Fehmida for collective efforts to eliminate child labour

Speaker National Assembly, Dr Fehmida Mirza, on Saturday called upon states, organisations working for protection of the child rights and individual for collective efforts to eliminate the bane of child labour. She said this in her message on the eve of Child Labour Day being commemorated on Sunday throughput the globe.
She said that children were the hope of mankind and continuity of human species and needed to be protected from child labour and other abuses. The Speaker said that millions of girls and boys in the world were engaged in child labour, which deprived them of education, health and basic freedom.
Dr Fehmida said that basic human rights conventions guarantee fundamental rights and freedom to adults and children without any discrimination; therefore recognition of equal status, organisations and individuals to accord priority and set goals and strategies and actions to improve the lives of the children and to protect them from child labour.
The Speaker said that the employment of children under 14 was a matter of great concern. She said that this is not an age to work and collect livelihood. She said that this is learning stage for the children and to move freely to enjoy their freedom.
She said that as per International Labour Organisation statistics more than 215 million children are in labour world over wide of which 115 million are in hazardous work. The Speaker called upon adaptation of benevolent and compassionate posture towards disadvantaged children so that they could have access to basic living essential rather than being forced to engage in demanding and non-empowering jobs, early marriages, warfare and other situations impeding their growth and well being. She stressed for creating job opportunities for the underprivileged communities so that their children were not forced into child labour.