With 3.3 million child laborers officially acknowledged, and millions more potential child laborers, projects that target only thousands of children can hardly be expected to make a dent on the problem. SPARC starts with the belief that child labor under the age of 16 can be eliminated, but only through macro-level policies and the political commitment and resources to implement them.
Policies and interventions must recognize that child labor, illiteracy and poverty are intrinsically linked: no one problem can be solved without considering the other two, nor is it feasible to expect that solving any one issue will automatically solve the other two.
As a first step, however, child labor in its hazardous and exploitative forms should be completely eradicated. The government ratified the ILO Convention on the Worst Forms of Child Labor (182) in August 2001 and is obligated to take steps to remove children from these occupations. A first step would be to include the National List of Hazardous Forms of Child Labor for Pakistan under the schedule of occupations in which the employment of children is prohibited under the Employment of Children Act 1991.
SPARC concentrates its efforts on raising awareness about child labor in Pakistan and encouraging the government to implement existing legislation prohibiting child labor and bringing about necessary reforms to keep children out of hazardous forms of work. An important annual activity is SPARC’s nationwide Child Labor-Free Week, November 13-20. SPARC has published numerous brochures on child labor and produced a series of 10 radio messages on child labor and two documentaries, one on child labor in Pakistan and the other on the girl child in Lahore’s Red Light area.
Global March Against Child Labor
The Global March Against Child Labor passed through more than 100 countries worldwide and culminated in Geneva in June 1998 when the ILO Labor Assembly was considering the Worst Forms of Child Labor Convention.
SPARC was national coordinator of the March in Pakistan. The Federal Minister for Labor was present to welcome the Marchers as they entered Pakistan and issued a statement expressing his resolve to eliminate child labor from the country.
SPARC invited people and organizations from cities that were not along the March route, especially the Frontier Province, also to join the Marchers. Even in towns where activities were not planned, the community organized a spontaneous gathering so that the message of the Global March could be shared.
Past activities related to child labor in SPARC’s 10-Year Report
| • | SPARC Resources on Child Labor |
| • | Child Labor: The Legal Aspects |
| • | The State of Child Labor in South Asia |
| • | Child Labor in Islamabad |
| • | Our Responsibilities Towards Working Children Brochure, free of cost, available in Urdu, Description |
| • | Safeguards for Children Working in Workshops |
| • | Child Labor: The Conspiracy of Silence Brochure, free of cost, available in English and Urdu, Description |
| • | The Sanders Amendment Brochure, free of cost, available in English and Urdu, Description |
| • | The Harkin Bill |
| • | The Child Labor Free Consumer Information Act Brochure, free of cost, available in English and Urdu, Description |
| • | The International Child Labor Elimination Act Brochure, free of cost, available in English and Urdu, Description |
| • | Laws and Labor Issues in the Tribal Areas Brochure, free of cost, available in English and Urdu, Description |
| • | US Laws Against Child Labor in Foreign Countries Brochure, free of cost, available in Urdu, Description |
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