Children Educational Fund (UNICEF), poverty, neglect and the struggle for survival have proliferated child labor in Central America.

UNICEF affirms that there is not a single important city in Central America without homeless children. Even Costa Rica, where this problem practically did not exist in 1990, finds this to be a common phenomena in its cities.

UNICEF conclusions coincide with the investigations by the International Labor Organization (ILO) of the Permanent Economic Commission for Latin America (CEPAL), which state that child labor significantly increased in Latin America in the first half of this decade.

And examples abound: More than 300,000 children between 8 and 12 years old in El Salvador work in the country and in the cities. 63% of these children have left school to contribute to their family's economic base or simply to survive.

The proliferation of child labor in El Salvador has shamefully put this country at the "head" of Central America with this social scourge.

Honduran children also endure a similar situation. According to the humanitarian organization Casa Alianza, almost 300,000 children work in that country. Most of them also beg, sell various items such as cookies and candy on the streets, and lug packages in the markets.

Casa Alianza affirms that 40% of these children are under 10 years old. It adds that working girls start productive activities at 11, especially in the streets.

It is estimated that there are about 3.5 million working children in Central America. But the situation of Central American children may not be different from that of children all over Latin America.

According to the ILO, there are over 15 million working children in Latin American, many of them in dangerous and unhealthy conditions, both physically and emotionally.

The reports states that half of the working children are between 6 and 14 years old, and they earn miserable salaries. In the case of girls working as maids, they may end up as prostitutes after suffering from sexual abuse at the hands of their employers.

One example is Haiti, where there are more than 250,000 girls working as "cinderellas," which are maids, and 75% of them cannot read or write.

Brazil is another country in the continent where child exploitation has increased. It is estimated that in the South American giant nation there are more than 3.3 million children between 10 and 14 years old who work as adults.

What is sad about the situation is that many of the children who try to earn a living on the streets risk their lives.

Fascist-like groups periodically emerge in Latin America which contract the murder of street children and children who beg in order to "clean" the image of the city.

The proliferation of social conflicts in Latin American, such as child labor, must attract the attention of politicians, specialists and, above, all, governments.

The children are not responsible for their families' economic problems, and the families are not either. All this is a reflection of current societies in the so-called "Third World" countries.

The children have rights, and it behooves everybody to make certain that these rights are respected.

Carlos Quintanilla produces and hosts KPFK's Spanish language news program "Noticiero Pacifica" which is broadcast on 90.7 FM every Saturday at 5:30 PM. Noticiero Pacifica is the only independent, alternative news program focusing on Latin America in the Los Angeles Area.