TURKMENISTAN: UNICEF welcomes new child labour law

TURKMENISTAN: UNICEF welcomes new child labour law 03 Feb 2005 06:21:10 GMT Source: IRIN

ANKARA, 2 February (IRIN) - The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has welcomed a decision by the Turkmen parliament to pass legislation banning child labour and guaranteeing freedom from economic exploitation as a right of children.

"The government is aware of the issue of child labour in Turkmenistan and this new law has been formulated to deal with the issue," UNICEF country head, Mahboob Shareef, told IRIN from the Turkmen capital, Ashgabat, on Wednesday.

His comments follow the adoption of the law by the Turkmen parliament two days earlier. The text of the law, signed by Turkmen President Saparmurat Niyazov, states the legislation is aimed at fulfilling the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, as well as the law of Turkmenistan.

Welcoming the announcement, UNICEF stated the move could be seen as a evidence of the will of the president to ban child labour.

"We at UNICEF strongly support this move," Shareef said. "This move by the parliament comes after last year's pledge by the president to outlaw child labour and it also follows from our close cooperation and ongoing dialogue with the government on the rights of children," Shareef added.

The UN children's agency regards the announcement as a further constructive outcome of joint collaboration between the government of Turkmenistan and the UNICEF, Shareef said. He added that the UN children's agency remained committed to working with the government to help it fulfil its national priorities and international obligations covering children's rights.