Municipalities to launch green flag campaign against child labor

REPUBLICA

KATHMANDU, July 5 : In a bid to encourage city dwellers not to keep the underage children as domestic helps, municipalities across the country will launch ´green flag campaign´. In the campaign, the municipalities will provide green flag to the households ´free of child labor´.

The campaign, which was initiated by the Lalitpur sub-metropolis, has been expanded to Hetauda and Dhulikhel municipalities and Birgunj sub- metropolis. "We have started the campaign at wards 14 and 21," Ashoak Shrestha, chief at Social Welfare Division at Lalitpur sub-metropolis, said. He said that the office has decided to launch campaign in all wards of sub-metropolis.

According to Shrestha, the green flag campaign is mandatory to all the households, as the office has decided to abolish child labor in the sub-metropolis. "Keeping child labor is illegally, which should be discouraged by all," he said adding that legal action will be initiated against all those found keeping child labor.

Shrestha further said that the sub-metropolis will rescue underage domestic helps and hand them over to the government. The office has also decided to strictly monitor the wards to ensure that no child is working as a labor in the sub-metropolis.

The sub-metropolis had launched massive awareness rally against child labor a month ago in Lalitpur.

Apart from the green flag campaign, Dhulikhel municipality has also decided to abolish child labor in transportation sector. "The municipality had decided to implement mandatory citizenship to staffers working in this sector," Pradeep Dongol, a child right officer with the Children, Women in Social Service and Human rights (CWISH), said adding children under the age of 16 will not be able to work in vehicles if such provision is implemented strictly. He added that the municipality has started to provide green sticker to the vehicles as the symbol of vehicle free of child labor.

Similarly, Birgung sub-metropolis has started providing green sticker to the hotels and restaurants free of child labor. "That means no child labor has been toiling in those hotels and restaurants," Dongol said.

He said that the child rights organizations have been working to launch the campaign in all municipalities across the country.

 

Source: http://www.myrepublica.com/portal/index.php?action=news_details&news_id=78409