Ministers Highlight Curse Of Bonded Labour At Freedom Day Ceremony

LAHORE, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 18th Sep, 2021 ) :The Provincial Human Rights and Minorities Affairs (HR&MA) and Social Welfare departments jointly organised a ceremony on the 'Freedom Day' at a local hotel on Saturday to highlight the curse of bonded labour A discussion was held at the ceremony regarding the issues of children of Punjab; various suggestions were put forward by the participants about rights of children, inclusion of Child Labour Act in the Children Act, improvement in the Workers Act, establishment of helpline for access of common man, increase in number of labour inspectors across Punjab, further improvement in coordination at district level, making birth registration mandatory, making smart cards in National Database & Registration Authority (NADRA), establishment of special rooms for children in police stations and police reforms regarding children.

Punjab Minister for HR&MA Ejaz Alam Augustine said that Pakistan was under an obligation to develop a child protection system and the Punjab government was moving forward, along with all stakeholders, to secure future of children. He said that Punjab had enacted various laws for the protection of child rights in the province as the Punjab Assembly had promulgated the Punjab Child Marriage Restraint (Amendment) Act 2015, which now stipulated harsher punishment for child marriages, holding all people involved responsible for the illegal act, including Nikkah Khwan, marriage witnesses as well as child's parents and guardians.

He said that the Punjab Destitute and Neglected Children Act, 2014 stipulated a mechanism for rescue, custody, care and rehabilitation of destitute and neglected children in Punjab.

The laws seek to protect children under the age of 15 years and set up an autonomous Child Protection and Welfare Bureau for implementation of child rights in the province, he added.

Punjab Minister for Social Welfare Yawar Abbas, in his address, said that Punjab regulated detention of offenders under the age of 21 through the Punjab Borstal Act, 1926 with the administration stipulated in the Punjab Borstal Rules, 1932. He added that efforts by the Punjab government were underway to ensure 100 per cent birth registration in the province by introducing digital birth registration, using cellular technology. He emphasised that cooperation of all departments concerned was needed for protection of human rights and prevention of human rights violations, adding that the Punjab government was taking all possible steps to ensure protection of child rights across the Punjab with elimination of child labour.

The minister said that that was need of the hour to effectively build pressure on the relevant departments by involving children, civil society, media and other relevant stakeholders for improving the situation of children and fulfilling Pakistan's national and international obligations.

The session was attended by a Bonded Labour Liberation Front (BLLF) representative, child rights activists, representatives of civil society, media persons, lawyers and officials.