The National Steering Committee for the Prevention and Eradication of Child Labor of Peru, - CPETI - convened the political groups participating in the 2016 presidential elections to present their proposals regarding the prevention and eradication of child labor. The call was answered by eight representatives of seven political parties in contention. 

After the presentation of the candidates and an open dialogue, Yolanda Erazo Flores, President of the National Committee, handed over to each of the representatives the document entitled  "Proposals for a Minimum Government Agenda on the Prevention and Eradication of Child Labor 2016 - 2021 ” , in which five key aspects are prioritized to address the issue, among them, the allocation of public budget, the strengthening and creation of public programs for the care of children and adolescents in a situation of child labor and the strengthening the decentralization process of the national policy on child labor.

Here is a summary of the representatives' interventions:

• Mercedes Aráoz, representative of the "Peruanos por el Kambio" party:   "Child labor is a multidimensional phenomenon ... families must be included and taken out of extreme poverty with programs that provide opportunities and improve their quality of life," said Aráoz. He stated that “it must be guaranteed that children are not abandoned through residential care centers; reduce adolescent pregnancy by 20% and have comprehensive sexuality education in the school curriculum; have social programs that commit parents to send their children to school "" and, on the issue of human trafficking, he said that "there must be severe sanctions and support for the victims." Finally, Aráoz pointed out that "we must work in a coordinated way on the budget issue.
• Eda Aguilar, representative of the “Alliance for Progress” party :  “Emotional poverty is what is affecting the development of children. The great traumas of childhood cause them to be insecure and unhappy and have families with problems and adults that only contribute to conflict ”. He added that "there are two points, educational and comprehensive-emotional health, to develop capacities and skills and avoid problems within a framework of situations and risk for children and adolescents."
• Manuel Benza and Anahí Durant, representatives of the "Broad Front" party : They pointed out that "it is about State policies and about changing the Constitution, the way of thinking." They added that “within the framework of the discussion of the proposal for a new General Labor Law, the evaluation of the minimum age for work should be included, which should be increased to 15 years and for criminal forms, an efficient role should be promoted. in the control and sanction. They emphasized that care programs should be continued and improved ”. Finally, they expressed that “gender and intercultural approaches must be taken into account and seek to have more precise diagnoses. The work must be intersectoral and comprehensively addressed ”.
• Enrique Cornejo, representative of "Alianza Popular" :  "Issues such as child labor, so sensitive and important, should be a policy of seeking consensus ... there should be no political color," he said. He argued that sustainable policies should be planned, because "poverty will only go down if we work on policies not for the next government but for the next four or five governments, for example, for territorial conditioning." In this sense, he pointed out that "programs must be strengthened and their targeting improved."
• Carmen Omonte, representative of the "Peru Posible" party: “Most of the children work to help their family financially. There is a strong relationship between poverty and child labor, therefore, the party proposes to continue working to eradicate poverty, for genuine social inclusion and to improve opportunities ”. He added that "the State must continue to guarantee free and compulsory access to quality education up to the minimum age for admission to employment and offer families a decent job." Finally, regarding the regulations on child labor, the representative indicated that “an urgent review is required in light of the ILO conventions, strengthening programs and projects for the prevention and eradication of child labor, as well as fostering strategic alliances to reach the goal by 2021 to eradicate all forms of child labor in the country ”.
• Carlos Torres, representative of the "Orden" party : "Child labor generates a cost of insecurity, corruption and national frustration, therefore a country must first ensure the situation of their childhood," he stressed. He also pointed out that “Peru is within the highest growth standards worldwide, however, we live with security and corruption problems. Having children with a lack of civic training and adequate education is what leads them to be part of those who produce such citizen insecurity ”. Consequently, Torres added, "not having as a State policy the issue of child labor is worrying" and therefore we propose "to put order in the State institutions, establishing the appropriate priorities such as eradicating child labor and carrying out a multisectoral work between government institutions,
• Patricia Lazo, representative of the "Popular Action" party:  "Efforts to prevent and eradicate child labor must go beyond the desk," she said. He added that "actions must begin with the involvement of parents in the formation of values" and said that "Although children can support their parents in some tasks, they should not stop educating themselves and for this a good feeding". He concluded by stating that "it is important to provide the necessary education and health services in favor of children and adolescents."

In summary, the interventions agreed that child labor is a multidimensional phenomenon for which multisectoral and inter-institutional decisions and actions are needed within the framework of a Estavo policy in favor of children and adolescents. For this, most parties highlighted the reinforcement of educational and health programs, as well as care programs, and agreed that the main axis to address the reality of the 1.65 million children and adolescents who work in Peru is the reduction of poverty and the generation of better opportunities for decent employment for parents and young people.