Sunday June 12, 2016
Kabul (BNA) June 12th is the world day of children labor prohibition. Based on the latest global data, 120m to 150m children between 5-14 years throughout the world have to support their families instead of education. According to ILO, the reasons behind children labor are poverty, lack of social supports and failure of some societies to guarantee providing services for children education until at least the certain age. Article 32 of World Children Rights Treaty (WCRT) says, children should be supported against any job that threatens their health and the governments have to determine least age and conditions of children labor. Article 26 of the WCRT says, every child has the right to enjoy social insurance while article 27 of the WCRT emphasizes that children should enjoy such a living condition that must guarantee their physical, mental and social growth.
The WCRT is an international treaty that mainly focuses on the four pivots of children survival, growth, support and partnership. In Afghanistan no certain strategy has been setup for improvement of children living conditions. This part of the earth has been still recognized as the worst place for children living. According to the officials of the Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs Martyrs and Handicapped, at present over 6.5 m vulnerable children exist in this country out of which nearly two million are laborers practically and over 50pc of these laborers are involved in heavy works. This is a shocking data in a country with less than 30 million populations that displays unpleasant situation of the country’s children. These unpleasant situations are the results of different interrelated reasons including poverty, insecurity, old culture of children labor, illiteracy and unawareness of improper consequences of child labor. Majority of critics accuse relevant officials of children affairs to failure but address insecurities, lack of national budged for protection of vulnerable children and non-implementation of laws in the country’s courts is the major reasons of children unpleasant situations these children are involved in heavy labors including work in fields, specially drug fields, wondering, shepherd business, mechanical workshops and worst of all begging. The situation of beggar children leaves unpleasant effects on the children.
The problems of Afghan children cannot be limited to hard jobs they are facing other challenges including sexual abuse, raping, trafficking, kidnaping, compulsory marriages, forceful exploitation, addiction etc. While children should go to school and get educated and gain essential capabilities needed for a proper occupation in their elder but arriving in the labor market, they became deprive of everything that could withdraw them and their families from the circle of poverty. Some children may be forced to be involved physically, mentally or morally in such works that could result in long term damages. If this problem is not tackled it would create very dangerous and critical consequences because this innocent generation would remain educated and would be changed to professional criminals in the future.
Lailuma Noori