YANGON, Feb. 20 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar's First Vice President U Myint Swe has called for cooperation to eradicate child labor and implement it as a national duty, saying that the project of its kind involves everybody, Myanmar News Agency reported Tuesday.
All are to actively coordinate and discuss the setup of future work of the project to eradicate child labor in Myanmar, U Myint Swe told a coordination meeting of the Myanmar National Committee on Child Labor Eradication, led by himself, in Nay Pyi Taw Monday.
U Myint Swe pointed out that child labor issue is not only a big challenge to Myanmar but also a global issue related to poverty and natural disaster.
The 37-member National Committee on Child Labor Eradication was formed on Feb. 5 to implement the national level program of child labor eradication, while cooperating with local and international organizations.
There are nearly 1.3 million child labors in Myanmar, 80 percent of them are from rural areas, according to survey.
Myanmar signed International Labor Organization (ILO) Convention 182 for prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labors in 2013 and submitted the implementation report in 2015.
ILO has implemented a four-year program on the elimination of child labor in Myanmar since 2013.
