The U.S. Embassy is proud to announce the selection of Alain-Georges Moukoko as the recipient of the U.S. Department of Labor’s 2015 Iqbal Masih Award for the Elimination of Child Labor.
Through his extraordinary efforts to combat child labor in Gabon since 2007, Prosecutor Alain-Georges Moukoko has mounted legal investigations against exploiters of child labor leading to arrested traffickers, rescued children, and raised awareness of child labor exploitation in Gabon and abroad.
Mr. Moukoko’s efforts continue to inspire colleagues and political leaders to contribute to the effort against child labor exploitation. He has trained magistrates, prosecutors, gendarmes, and police officers how to identify, investigate, and prosecute exploiters of child labor and how to identify and assist victims.
The United States Congress established the Iqbal Masih Award for the Elimination of Child Labor in 2008 to recognize exceptional efforts by an individual, company, organization or national government to end the worst forms of child labor. The award reflects the spirit of Iqbal Masih, a Pakistani child sold into bonded labor as a carpet weaver at age 4. He escaped his servitude at age 10 and became an outspoken advocate of children’s rights, drawing international attention in his fight against child labor. Masih was killed in Pakistan at age 13 in 1995.
If you would like to learn more about the Iqbal Masih Award and the Department of Labor’s efforts to combat exploitative child labor, visit the website of the Office of Child Labor, Forced Labor and Human Trafficking, at www.dol.gov/ilab.
