LHC moved for elimination of child labour

LAHORE
The Lahore High Court has been requested through a constitutional petition to issue directions to the government to conduct an extensive national survey in order to eliminate child labour in the country and order the government to register criminal cases against the persons involved in this menace under Employment of Children Act, 1991.
Chairman Human Safety Commission Pir Muhammad Ali Gilani Advocate has filed this petition in the interest of public at large.
The petitioner said child labour continues to remain a crucial issue in Pakistan as millions of children are exposed to work activities that are detrimental to their physical and emotional development. Apart from being mentally, morally and physically dangerous, the petitioner said, child labour prevents children from realising their basic rights to education - a right which can safeguard their future and ensure their protection against violence and economic exploitation. He added that children engaged in work activities are either deprived of school education or family love and care. These children could be exposed to debt bondage, sex slavery, and recruitment in armed conflicts as child soldiers, he said, adding that these more intense forms of child labour also trigger both internal and external child trafficking as criminal sell abducted children to prostitution and begging rings.
The petitioner pointed out that child labour is a condemnable phenomenon and elimination of child labour is a feasible objective. It must be eradicated altogether, for democratic and healthy growth of the society.
The children should grow into adulthood through love and care, education and training. He said that the awareness of the problem provided basis for the enactment of the Employment of Children Act, 1991 followed by a number of administrative and other initiatives to address the issue of child labour. The petitioner stated that the government took child labour little serious when Pakistan's trade privileges were adversely affected with the filing of cases against the country before the United States Trade Representative and subsequently before the European Commission by The American Federation of Labour and Congress of Industrial Organisations (AFL-CIO) in 1993 and International Confederation of Free Trade Unions(ICFTU) in 1995,respectively on the allegation of widespread incidence of child and bonded labour. Because of the above-mentioned pressure, the petitioner said, Pakistan signed ILO-IPEC Memorandum of Understanding on June 21, 1994. The petitioner pointed out that government has failed to conduct a specialised survey to determine the extent and types of child labour in the country and the last child labour survey was undertaken in 1996, which estimated that there were 3.3 million underage labourers in Pakistan. In 2012, a comprehensive survey on child labour was delayed because of bureaucratic complexities arising in the aftermath of 18th Constitutional Amendment.
The petitioner said as per International Labour Organisation, the number of child labourers in Pakistan exceeded 12 million in the country in 2012 and Unicef reported that around 7.3 million children of primary school going age do not attend school. The Chairman HSCP said under the National Plan of Action Pakistan Baitul Maal had set up more than 80 centres on papers to rehabilitate children working in hazardous occupations by imparting non-formal education (NFE). According to Baitul Maal officials, children are given a daily stipend of Rs10 as an incentive, in addition to uniforms, shoes, other clothing and means during school hours. Parents are paid Rs4,100 per year. However, the petitioner alleged that actually the above-mentioned money is going into the pockets of high-ups and nothing is spent on the welfare of such children.