Nobel Laureate Kailash Satyarthi on Thursday called on all countries to ratify an International Labour Organisation (ILO) protocol against forced labour and ensure inclusion of the goal of abolition of child slavery in the sustainable development goals (SDGs).
"The Forced Labour Protocol has to be ratified and implemented by every single country and I urge for it. That is very, very important to stop trafficking and forced labour. I also urge the member countries of the UN that we cannot ignore abolition of child slavery in the SDGs," Satyarthi said, speaking at the 104th session of the International Labour Convention (ILC).
"Child labour is decreasing but child trafficking and child slavery is not decreasing and have remained stagnant at 5.5 million children still working as forced labourers," the child rights campaigner and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate said.
He said there are still 168 million child labourers, more than half in dangerous forms of work, including as child soldiers and child prostitutes.
Stating that disasters resulting from climate change increases child trafficking, Satyarthi said the government agencies should have a child friendly approach in disaster management situations, especially with respect to vulnerabilities towards child abuse and child trafficking.
"We know how climate change is affecting the disruption of weather which is directly affecting agriculture. 60 per cent of child labourers work in the agriculture sector and if the weather is disrupted in terms of rains, floods and other kinds of things then children are the worst victims," said the Nobel Laureate.
"A number of children, and we suspect many of them are Bangladeshi children, who were forced to come to India are working in the mining area, what we call the Jantia mines in north east of India," he said explaining how child trafficking increases due to climate change-related displacements.
The theme of this year's ILC is Climate Change and the World of Work. Over 4,400 delegates from governments, trade unions and employers are attending the ILC this year with 29 delegates from India including Union Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya, and the state ministers of labour from Gujarat, Telangana and Madhya Pradesh.
