GENEVA, 12th June (WAM) Around the world, some 160 million children work to earn a living, instead of going to school. That’s almost one in every 10 children. On Monday’s World Day against Child Labour, the International Labour Organization (ILO) shared these staggering numbers as a reminder of the urgent need to end this practice. ILO’s Director-General Gilbert Houngbo said that for the first time in 20 years, child labour is on the rise. “Child labour rarely happens because parents are bad, or do not care. Rather, it springs from a lack of social justice,” he said. Houngbo stressed on Twitter that the “most effective solutions” to the child labour emergency are decent work for adults, so that they can provide for their families, and improved social protection. He also underscored that tackling the root causes of child labour requires, ending forced labour, creating safe and healthy workplaces, letting workers organize and make their voices heard, as well as ending discrimination, since child labour often affects the most marginalized. More than half of all those subjected to child labour some 86.6 million are in sub-Saharan Africa, according to joint research by the ILO and the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF). Almost 24 per cent of all children in the region, or close to one in four, are in child labour. Tariq Al Fahaam/ Hatem Mohamed

Source: Emirates News Agency