Children Rights Advocate and 2014 Nobel Peace Prize Winner Kailash Satyarthi has lambasted the rich nations of the world, saying their discriminatory attitude towards poor nations was at the heart of the persistence of the problem, which is rife in Africa.
Speaking during the opening plenary of the 5th Global Conference on the Elimination of Child Labour at the Durban International Convention Centre, Satyarthi has urged rich nations to play their role in fighting the increasing global dilemma.
“You cannot blame Africa. It is happening because of the discriminatory world order. It is this still the age-old racial discriminatory [issue]. We cannot end child labour without ending child labour in Africa.”
The International Labour Organisation (ILO) describes the child labour as work that “deprives children of their childhood, their potential and their dignity, and that is harmful to physical and mental development” while Unesco describes working children as child labourers when they are either too young to work or are involved in hazardous activities that may compromise their physical, mental, social or educational development.
The 5th conference’s aim, the first to be held in Africa, is to share good practice and to push for accelerated action towards elimination of child labour. It also aims to assess progress made towards achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) regarding child labour.
Satyarthi says he refused to believe the world has no resources to eliminate the problem.
“I don’t want to lose the hope. We are the people and the time is now. Let us march for the dignity of every human being. Let us march.”
This originally appeared in The SABC News
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