President M Abdul Hamid on Tuesday asked all concerned including guardians, employers, civil society, mass-media, labour organisations and different human rights bodies to ensure a children-friendly environment for preventing child-labour and help flourish their potentials.
“United effort is a must to build each child as an ideal human resource through ensuring traditional or non-traditional and vocational education,” the President said while addressing a discussion on “World Day Against Child Labour,” at a city hotel.
President Hamid stressed the need for chalking out a suitable work plan or policy and subsequently its proper implementation to end child labour. He mentioned that the government has in the meantime taken various pragmatic steps identifying some 38 risky jobs for children.
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and the International Labour Organization (ILO) jointly organized the discussion on the day, its theme being “In conflicts and disasters, protect children from child labour”.
Abdul Hamid said, “The child labour is yet to be eliminated from the developing world like Bangladesh and it (child Labour) is still being seen at households, agriculture, industry, transport sector and many other risky professions due to socio-economic circumstances.”
The President laid emphasis on finding out sustainable solution to eliminate child labour from the country and ensure children-friendly society.
He said the government has already announced the National Child Labour Elimination Policy 2010 to remove child labour, while vocational and technical education were given to children.
President Hamid said child labour has been reduced by about 50 percent over 10 years from 2003 due to various measures taken by the government.
About the plight of children, he said they become the worst victims of any disaster and child trafficking and violence, disparity or unjust against them create impediments to their development.
The President said around 1.5 billion people are now victims of conflicts and violence globally while about 200 million people suffer from natural disasters making them homeless and forcing them to be migrated.
“The homeless children are becoming victims of trafficking or risky child labour. Many start begging.
Millions of children are suffering from hunger and malnutrition in different parts of the world,” he said, stressing the need for taking effective initiatives at international level to save these children.
Law Minister Anisul Huq, State Minister for Labour and Employment Mohammad Mujibul Haque, National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) Chairman Kazi Reazul Hoque, eminent lawyer Barrister Amir-Ul Islam, General Secretary of National Coordination Committee for Workers Education (NCCWE) Chowdhury Ashikul Alam, General Secretary of Bangladesh Employers Association (BEA) Farooq Ahmed and Country Director of International Labour Organization (ILO), Bangladesh, Srinivas Reddy, were, among others, present at the function.
