Africa-Press – Malawi. Malawi Vice President Saulos Chilima on Sunday May 15, 2022 made address at 5th Global Conference on the Elimination of Child Labour with focus on how Malawi is committed to end the vice. Currently, Child labour affecting 2.1 million of Malawian children aged between 5 and 15.
Chilima said Malawi has ratified the International Labour Organization (ILO) protocol of 2014 on Forced Labour Convention and Occupational Safety and Health Conversations which aims at ending the child labour in Malawi.
The Vice President added that Malawi has also ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) and that Malawi is a state party to the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of a Child.
Chilima also said that corresponding local legislation is in place where the country has Employment Act aimed at regulating minimum standards of employment and prohibit child labour and forced labour.
“We have abolished the Tendency Labour System due to its resemblance with forced labour. For Malawi, the abolishment has been a crucial step towards the substance of our efforts in the fight against child labour.
“As we reinforce our commitment to end child labour, for me, the increasing number of children involved in hazardous work points to one thing : poverty.,” says Chilima.
He added, “As observed by various speakers, we indeed need deliberate policies that absorb the economic shocks that are piling pressure on families and children, forcing them into forced child labour to survive.
” I believe, this is an area that all stakeholder groups from government, non state actors and communities must collaborate and intervene”. This year’s global event on elimination of child labour is believed to help construct the path toward a world free from child labour.
The conference is being attended by heads of state, 120 ministers, tripartite constituents of 187 member countries of ILO, United Nations agencies, academic institutions, civil society organisations, non-governmental organizations, media and civil society.
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