Society for the Protection of the Rights of the Child (SPARC) will launch a national level Child Labour Free Week Campaign from June 11-16 to highlight harms of child labour and promote collective efforts to tackle it. Under the campaign being arranged to mark World Day against Child Labour falling on June 12, SPARC will arrange an orientation or discussion session June 11 at Islamabad Press Club.
SPARC has called upon the federal and provincial governments to undertake effective legislative and administrative initiatives to address the growing prevalence of child labour in the country. In Pakistan, the employment of underage children in work activities, ranging from light to hazardous forms of labour exists in a number of sectors with varying degrees of prevalence. Recent estimates indicate that around 11-12 million children - half of them below the age of ten are employed, as child labourers across the country.