PESHAWAR, Dec 20: The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and the International Labour Organisation on Wednesday launched a $1.5 million programme aimed at combating child labour in hazardous sectors.

The two international agencies launched the project in collaboration with the NWFP government.

The project aims to reach some 6,000 children working in auto workshops, brick kilns, furniture factories and farms in Peshawar, Nowshera, Charsadda and Mardan districts over a period of two years.

The programme is funded by the SDC and will be executed by the ILO’s International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour between January 2007 and December 2008.

Swiss Ambassador Markus Peter and ILO’s director Donglin Li signed an agreement and formally launched the project that will seek to enhance the human, social and physical capacities of the target people, their families and communities.

Markus Peter reiterated the Swiss government’s commitment to assist in the effort and said that it would assist the ILO in eliminating child labour from Pakistan’s informal and unregulated industrial sectors.

Donglin Li, ILO’s director thanked the Swiss government and the SDC for its effective partnership with the global labour organisation and said: “Child labour is not inevitable. We know there is no simple solution.

“However, our efforts must continue to eradicate child labour and strategies for this have to reflect ground realities, national priorities, and be backed by political will.

“We must remain focused on the goal of (providing) decent work for parents, education for children, and creating opportunities for young people through skills and vocational training.”

Raja Faiz, labour adviser of the federal ministry of labour, manpower and overseas Pakistanis said his ministry was ready to undertake policy reviews and to integrate child labour issues with development plans.

The project would provide support to the government in developing strategies to combat child labour, besides strengthening the Child Labour Unit of the NWFP government’s directorate of industries, commerce and labour, enabling it to act as a coordinating unit among donors, non-governmental organisations and various government ministries. —PPI