The 5th Global Conference on the Elimination of Child Labour under way in Durban will on Thursday host a child participation session for the first time in its history.
The Department of Social Development said the move was “in line with the country’s Constitution and Article 12 of the United Nations on the Rights of the Child and the African Charter of the Rights and Welfare of the Child”.
The children’s session at the conference will include an intergenerational dialogue where children and policymakers will discuss solutions to eliminate child labour.
“It is expected that in this session, children will be representing all the children of the world where they will share their experiences of child labour and outline their proposals and recommendations for Governments and policymakers,” said the department on wednesday.
“It is estimated that 164 million children around the world are affected by child labour, 600 000 of whom are in South Africa. The session will be addressed by the CEO of the Humans Rights Commission of South Africa.”
The session will be attended by children from the five ILO Regions who will join in physically and virtually.
The conference ends on Friday.
Click to watch: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKCziUvIpeeZYCzqlx5KQuw
