Child Labour: A need for intervention

ByIshi Agarwal

World Day Against Child Labour was launched by International Labour Organisation in 2002. The main aim was to create awareness about the riseinchild labour and the measures necessary to do away with it.The right to education, which is supposed to be a necessity has become a luxury toady which most of the children cannot afford. Millions of children around the world do not even have the accessto basic education.Even in the 21st century, there are children who are barred from the basic amenities of life.

Companies blinded by money go for cheap labour and end up employing children from poor families (Others)

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More than 200 million children are engaged in child labour around the world,out of which around 120 million are involved in hazardous works.To save costs, some companiesgo for cheap labour and end up employing children from poor families. Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest number of child labourers. Most of these children work on farms to produce cocoa, coffee, cottonand other products. Even though the global numbers have declined over the years, there is still an urgent need to take major steps regarding the issue. These children continue to be deprived of the things a child should get, like a playtime.All their time is spent in slavery and forced labour.

All the time these children have is spent in slavery and forced labour (Others)

'Convention on the Rights of a Child' was adopted by the United Nations in 1990. Further, in 1991, the ILO led the Worst Forms of Child LabourConventionwhich restricted debt bondage, drug production and trafficking, prostitution, any hazardous work and forced recruitment of children. With increasingawareness, the number has fallen from 245 million to 168 million.

It has been repeatedly said that children are the future of the nation but if children don'thave a bright childhood, how will they have a bright future. Andif they do not havea bright future, how will the world see one?

The main aim of the campaign was to create awareness about the rising level of child labour (AFP)