South Asian policy meet on women from today

Bhaktapur, Oct. 17 (RSS): A three-day South Asian policy conference is to be convened from tomorrow for women working in the informal sector in this region, under the aegis of the UN Women Development Fund South Asia regional office to frame an appropriate policy and create an congenial atmosphere.

The regional conference which is being participated by labour ministers of India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka and representatives from various organisations is slated to be inaugurated by Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala.

The meeting will focus on identifying the problems being faced by women of this region and also hold extensive deliberations on framing new policy so as to create a conducive atmosphere.

Annan stresses need to eradicate poverty

BY A STAFF REPORTER

Kathmandu, Oct 17: The Secretary-General of the United Nations, Kofi Annan, in a message on the occasion of the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, has said that almost half the world’s population lives on less than two dollars a day, yet even this statistics fails to capture the humiliation, powerlessness and brutal hardship that is the daily lot of the world’s poor.

"Poverty on such a scale is unacceptable, not least because globalisation has opened up vast avenues of wealth creation. Globalisation can be a strong force in the fight against poverty. But globalisation must mean more than creating bigger markets, and experience confirms that growth alone cannot reduce poverty and income inequality," the UN Chief said. Economic policy must be combined with effective social policies aimed at education for all, health for all and gender equality. This is essential if globalisation is to work for all the world’s peoples, and if we are to meet the goal of halving, by the year 2015, the proportion of people living in extreme poverty, he noted.

"This is an ambitious goal, but it is neither utopian nor impossible. We have the knowledge and the means with which to achieve it. What is missing is the will. In the developed world, that means the will to provide meaningful debt relief, to remove protectionist barriers against exports from the poorest countries, and to spend more than just a negligible fraction of income on development assistance. In many developing countries, it means the will to fight corruption, to put an end to persistent conflict and to build a platform of good governance," Kofi Annan observed.

In the Declaration they adopted at last month’s Millennium Summit, world leaders recognised the need to "spare no effort to free our fellow men, women and children from the abject and dehumanising conditions of extreme poverty." The International Day for the Eradication of Poverty is a reminder of the global responsibility that exists to work for a more equitable world economy, where all countries have a fair chance to compete, and where those who have more will do more for those who have less, he said.

KMC, ILO/IPEC sign agreement

BY A STAFF REPORTER

Kathmandu, Oct. 17: The Kathmandu Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) and the International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC) of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Kathmandu, signed an agreement today to implement a pilot project entitled "Towards the elimination of domestic child labour and child labour in small eating establishments in Kathmandu Metropolis".

The programme will especially address the activities that are being performed under hazardous working conditions and environment, that involves the risk of physical violence, sexual harassment, work in isolation or at night and excessive working hours. Prominent activities include the establishment of a benchmark and registration of child workers, drop-in-centre facilities including educational alternatives for the working children.

The agreement was signed by Mr. Keshav Sthapit, the Mayor of KMC and Ms. Leyla Tegmo-Reddy, Senior ILO Adviser of the ILO Kathmandu Office. Also present on the occasion was Mr. Y Amatya, the National Programme Manager of IPEC.

Similarly, ILO/IPEC has also entered into an agreement with Legal Aid and Consultancy Centre (LACC) to implement the Action Programme for "Providing legal aid and counselling to the victims of child labour, child abuse and exploitation". This programme was built on the success of its first phase which was instrumental in providing legal redress to victims of child abuse and exploitation.

Legal practitioners, medical professionals and the general public also fall under the target group of this Programme in which sensitisation is an ongoing activity. District Bar Associations are also being mobilised so that child victims, at the district level, can also be provided with legal protection and social justice.

Dr. Shanta Thapaliya, the Chairperson of LACC and Ms. Tegmo-Reddy jointly signed the Agreement.

Both the programmes will be in action from November 2000.