Pakistan Archbishop Calls for United Action to End Child Labor, Protect Children's Future

Bishop of Islamabad-Rawalpindi, Archbishop Joseph Arshad has called for urgent and coordinated action to eliminate child labor, describing it as a grave violation of human dignity that deprives millions of children of their right to education, safety, and a hopeful future.

In a statement issued on August 3, Archbishop Joseph Arshad said child labor remains a serious moral, social, and human rights concern in Pakistan and many other parts of the world, urging governments, religious leaders, employers, and communities to work together to protect vulnerable children.

"Every child possesses inherent dignity and has the right to education, protection, healthcare, personal development, and a safe childhood," Archbishop Joseph Arshad said.

He stressed that children belong in classrooms, playgrounds, and supportive family environments, not in factories, brick kilns, farms, workshops, roadside businesses, domestic labor, or other hazardous workplaces.

Citing findings from the National Commission for Human Rights and UNICEF Pakistan Child Labour Surveys, Archbishop Joseph Arshad noted that an estimated 8.61 million children in Pakistan are engaged in child labor, accounting for 88 percent of all working children between the ages of five and 17.

He said child labor is driven by a combination of poverty, unemployment, limited access to quality education, social inequality, weak enforcement of labor laws, and the exploitation of economically vulnerable families.

Children forced into labor often suffer physical exhaustion, injuries, illness, emotional distress, abuse, and psychological trauma, while losing opportunities for education and healthy development, Archbishop Joseph Arshad said. Many also face dangerous working conditions involving heavy machinery, toxic chemicals, extreme temperatures, long working hours, and degrading treatment.

Reflecting on Catholic social teaching, Archbishop Joseph Arshad emphasized that protecting children is a shared responsibility rooted in respect for human dignity, social justice, solidarity, and care for the most vulnerable.

"Protecting children is a national moral obligation that transcends religious, ethnic, social, and political differences," he said.

The archbishop called on the Government of Pakistan, provincial authorities, law enforcement agencies, educators, employers, religious leaders, civil society organizations, parents, and local communities to strengthen efforts to eradicate child labor.

He urged stricter enforcement of child protection and labor laws, expanded access to free education, improved school enrollment and retention, family support programs, vocational opportunities for adults, stronger social protection measures, public awareness campaigns, and rehabilitation programs for affected children.

Archbishop Joseph Arshad also appealed to businesses to ensure their workplaces and supply chains are free from child labor, while encouraging religious institutions, schools, and media organizations to promote greater respect for children's rights.

"Our children are not instruments of labor; they are the hope and future of our nation," Archbishop Joseph Arshad said. "Let us place books in their hands instead of tools, welcome them into classrooms instead of workplaces, and surround them with care instead of exploitation."

He added that safeguarding every child today is essential to building a more just, compassionate, educated, and peaceful society for future generations.