The Odisha State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (OSCPCR) and the UNICEF observed the World Day against Child labour hereon Sunday.
OSCPCR Chairperson Kasturi Mohapatra said the issue of child labour cannot be addressed in isolation. A child at the risk of being trafficked may also be in conflict with the law or face violence at home. There is an urgent need to combine efforts to combat child labour, end violence against children and strengthen systems for the protection of children holistically.
School and Mass Education Minister Debi Prasad Mishra spoke on the importance of education in elimination of child labour while labour Minister Prafulla Kumar Mallik spoke on the State Government’s initiatives in curbing child labour in the State.
UNICEF Odisha chief Yumi Bae said majority of the child labourers are invisible and often beyond the reach of the law. Many of them are denied basic health care, education, adequate nutrition. Combating child labour requires not only political leadership but broad-based partnerships.
The occasion saw the launch of the music video Sunle Maula of playback singer Rituraj Mohanty by the School and Mass Education Minister and the Steel and Mines Minister. The song highlights inequities that affect children.