Today, on the occasion of the World Child Labor Prevention Day, the President Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina gave a separate message. The theme of this year’s World Child Labor Prevention Day is ‘Call for Mujib’s Year, End Child Labor’.
President Abdul Hamid said, this year’s celebration of World Child Labor Day is of special significance as the United Nations has declared 2021 as the International Year for the Elimination of Child Labor. Child labor is a national problem. If we want to build a developed and prosperous Bangladesh, there is no alternative but to ensure the overall welfare of the children and make them worthy citizens. And that is why it is necessary to ensure proper development of the child through compulsory education by eliminating child labor.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said, “We are determined to ensure the education, safety and health of the future generations of the country, including children.” Our government has ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and the ILO Convention on the Risk of Child Labor. The National Child Labor Elimination Policy-2010 has been formulated with the aim of eliminating child labor. To achieve the SDG targets, the country needs to be free from all forms of child labor by 2025. With the SDGs in mind, the term of the National Action Plan has been fixed till 2025. The National Child Labor Welfare Council is working to implement this action plan. To ensure the rights and protection of children engaged in domestic work, ‘Domestic Worker Protection and Welfare Policy-2015’ has been formulated.
Mentioning that Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman enacted Children’s Act in 1974 and made primary education compulsory, he said the present Awami League government has enacted National Child Policy-2011, Children’s Act-2013, Child Marriage Prohibition Act-2017 along with various development and protection activities. In addition, programs are being implemented to celebrate National and International Children’s Day, rehabilitate disadvantaged street children and develop children with special needs.
Noting that the Awami League government is determined to make the beloved motherland a safe heaven for children, the Prime Minister said free textbooks are being provided to students at the beginning of the year. About 100% of the children are going to school. As a result of timely steps taken by the government, the number of children engaged in child labor survey in 2013 has come down to 1.6 million. Various programs are being implemented to eradicate child labor. With the successful implementation of these programs and the joint efforts of all, it is possible to eradicate child labor from the country.
