MJF lauds ILO for achieving universal ratification on child labour convention

Manusher Jonno Foundation (MJF) today congratulated International Labour Organization (ILO) for achieving universal ratification on child labour convention, thus giving all children legal protection against the worst forms of child labour.

In a statement, MJF Executive Director Shaheen Anam said, "We are delighted to learn that with the formal deposition of ratification instrument by the Kingdom of Tongo on 4th August, ILO achieved the universal endorsement of child labour convention adopted by all 187 member states. As a front-runner in Bangladesh in making meaningful changes in the lives of the children by withdrawing them from all forms of child labour, MJF joins the global celebration of this historic feat of ILO."

From 2006 to 2016, MJF enabled some 55,000 children to withdraw from working in a hazardous environment. Under its ongoing Excluded People's Rights Project since 2017, supported by UKAid, MJF has been working to get children 6-13 out of employment and to help older children (14-17-year-old) move from hazardous to non-hazardous work through reassignment or vocational apprenticeships. As of March 2020, MJF supported over 2700 children through its eleven partner NGOs to switch from hazardous to non-hazardous work in five districts.