Pakistan and children impacted by armed conflicts

Combat means actually taking part in combat or taking a role like guarding or carrying out terrorist attacks, while supportive roles are cooks, scouts, porters and messengers. The roles of child labor can be classified into two: combat and support. Some children living in conflict-affected countries, work on construction sites, in car repair shops, metal working factories and other industries, while others join the armed group to earn a livelihood. Here are some specific examples of child labor. What is child labor like in armed conflict? This article highlights the factors of child labor in conflict, which is poorly understood compared to child labor in general, as well as the efforts of United Nations Peacekeeping Operations to eliminate child labor in conflict. The achievement of SDG 8.7 is becoming even more important since living and working in conflict zones that destroy towns and cities and take away families impedes children’s childhood and educational opportunities that are fundamental to their healthy development. The number indicates one in ten of all children worldwide (9.6%) are child laborers however, in places affected by armed conflict, the percentage of child laborers increases to one in six (17%). Of which Goal 8 Target 7 (SDG8.7) sets a global goal to eliminate all forms of child labor including child soldiers by 2025, five years earlier than the time frame for achieving the other goals and targets.Īccording to the International Labour Organization (ILO), and Save the Children, the number of child laborers worldwide has dropped dramatically since 2000, from 246 million children to 152 million in 2016 due to the increase in importance of education and the introduction of policies to prevent child labor in many countries in recent years.

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which aim to make the world a better place by 2030, were adopted at the UN Summit in September 2015. The thoughts and views expressed in this column belong solely to the author and do not represent those of the Secretariat and the Government of Japan.

Pakistan and children impacted by armed conflicts