ABBOTTABAD, June 13: The Society for the Protection of the Rights of the Child (Sparc) organized a consultation on the worst forms of child labour in connection with the universal child labour day in the press club here on Friday.

Sparc’s deputy national coordinator Arshad Mahmood told the participants about the worst forms of child labour convention and  the steps being taken by the government  since  its ratification in August 2001.

He also talked about 29 hazardous occupations’ list prepared by the ILO and the ministry of social welfare and women development in the light of the convention.

He spoke about the salient features of employment of children act 1991 and bonded labour system abolition act 1992 and the state of implementation.

He said laws without proper implementation were not going to bring any change in the lives of millions of working children in the country and this exploitation would continue unless “we have a political will to overcome the menace”.

Faizullah  Khan,  assistant director  of labour  department, Abbottabad, said the department was trying to play its role actively in the gradual elimination of child and bonded labour from the district, but it would not be possible without the active involvement of community and all other stakeholders in the process.

He said elimination of child labour would be possible only with the active involvement of all the  stakeholders including the employers’ organizations, transporters’ associations, workshop owners and hotel and restaurant owners’ associations.

Safdar Raza of Plan International Pakistan, an NGO, said that a large number of children were self-employed and there was a need to have proper planning about them as, he remarked, the existing laws were silent about the self-employed children.

He said the use of children as soldiers was also a worst form of child labour and should be included in the convention.