The 5th Global Conference on the Elimination of Child Labour will for the first time in its history host a child participation session, which will seek solutions to eliminate child labour.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, the Department of Social Development said the children’s session at the conference, currently underway in Durban, will include an intergenerational dialogue where children and policy makers 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.
“The session will be attended by children from the five International Labour Organisation (ILO) Regions who will join in physically and virtually. The session will be addressed by the CEO of the Humans Rights Commission of South Africa [Advocate Tseliso Thipanyane],” the department said.
Children will participate at the session to take place on Thursday.
It is estimated that 164 million children around the world are affected by child labour, with 600 000 in South Africa.
Financing elimination of child labour on spotlight
Meanwhile, KwaZulu-Natal Finance MEC, Nomusa Dube-Ncube, will this afternoon join global leaders in politics, finance and non-governmental organisations in a thematic discussion on how governments can finance the elimination of child labour.
The thematic panel will explore how to mobilise financial resources to make the generational investment required.
During discussions, speakers will address topics, including securing domestic public resources, how to leverage public spending in areas such as education and social protection for child labour elimination, international development cooperation, debt sustainability, domestic and international private business and finance, international trade as an engine for child labour elimination.
Panellists will also discuss the critical question of how to improve access to credit and other financial services in affected communities, especially among women.
Dube-Ncube said the objective of the panel is to discuss the required mechanisms and framework to mobilise sustainable financing, improve coordination and strengthen partnerships between governments, social partners, development partners, international financial institutions and the private sector.
“This is a very critical issue that needs all hands on deck. The public purse is powerful enough to enact a change to eliminate child labour through innovative policy formulation,” Dube-Ncube said ahead of the panel discussion.
The conference, which is hosted for the first time on African soil, started on 16 May and will end on 20 May 2022. The event will help to construct the path toward a world free from child labour.
Source: South African Government News Agency