Kailash Satyarthi calls for new anti-child labour law in India

Nobel laureate Kailash Satyarthi pitched to leaders of all political parties to immediately pass the pending Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Amendment Bill in Parliament which seeks complete ban on all forms of child labour in the country.

“Since the only law prevailing in the country on child labour for last 30 years has become obsolete and ineffective in achieving its desired goal, we need to have a new and good anti-child labour law to abolish all forms of child labour in the country”, Satyarthi said while delivering the first Foundation Day lecture of National Law University in Cuttack.

Amid applause from law students Satyarthi, who jointly won the Nobel Peace prize last year for his fight against oppression of children across the world, said much of his achievements came from the profound support his organisation ‘Bachpan Bachao Andolan’ received from the courts.

“Indian judiciary and legal mechanisms are in safe hands but a lot needs to be done as challenges are plenty”, he said urging the law students to work hard to free child labour in the country. “Currently there are over 4.3 million child labourers in India and last year only 147 cases were filed against their employers that saw an abysmal low conviction rate of only two per cent,” he said.

Presided over by the University Vice-Chancellor Prof Srikrishna Deva Rao, the Foundation Lecture was also addressed by senior judge of Supreme Court Justice Dipak Misra and Orissa High Court Chief Justice D H Waghela. Many legal luminaries of the State including judges of the High Court were also present on the occasion.

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