The Society for the Protection of the rights of the Child (SPARC) held this two-day conference on September 6 and 7, 2003. It was inaugurated by the Federal Minister for Information, Sheikh Rashid Ahmad, who cited poverty as the single major cause for child labor in Pakistan. He called for all the segments of society to join hands and fight together to eliminate this evil from the country. Little is known about the real extent and magnitude of child labor in Pakistan. The plight of child domestic workers is a neglected subject mainly because they are invisible, National Director, SPARC, Anees Jillani said. Emphasizing the need to ban domestic child labor, he asked the civil servants not to employ child domestic workers under a certain age. The potential for exploitation may be worse for the children working in homes because there are no regulations or laws to monitor the work hours, pay, working environment etc., specially if the child is a girl. According to an estimate 90% girls are working as domestic child laborers. There are 30 million children between the ages of 5 and 15 out of which 23 million are available for child labor, informed Ms Manizeh Bano of NGO Sahil, working on child sexual abuse. She said that officially 3.3 million children are working as child laborers in Pakistan, whereas unofficial numbers are around 8 million. Child labor is a product of supply and demand, but domestic child labor is only consumption, because it is not a productive activity. Poverty is the basic cause of child labor and vice versa, said Kaiser Bengali, Managing Director Social Policy and Development Centre (SDPC). He said poverty is due to the policies followed by the government, which has made the poor more poor and the rich more rich. Domestic child labor is a result of an unjust society, where the rich and poor live in separate worlds, and unless there is a fair distribution of assets, poverty will not be eradicated. Mr Zakir Hussain, from the Ministry of Labor said the government had allocated Rs100 million for the rehabilitation of bonded labor, especially in the carpet industries. The parents were given incentives to send their children to schools and develop other skills. He said the labor ministry has conducted 11 studies and is talking to NGOs, government and stakeholders to create awareness on child labor. On the concluding day of the Conference, the participants unanimously passed a resolution calling on the government and civil society members to enforce and ensure free education policy for children. Cases of child abuse and child kidnapping should be decided on preferential basis. Relaxation should be given in child sentences as per the law. Juvenile Justice System Ordinance 2000 should be implemented. Domestic labor should be eliminated and a campaign for the betterment of children should run on a national as well as individual level. Laws against corporal punishment should be enforced in schools. All laws pertaining to child labor, especially Employment Children Act 1991 should be enforced. The worst forms of child labor exists in alarming proportions exists in Pakistan and C-182 should be implemented to combat this evil. The problems of recreation, health, sanitation, safe drinking water should be solved. Children wards should be set up in all hospitals.[Source: CRIN] For more information, contact fazila gulrez, isb@sparcpk.org