Phnom Penh (ILO News) – The ILO, in collaboration with the Ministry of Labour and Vocational training, Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, Ministry of Information, Cambodian National Council For Children, Employers’ and Workers’ Organizations, National and International Organizations and Civil Society Groups, is organizing National and Provincial Events for Observing the World Day Against Child Labour, from June 01 to 12, 2010, across Cambodia.
Since 2002, for nine years now, every year, on June 12, many tens of thousands of people all across the globe have come together to remind the world of the ongoing injustice suffered by children whose lives are spent working long hours in dangerous and often life-threatening conditions. The World Day Against Child Labour is our reminder of the many millions of children world wide and indeed in Cambodia who have to toil every day for a living, often in dangerous and hazardous situations, most times at risk to their health, safety, and life and always at risk to their education and future development.
The global focus of the World Day Against Child Labour (WDACL) this year is to highlight the goal of eliminating the worst forms of child labour by 2016. At the same time the Football World Cup will also kick off in South Africa on 12 June this year and therefore, the theme for the World Day 2010 is, Go for the Goal: End Child Labour.
Although there are millions of children working in such conditions all over the world, child labourers, especially girls, by the very nature of their work and gender, often go unnoticed. They cannot fight for their own rights and they do not have access to the media to tell their stories. When they do speak up, they are often simply ignored or punished.
Because they are powerless, child labourers need others to advocate and campaign on their behalf. The process of such advocacy must begin with our own and the society's awareness of the problem, an understanding of the issues involved and an empathy with those directly affected, the child labourers themselves.
The World Day this year is particularly significant for it marks the eleventh anniversary of the adoption of the landmark ILO Convention No. 182, which addresses the need for immediate action by countries to tackle the worst forms of child labour. Whilst celebrating progress made during the past eleven years, the World Day this year is also an opportunity to highlight the continuing challenges, with a focus on the goal of eliminating the worst forms of child labour by 2016.
