Accra, March 14, - Mr Kailash
Satyarthi, the 2014 Nobel Laureate, and Founder of the Global March Against
Child Labour, has urged religious and community leaders and civil society
organisations in the country to join the campaign against child labour.
He said many children around the
world continued to face various forms of abuses, including child slavery, child
trafficking, child marriages, and denial of education, among others, which
adversely affected their wellbeing and mental development.
He noted that child labour was
pervasive globally because people still believed it was a part of their culture
and called for social consciousness to eradicate the canker.
Mr Satyarthi said this when led a
delegation to pay a courtesy call on Mr Ignatius Baffour-Awuah, the Minister of
Employment and Labour Relations, at the Ministry in Accra on Wednesday.
Mr Satyarthi invited the Minister
to the launch of the Global Campaign Against Child Labour and the 100 Million
Campaign Against Child Labour on March 16 at the Accra International Conference
Centre.
The International Labour
Organisation defined “Child Labour” as work that deprives children of their
childhood, potential and dignity, which is harmful to their physical and mental
development.
The campaign is intended to
mobilise stakeholders at all levels including children, the youth, communities,
parliamentarians, governments, education actors, labour unions, employers,
civil society organisations and development partners on in Africa to stand
against child labour.
The launch has come at an
opportune time when Ghana is preparing to launch and implement the Second Phase
of the National Plan of Action for the Eradication of Worst Forms of Child
Labour.
The move would enable the nation
to mobilise relevant stakeholders and resources to fight against the
phenomenon.
The 100 Million Global Campaign
Against Child Labour has already been launched in India, the United Kingdom,
Chile, Brazil and Bangladesh.
Mr Baffour-Awuah lauded Mr
Satyarthi for leading the crusade against child labour, noting that about 1.9
million children globally were engaged in child labour, out of which 1.2
million were estimated to be involved in the worst forms of child labour.
He said the incidents of child
labour in Ghana was prevalent in the fishing, illegal small-scale mining and
agricultural sectors, and gave the assurance that the Government would
collaborate with him to fight the canker.
Mr Augustine Saakuur-Karbo, the
General-Secretary of the Teachers and Educational Workers Union, said the
Education International, which TEWU is an affiliate member, was the local
coordinator for the 100 million Campaign against Child Labour.
He said TEWU would continue to
fight against the various hazardous activities children were exposed to, and
urged government not to relent in its efforts to fight against the menace.
Mr Kailash Satyarthi is a human
rights activist from India who has been at the forefront of the global movement
to end child slavery and exploitation since 1980.
He gave up a lucrative career as
an electrical engineer to initiate a crusade against child servitude.
He had liberated more than 83,000
children from exploitation and developed a successful model for their
education, rehabilitation and reintegration into the mainstream society.
As a worldwide campaigner, he has
been the architect of the single largest civil society network for the most
exploited children, the Global March Against Child Labour, which is a worldwide
coalition of children's rights organisations, teachers' and trades unions.
GNA
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