30 September 2004	Thursday	14 Shaban 1425

ISLAMABAD, Sept 29: Participants of a workshop on Wednesday stressed the need for more powerful role of print and electronic media in highlighting child labour-related issues.

The workshop on 'Child Domestic Work and Role of Journalism' had been organized by the International Labour Organization (ILO). Representatives of various NGOs, print and electronic media and the government participated in the event in a bid to devise a joint strategy for highlighting and solving the issue.

They said media was already playing a proactive role in highlighting various social issues including child labour phenomenon from various angles. However, media had still a long way to go for creating awareness among all stakeholders regarding the chronic issue.

The ILO director, Donglin Li, in his inaugural speech, said Pakistan had succeeded in removing about 95 per cent of child labourers from soccer ball industry. The country, he said, had also been successful in countering child labour in the carpet industry.

However, he said the government had to do more to free industries like fishing, mining and bangle-making from child labour. The number of domestic underage labourers, he said, had increased considerably and needed to be checked.

In his keynote speech, Sparc director Anees Jillani said even if the existing child labour and juvenile related laws were implemented in letter and spirit the situation could be improved considerably.

On the occasion, ethical guidelines for reporting on child issues were also discussed. Participants said reporting on children and young people had its special challenges. It could also place children at risk of retribution and stigmatization, they said.

While reporting, the dignity and rights of every child should be respected under all circumstances and their privacy protected. A story or image should not be published which might put the child, siblings or peers at risk even when their identities were changed, they added.

They asked the print media to publish special and investigative reports on evils revolving around child labour including prostitution, drug-trafficking and sexual and physical abuses. The print media should allocate more space to the issue, they added.

The participants said the electronic media should allocate more time to the problems faced by children. The number of private channels and radio stations were mushrooming in the country, therefore, they should also broadcast and telecast various documentaries and special programmes on child issue in order to create awareness among the masses.

Images, they said, had greater effect than words, therefore, electronic media could play a more vital role in this regard. Similarly, radio had a greater target population compared to both television and print media, therefore, special and exclusive programmes should be produced for radio channels to sensitize maximum people of the rural areas. They highlighted the issues of domestic child labourers and asked the government to solve the issue.