Nobel Laureate Kailash Satyarthi delivered the opening address at the 5th Global Conference On The Elimination Of Child Labour in Durban, South Africa.

“The discriminatory world order has pushed millions of children into darkness. I refuse to accept that the world is so poor that we cannot protect the children. Social Protection is the key,” Mr Satyrathi said during the conference.

Urging everyone to do their bit for the children, Mr Satyarthi said, “Let us march from exploitation to education. Let us march from darkness to light. Let us march for the dignity of every single child.”

The Conference is being held at a time when only three years are left to achieve the goal of the elimination of all child labour by 2025, and only eight years to reach the goal of the elimination of forced labour by 2030, as established by the Sustainable Development Goals.

The 5th Global Conference has come as an opportunity to assess the progress made towards achieving these goals and discuss good practices implemented by the different actors across the globe. The conference is also an opportunity to identify gaps and urgent measures needed to accelerate the elimination of both child labour and forced labour.