World Day Against Child Labour - 12th June

Date Of Observation : 12th June

Organized By: ILO-UNEP (International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour)

Launched In: 2002

Special Event: The Music Against Child Labour Initiative

( http://ilo.org/ipec/Events/WCMS_246268/lang--en/index.htm)

We are well aware with the Concept of Labor's Day which is celebrated every year in May but what most of us are unaware of the fact that there are hundreds of millions of children who are engaged in work that deprives them of their basic rights such as education, health and innocence. Many such children are working under hazardous environment, forced slavery, prostitution and even drug trafficking. World day against Child Labour aims at taking action against to extend social protection to such adolescents in order to get them a better life. It also plans to design social security systems which are sensitive to the vulnerable child's (under 12 years of age) needs.

In India it is a common practice to have maids at home usually employed full time (40 hours a week or more). If observed deeply most of such domestic helpers comprising twice the number of girls than boys are under the age of 15 which snatches away their right to study thus depriving them of the future they deserve. In the Industrial backdrops the conditions are far worse if we consider diamond, silk and fireworks industries which have poor working conditions and have known to cause blindness or severe health problems.

The facts and figures state that: Source (http://www.ilo.org/ipec/lang--en/index.htm#a1)

Global number of children in child labour has declined by one third since 2000, from 246 million to 168 million children. More than half of them, 85 million, are in hazardous work (down from 171 million in 2000).

Asia and the Pacific still has the largest numbers (almost 78 million or 9.3% of child population), but Sub-Saharan Africa continues to be the region with the highest incidence of child labour (59 million, over 21%).

There are 13 million (8.8%) of children in child labour in Latin America and the Caribbean and in the Middle East and North Africa there are 9.2 million (8.4%).

Agriculture remains by far the most important sector where child labourers can be found(98 million, or 59%), but the problems are not negligible in services (54 million) and industry (12 million) – mostly in the informal economy.

Child labour among girls fell by 40% since 2000, compared to 25% for boys.

Detailed research point out Poverty and Cultural views as main causes of child labour. In households where there is struggle to feed all mouths in the family, the income from the child brings in means for his/her own survival. The people with the cultural views believe that working is a part of developing skill development and character building which may be right to a certain extent. In rural areas children tend to work because they have nothing else to do because schools are generally either not affordable or too far away for easy reach.

The laws that Indian government has passed to protect children from any abuse or misuse are as follows: (Source: Wikipedia)

1. The Factories Act of 1948: The Act prohibits the employment of children below the age of 14 years in any factory. The law also placed rules on who, when and how long can pre-adults aged 15–18 years be employed in any factory.
2. The Mines Act of 1952: The Act prohibits the employment of children below 18 years of age in a mine.
3. The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act of 1986: The Act prohibits the employment of children below the age of 14 years in hazardous occupations identified in a list by the law. The list was expanded in 2006, and again in 2008.
4. The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection) of Children Act of 2000: This law made it a crime, punishable with a prison term, for anyone to procure or employ a child in any hazardous employment or in bondage.
5. The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act of 2009: The law mandates free and compulsory education to all children aged 6 to 14 years. This legislation also mandated that 25 percent of seats in every private school must be allocated for children from disadvantaged groups and physically challenged children.

The steps that we can take at our level in order to protect children and help them grow as the rest of the better privileged kids are:

> Avoid employment of kids under the age of 14 in our own households or industries and encourage them to go to school instead. We have the duty to make our parents and elders aware of the situation.
> Educated housewives or students can teach poor kids/maids working at their place for an hour or so which would not cause hindrance to their financial balance.
> Keep an eye on the malpractices that may be happening in our neighborhoods and report the matter to concerned authorities or organizations.
> Pay them sufficiently and don't misuse them for their lack of knowledge.
> Refrain from abusing or beating them or employing them under any such conditions which may result in long term affects to their health.
> There are many NGOs working for such children whose help can be availed if needed to rescue children. Here a list of all the NGOs can be found out which are working diligently: http://www.karmayog.org/childlabour/childlabour_18034.htm
> Sponsor at least one child's education in your entire lifetime if you have the means.
> Lastly call the child helpline i.e. 1048 (Worldwide). The website link for India is: http://www.childlineindia.org.in/1098/b1a-telehelpline.htm


It is our prime duty to save the future of our nation and lets pledge to join hands to take a step forward towards eradication of child labour not in just our country but around the globe.

WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY- 5th June

Official Logo

Date of Observation: 5th June
Run by: UNEP
Year of Inception: 1973
Host Country (2014): Barbados (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbados)
Official Slogan (2014): Raise your Voice, not the Sea Level

World Environment Day is celebrated in order to cause awareness for protection of Mother Nature. Most of the common people like us are aware about the environment day but usually lack the knowledge about its special agenda every year. This year the focus is on the small developing countries which are under the danger from even slight increase in sea levels. The environment day aims at making people aware regarding out duty towards the planet by trying to lower down the rate of global warming.

Writing about global warming, the facts that have come into light are that these small Island Developing states having an overall population of about 63 millions, emit just 1% of greenhouse gases. Even when they are not guilty the consequences threaten them with a constant fear in their lives. The major responsibility lies on the shoulders of US, China and EU which emit a whopping 90% of carbon dioxide and other climate affecting gases. They are currently planning on strategies to reduce the emissions and make the islands secure.

India this year has topped the list of 5 most polluted countries along with Bangladesh, Pakistan, Iraq and Qatar. Our capital city has been recorded having the worst air conditions in the entire world which have made even the sky line invisible. Many of us are well aware about the ill effects of pollution on health. Although the countries need to plan out remedies on a national level there are some steps that we can take on a personal level to improve the deteriorating conditions of the environment.

We can do the following things and encourage others to do the same:

• Reduce, Reuse and Recycling of waste material. By just recycling we can save 1088 kg of CO2 gas annually.
• Use less of Heat and Air conditioning saves around another 1000 kg of pollution. This can be achieved by insulation of walls of our homes and also keeping the temperatures moderate also helps.
• Use CFLs which reduce 70% heat emission. There's a new technology in markets as well i.e. the LED lights which claim even lower electricity consumption.
• Drive minimal and choose your vehicles wisely having better fuel efficiency. We can also adopt the car pooling practice (sharing of vehicles when the destination is same). Also check that the tires of the vehicle should be properly inflated as it results in better mileage.
• These days almost all appliances come with various energy efficiency levels usually indicated by star ratings. Invest in such products as they would reduce your electricity bills.
• Avoid using the plastics which cannot be recycled, instead carry paper or cloth/canvas bags for shopping. Don't buy items with lots of packaging.
• Minimize the use of hot water in summers or if not required for bathing or washing. Prefer to use warm water and remember to turn off taps while brushing and doing other chores.
• Appliances such as microwaves, televisions, computers, DVD players, etc. should be switched off when not in use. Even when these electronic items are not in use energy is being wasted. Switching off would ensure longer life of your appliances.
• Plant as much as trees or plants that you can in your house/locality. More trees, more oxygen.
• Do not litter garbage on roads and beaches. Help in cleanup drives or take initiative to organize such events.
• Even eating less of meat and more organic foods reduces methane release in air which is also a harmful greenhouse gas. Frozen food consumption should be lowered down. 
• While doing all the above things it is best to encourage others to follow the same, right from family to friends and neighbours.

Every citizen should make it his/her moral duty to clean up their cities/localities as much as we can. Our new PM has tweeted  "Along with government efforts, people's participation can make a big difference in creating a cleaner and greener planet." Lets take a pledge to cleaning and breathing healthy on this world environment day. Next year India would host this day with the slogan 'One World, One Environment'.