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Need for
eliminating child labor stressed
Karachi: Like elsewhere across the globe, Pakistan
will observe the World Day Against Child Labor
on June 12 reaffirming its commitment to combat
the menace and help develop an atmosphere congenial
for all children.
This year’s theme for the World Day Against
Child Labour-2007 is “Make your homes child
labor free” with extreme relevance to developing
countries like ours where services of children
are often hired as domestic help.
Several NGOs along with relevant departments,
including the social welfare department, both
at federal and provincial levels are attempting
to come up with a comprehensive approach to protect
children against possible exploitation and pressures
denying them of their rights of education, health
and quality life.
On the eve of the World Day Against Child Labor,
a seminar with the theme “Make your homes
child labor free” was organized by the Karachi
chapter of Society for the Protection of the Rights
of the Child on Monday. The event was aimed at
sensitizing government employees, civil society
actors and teachers and parents about the fundamental
rights of children and motivating them to help
curb the menace of domestic child labor.
Addressing the seminar, Sindh Social Department
Coordinator Qurban Ali Memon said the country’s
constitution guaranteed equal rights for education
and health to all children irrespective of their
caste, creed and origin. He said the child labor
was destroying the future of nation as it kept
a large number of the coming generations illiterate
and ignorant of their rights.
Discussing the national and international legislation
regarding child rights, he said the constitution
guaranteed protection of children’s mental
and physical health.
Salam Dharejo of SPARC referred to the UN Convention
on the Rights of the Child, 1989, mentioning that
the convention urged the governments to protect
children from work that threatens their health,
education or development. He pointed out that
Pakistan had ratified the ILO Convention which
bound it to take actions for the elimination of
the worst forms of child labor. However, he said,
despite all legislation child labor was growing
in many parts of the country.
Nazra Jahan spoke on the activities of 15 child
rights clubs working in Karachi and the strategies
they had adopted to curb the menace. Alina, a
student of secondary school, shared her experience
as how education and school environment supported
in nourishment of the children. She said the children
who could not attend the school were deprived
of their basic right of education.
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