Nobel laureate Kailash Satyarthi has urged UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres to summon a high-level meeting of the UNs' various bodies to globally eradicate child labour by 2025. He added that it was imperative that the UN leadership lead the fight to build in "our children" a comprehensive, coordinated and aggressive approach in this regard. Satyarthi also stressed on the need to end to "the scourge of child labour and forced labour."
"I urge the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres that he should call a high-level meeting of heads of UN agencies like UNICEF, UNESCO, ILO, UNDP and WHO on the issue of child labour in the context of sustainable development," Satyarthi said in a recent interview.
During the Fourth Global Conference on the in November, governments of over 100 countries in attendance had pledged to take immediate action towards eradicating child labour in all its forms by 2025. "In that case, the UN secretary general should take a proactive and strong step towards co-ordination and more integrated approach in making various sustainable development growth rates with regard to children towards implementing," Satyarthi said.
"Governments across the world need to give much more attention to early childhood protection and education," he said, adding that for the agrarian economy that is India, child labour in this field is of utmost concern.
