KIGALI - The ministry of public service and labour has announced its national policy on the elimination of child labour (NPEC).

The policy, a result of efforts by government institutions, the private sector, civil society organizations and religious groups to find stringent measures on how to halt the problem, was made public at a workshop on Thursday at Novotel Hotel, Kigali.

Child labour activities in the country range from domestic work, cattle herding, stone quarrying, working in tea plantations, brick laying and hawking. Accurate statistics for child labour are not available. However it was estimated that in 2002 that 352,550 children were involved in child labour in Rwanda.

According to 2005/6 EICV survey 11 per cent of children between 11 and 15 are involved in income generating activities. An estimated 50% or more child labourers are working in conditions comparable to the worst form of child labour. In 2006 more that 2,100 children were involved in child prostitution.

"The elimination of child labour is a crucial step towards the realisation of the country’s development goals,” said Marceline Mukakarangwa, secretary general of the ministry of public service. She explained that there is a lack of understanding about the difference between what is acceptable child work and exploitative child labour.

Mukakarangwa said the policy aims at providing an enabling environment for the prevention and continuous elimination of child labour. Efforts are to be made in education, livelihood support, awareness raising, law enforcement and organizational capacity building as part of a multi-prolonged strategy to address child labour.

The secretary general said that there are laws in the penal code that provide the basis for punishing any person who violates children rights but only need to be implemented.
Aben Ngay, the regional director of the Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Egypt Together project (KURET), an initiative to fight child labour, said, "Child labour is a global challenge that requires the intervention of all sectors in their respective capabilities to curb its prevalence in our communities”.

The policy, in line with the National Constitution 2003, states that a child is any person below 18 years. While work done by children, that does not affect their health and personal development or interfere with their education is generally regarded as being a positive learning experience. 

Work that deprives children of their childhood, their potential and their dignity, that is harmful to their health, is a violation of fundamental human rights and needs to be stamped out, Mukakarangwa urged.
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