Commemoration of the 2024 World Day Against Child Labour. Theme: “Let's act on our commitments: End Child Labour!”
Posted on: 13th June, 2024 By: NRDO Uganda 10 min readKAMPALA - 12th June of every year marks the commemoration of the World Day Against Child Labour (WDACL), which is an International Labour Organization-sanctioned holiday first launched in 2002 aiming to raise awareness and activism to prevent child labour. This year’s theme “Let's act on our commitments: End Child Labour!” comes at the time when Child Labour cases are increasing both globally and nationally.
A joint report by the International Labour Organisation and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) revealed that an estimated 160 million children, comprising 63 million girls and 97 million boys, are engaged in child labour globally. In Africa, approximately 92 million children aged 5 - 17 years are involved in child labour. Incidents of child labour in Uganda increased from 21% to 36% during the COVID-19 pandemic, with 1 in 10 school children not returning to school even after reopening. The recent UBOS National Labour Force Survey (NLFS) in 2021 highlighted that around 6.2 million children aged 5 - 17 years are involved in child labour, excluding household work, with higher rates in rural areas compared to urban areas.
The WDACL commemoration event took place at Mestil Hotel in Nsambya, Kampala Uganda where several representatives from government, agencies, CSO’s and other stakeholders gathered to find a way forward to the increasing numbers of child labour. There was focus on promoting concrete actions and fulfilling the commitments of ending child labour by 2025, which was at the heart of the Durban Call of Action, adopted at the 5th Global Conference for Elimination of Child Labour in May 2022 in South Africa.
The Assistant Commissioner for Youth, and Children Affairs at the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development, Tollea Franco acknowledged the increasing cases of child labour and said that they are taking steps to curb the vice by training more labour officers, senior probation and welfare officers, and community development officers.
The Federation of Uganda Employers (FUE), Employment Relations Specialist, Geoffrey Kabi, said that they are actively supporting training enterprises across several sectors on child labour due diligence and supporting members to take practical steps to implement sustainable farming practices that reduce potential loopholes for the need of children on farms.
The Director International Labour Organisation (ILO) in East Africa, Khamati Mugalla said that child labour is both a cause and an effect of poverty and they will continue to support the government in improving access to quality education and training through vocational training, skilling, and upskilling of the many children who are dropping out of school in recent years. She assured participants that a world free of child labour is achievable and in our reach.
The Commissioner for Equity and Rights, Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development, Benard Mujuni said that the World Day Against Child Labour emphasizes the importance of social partners, the private sector, and civil society, especially to come together, mobilizing resources, and create platforms for the elimination of child labour.
Speaking at the event, the European Union (EU) in Uganda Head of Governance and Social Inclusion, Nicolas Gonze noted the continuing support by EU to Uganda in tackling child labour in the coffee and sugar supply chains. "Let us renew our collective commitment to free children from labour so they can remain in school and pursue their dreams”, he added.
The chief guest, Hon. Balaam Barugahara Ateenyi, Minister of State for Gender, Labour, and Social Development, In-Charge of Children and Youth Affairs, noted that the theme of the WDACL was chosen to acknowledge the 25th anniversary of the universal ratification of Convention No. 182 (1999) on the Worst Forms of Child Labour by all the ILO Member States. It also emphasizes the significance of ratifying Convention No. 138 (1973) on the Minimum Age for Admission to Employment for all ILO member states.
In an effort to end child labour, Nascent Research and Development Organization Uganda (Nascent RDO) continues to support and empower vulnerable and underserved communities through her child labour programmes that contribute to improvement of household incomes, livelihoods, health access, education and better standards of living.
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