Child Labor and Forced Labor Reports

Pakistan

Baked Goods
Baked Goods
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Bovines
Bovines
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Bricks
Bricks
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Forced Child Labor Icon
Forced Labor Icon
Carpets
Carpets
Child Labor Icon
Forced Child Labor Icon
Forced Labor Icon
Coal
Coal
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Forced Child Labor Icon
Forced Labor Icon
Cotton
Cotton
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Dairy Products
Dairy Products
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Electronics
Electronics
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Furniture
Furniture
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Garments
Garments
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Glass Bangles
Glass Bangles
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Leather
Leather
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Rice
Rice
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Sugarcane
Sugarcane
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Surgical Instruments
Surgical Instruments
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Textiles
Textiles
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Wheat
Wheat
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Pakistan
2023 Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor:

Moderate Advancement

In 2023, Pakistan made moderate advancement in efforts to eliminate the worst forms of child labor. Punjab’s provincial assembly passed the Punjab Home-Based Workers Act of 2023, which prohibits the employment of children under 15 years in home-based work. Labor inspectors in Punjab also conducted over 85,000 child labor inspections, yielding 87 arrests, and carried out 8,580 inspections in brick kilns, finding 771 child labor violations, resulting in 34 arrests. Further, Child Protection and Welfare Bureaus across Pakistan rescued around 10,000 children from child labor and reunited them with families or placed them in shelters. In addition, in January 2024, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa labor department released the results of its 2022–2023 child labor survey and the government's Child Protection Helpline 1121 received 1,292 calls, leading to the rescue of 600 children. Pakistan’s federal and provincial laws do not meet international standards for minimum age for work or hazardous work, as they both do not extend to all children in the country. Furthermore, Pakistan has neither federal nor provincial laws prohibiting the use of children in illicit activities. In addition, provincial labor inspectorates lack sufficient human and financial resources, and national enforcement data are unavailable. Finally, police corruption, particularly the taking of bribes from suspected perpetrators to ignore child labor crimes, and a lack of willingness to conduct criminal investigations, hindered Pakistan's ability to address child labor throughout the country.

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