EU urges stronger int?''l coop to eliminate child labour

(MENAFN - Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) BRUSSELS, June 11 (KUNA) -- The European Union Friday called for more international cooperation to end all child labour by 2025."The clock is ticking. We commit to get back to the positive trend over the past decades and accelerate the pace towards ending child labour in all its forms by 2025," said an European Commission press release to mark World Day against Child Labour, which falls on 12 June.It noted that "despite the progress made globally over the years, in 2020, there were still 160 million children in child labour, with 79 million children trapped in hazardous work. This is a heavy blow, as for the first time in the past 20 years, we see an increase in the number of children in child labour." The EU warned that millions of children further risk falling victim to child labour due to the coronavirus pandemic and its socio-economic consequences.It said that the EU works around the world to eliminate child labour and to protect children through development cooperation, political dialogue, human rights, social, humanitarian and trade policies."We should not forget that children are the first to suffer from poverty, exclusion, inequalities and conflict. As we battle the coronavirus pandemic, we need to step up our efforts to prevent children's rights from backsliding. We need to ensure that they are at the centre of the global post-COVID-19 recovery," it added. (end) nk MENAFN11062021000071011013ID1102251373