“Myanmar is undertaking several reforms in multisectoral development and the labour, immigration and population ministry is committed to the eradication of child labour,” he said.

According to the official, the ministry launched a month-long public awareness campaign across the country on June 9 with support from development partners, including the International Labour Organisation, the EU delegation, Unicef and the embassies of Switzerland and Australia.

The campaign aims to start a “no child labour” dialogue at government and community levels. Photo exhibitions detailing the ordeals child labourers undergo are currently on show at Dala Ferry (until June 25), Junction City Mall (until yesterday), and the Yangon Central Railway Station (until June 25).

The newly-established committee on eradication of child labour in Myanmar is overseeing the national action plan, which aims to address the problem in the nation as well as to place a priority on the ratification of the ILO Convention 138 on the minimum age for labour.

ILO lauded Myanmar’s efforts to reduce child labour, with ILO liaison officer Rory Mungoven saying that strategies must be developed to strengthen enforcement and to reach areas beyond the normal span of labour inspection services as well as “hidden” parts of the economy where some of the worst abuse occurs.

“Poverty is one of the root causes of child labour, but there is still much that can be done to prevent it,” Mungoven said. “Labour market policies that promote decent work for adults and youth of legal working age, improve rural livelihoods and incomes, and promote the transition from informal to formal economy, are key to tackling child labour.”

He said access to social security could help prevent child labour by mitigating the vulnerabilities that lead families to resort to child labour. Ensuring that children have access to education at least until they reach employment age reamins a key tool in tackling child labour.

“We must turn off the tap and stop children from entering labour. In agriculture, children usually start working at the age of six, seven or eight,” he said.

“A future that provides decent and sustainable incomes for all cannot be achieved without the elimination of child labour. While great progress has been made in industry since 1919, the eradication of child labour requires renewed and concentrated focus on the rural economy.”

He said education will equip children with the knowledge and skills they need for a fulfilling life in a future world of work that will be very different.

Min Gaung Oo, from the Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry, said child labour is driven by many factors, namely family and community poverty, a poor education system and the perception that children are cheap labour.

“It seems like a never-ending circle, but we have to stop it now,” he said.

“We need to solve the root causes. Employers alone cannot solve this. It becomes everybody’s business. This might need to involve all related stakeholders, including international partners with support and technical advice.”

He said both formal and informal sectors must stop employing children, and all businesses should obey the law and ensure their policies and procedures prevent the recruitment of children.

“Businesses should also focus on economic reform to ensure the well-being of workers so they have a better socio-economic status by promoting market access and increasing productivity by offering a better business environment,” he said.

Aung Kyaw Myint of the Confederation of Trade Unions Myanmar, said that though child labour exists in all sectors, there is a particularly high prevalence in agriculture.

“Child labour in agriculture is often driven by factors such as conflict, poverty, limited or no access to education, or social protection and climate-related disasters,” he said.

“It can endanger the health and education of our youth and create barriers to food security, social progress and sustainable agricultural development.”

He said children working in farms were also often exposed to hazards and risks that have long-lasting effects on their development, health and growth. Pesticides, poor sanitation, hot temperatures, physically demanding or repetitive work and long hours can have negative repercussions that follow them into adulthood.

“When children are made to leave their schoolbooks behind to work in our fields and plantations, we all suffer an immeasurable loss,” he said.

He said all stakeholders must work together to stop the use of child labour.

“This must stop. Flexible education and vocational programmes need to be made available. Families at the grassroots level should benefit from reforms taking place and have access to preventive programmes,” he said.

The new target was broadly welcomed across the political spectrum but environmental groups said it would require radical action to decarbonise the entire economy.

The deadline is far more ambitious than Britain’s current policy of cutting emissions by 80 percent over the same period and Finance Minister Philip Hammond has reportedly warned it could cost more than £1.0 trillion.

The 2050 date will be introduced in existing climate change laws through a piece of legislation known as a statutory instrument that parliament is expected to approve.

“As the first country to legislate for long-term climate targets, we can be truly proud of our record in tackling climate change,” Prime Minister Theresa May said.

In one of her final acts before she steps down next month, she said Britain “must lead the world to a cleaner, greener form of growth”.

“Standing by is not an option,” she added.

– ‘A strong signal’ –

Britain’s top advisory body on climate change this year said the net zero target could be achieved within a budget of 1.0-2.0 percent of gross domestic product by 2050.

But the Committee on Climate Change (CCC) added that the deadline would require the rapid rollout of new policies such as making all new cars and vans electric by 2035 and quadrupling low-carbon electricity production.

“This step will send a strong signal to other countries to follow suit,” said John Gummer, the committee’s chief.

Carolyn Fairbairn, head of the Confederation of British Industry big business lobby, said companies were “squarely behind” the commitment but she urged the government to come up with long-term policies to decarbonise the economy.

The deadline would put Britain on track to fully meet its commitments under The Paris Agreement, under which countries have pledged to keep the global average temperature rise to well below 2 degrees Celsius.

If replicated across the world and coupled with near-term emissions reductions, there would be a greater than 50 percent chance of limiting the temperature increases to just 1.5 degrees Celsius — the “safe” upper limit identified by the UN’s International Panel on Climate Change last October, the CCC said.

Other EU countries have also pencilled in various emission reduction deadlines, although none have been adopted into law.

In France, the government introduced a bill in April setting a 2050 target date, while Norway is discussing 2030.

The world’s net carbon emissions grew by an “unsustainable” rate of 2.0 percent last year, according to a closely-watched review by energy giant BP published on Tuesday.

The review also found that global energy demand grew by 2.8 percent, with the United States recording the biggest increase of any country.

– ‘Crucial first step’ –

The UK government’s move was quickly welcomed by environmental campaigners from Greenpeace, which called it “a big moment for everyone in the climate movement”.

“While the loopholes being woven into the legislation by the Treasury will need to be unpicked, and the date moved forward, this decision fires the starting gun for a fundamental transformation of our economy,” the group’s chief UK scientist Doug Parr said.

Craig Bennett, UK chief executive of Friends of the Earth, said May’s premiership had been “characterised by chronic inaction on climate breakdown” and 2050 was “still too slow to address catastrophic climate change”.

Gareth Redmond King, head of climate change at the environmental charity WWF, said the announcement was a “crucial first step” that would be helped by technological advances in solar panel and wind turbine technology.

“I urge the Hong Kong government to listen to the concerns of its people and its friends in the international community and to pause and reflect on these controversial measures,” Hunt said in a statement.

Violent clashes broke out in Hong Kong on Wednesday as police tried to stop protesters storming the city’s parliament, while tens of thousands of people blocked key arteries in a show of strength against government plans to allow extraditions to China.

Protesters retreat after police fired tear gas during a rally against a controversial extradition law proposal outside the government headquarters in Hong Kong on June 12, 2019. // AFP PHOTO

Police used tear gas, pepper spray and batons to disperse crowds of black-clad demonstrators — most of them young people and students — calling for authorities to scrap the Beijing-backed law.

Clashes broke out shortly after 3:00 pm (0700 GMT) — the deadline protesters had given for the government to abandon the controversial bill.

Rows of riot police were quickly outnumbered by protesters — many wearing face masks, helmets or goggles — who gathered in the centre of the city ahead of a scheduled debate in the city’s legislature.

By late morning, with crowds swelling and major roads blocked by throngs of protesters, officials in the Legislative Council (Legco) said they would delay the second reading of the bill “to a later date”.

In tense scenes echoing the Occupy movement in 2014 that shut down swathes of the city for months, people flooded major roads and junctions, dragging barricades onto highways and tying them together. Others plucked loose bricks from pavements.

 Protesters block roads during a rally against a controversial extradition law proposal outside the government headquarters in Hong Kong on June 12, 2019. // AFP PHOTO

After the deadline expired, protesters broke into the forecourt of the Legco offices in a bid to breach the building, and demonstrators were seen throwing missiles including metal bars at riot police.

Police beat back umbrella-wielding demonstrators first with batons and pepper spray, then with tear gas.

– ‘Million’ march –

Organisers of a gigantic march in the city on Sunday said more than a million people turned out to voice their objections to the proposed law, which would allow Hong Kong to send suspects to other jurisdictions around the world — including China.

But the record numbers failed to sway Hong Kong’s pro-Beijing leader Carrie Lam, who has rejected calls to withdraw the bill.

Matthew Cheung, the city’s chief secretary, on Wednesday called on demonstrators to withdraw, in the first official reaction to the latest protests.

Protesters react after police fired tear gas during a rally against a controversial extradition law proposal outside the government headquarters in Hong Kong on June 12, 2019. // AFP PHOTO

“I also urge citizens who have gathered to show restraint as much as possible, disperse peacefully and do not defy the law,” he said in a video message.

Many opponents are fearful the law would entangle people in the mainland’s opaque courts, leaving them vulnerable to a justice system seen as acting at the behest of the Chinese Communist Party.

More than 100 Hong Kong businesses said they would close on Wednesday in a gesture of solidarity with the protesters, and the city’s major student unions announced they would boycott classes to attend the rally.

A string of other prominent unions in the transport, social work and teaching sectors either followed suit or encouraged members to attend, while a bus driver union said it would encourage members to drive slowly to support protests.

“It’s the government who has forced people to escalate their actions, so I think it’s inevitable for the fight this time to get heated,” said 21-year-old protester Lau Ka-chun.

– ‘Hong Kong will bleed’ –

News of the postponed debate did not deter crowds swelling throughout Wednesday.

“It’s not enough to delay the meeting,” said student Charles Lee, 23. “Stalling is not our ultimate goal. We need them to consider scrapping it… Clashes are unavoidable if they adopt this attitude towards their citizens.”

Lawmakers had been due to debate the bill on Wednesday morning in the city’s legislature, which is dominated by Beijing loyalists, with a final vote expected on June 20.

It was not announced when the next meeting on the bill would be held.

“The only responsible thing to do now is for Carrie Lam to withdraw the evil bill, or at least to shelve it in order to solve the crisis,” said pro-democracy lawmaker Fernando Cheung.

“Because the situation is very tense, if she forces it through and asks the police to use violence, I’m afraid Hong Kong’s children will be hurt, will bleed.”

Hong Kong’s leaders say the proposed law is needed to plug loopholes and to stop the city being a sanctuary for fugitives, and that safeguards are in place to ensure that political critics of Beijing will not be targeted.

But many Hong Kongers have little faith in the government’s assurances after years of heightened fears that a resurgent Beijing is trying to quash the city’s unique freedoms and culture — despite a 50-year agreement between Hong Kong’s former colonial ruler, Britain, and China that means the city is guaranteed freedoms unseen on the Chinese mainland.

Western governments have also voiced alarm, with the US this week warning the bill would put people at risk of “China’s capricious judicial system”.

Beijing hit back on Tuesday, with a foreign ministry official saying China “resolutely opposes interference in Hong Kong affairs”.

Hong Kong’s stock market sank more than 1.8 percent amid the city-wide turmoil, making it the worst performer in Asia on Wednesday.

Zarith Sofia Yasin, 27, allegedly committed the offence at her house in Sentrio Pandan condominium at Desa Pandan on June 8 at about 8pm.

At the Sessions Court here Wednesday (June 12), she was charged under Section 69 (1) of the Wildlife Protection Act 2010 for keeping a protected species without a special permit, and Section 86 (1C) under the same Act for keeping the animal in an environment that was not conducive to its health and comfort.

Deputy public prosecutor Munirah Zainal Abidin requested Zarith be denied bail on the account of the seriousness of the crime and the potential that the accused would disturb witnesses.

Lawyer Datuk Mohd Haaziq Pillay Abdullah, who was representing Zarith pro bono, asked for her bail to be set at lower amount, saying that she only earned RM3,500 on average a month at her job as a singer and that she also has to support her parents.

Mohd Haaziq also argued that there was no evidence that Zarith would disturb witnesses.

Judge Manira Mohd Nor set the bail at RM10,000, and set July 19 for case mention.

Manira also stipulated that Zarith has to report to a police station every first of the month, and ordered her to surrender her passport to the court until the case is over.

If found guilty under Section 69 (1) of the Wildlife Protection Act 2010, a person can be fined not more than RM200,000 or jailed for no more than 10 years; or both.

If found guilty under Section 86 (1C) of the Wildlife Protection Act 2010, a person can be fined no less than RM5,000 and not exceeding RM50,000, or jailed for no more than one year; or both.

Zarith, a former contestant on the tele­vision programme Rockanova, had allegedly been keeping the sunbear club for about two weeks.

She claimed that she had found the sunbear in a weakened state near Bukit Ampang about two weeks ago and decided to nurse it to health.

The sunbear cub was allegedly found to be in her house after neighbours heard noises coming from the unit.

A neighbour later filmed the cub peeking from an open window while making noises; and the Wildlife and National Parks Department (Perhilitan) was called in.

Muhammad Haziq Abdul Aziz (pic), who is the senior private secretary to Deputy Primary Industries and Commodities Minister Datuk Seri Shamsul Iskandar Mohd Akin, also named the minister and said he was not fit to be a leader.

“I, Haziq Aziz, (am) making a sworn confession that I am the individual with (the minister) in the video which went viral yesterday.

“The video was taken without my permission on May 11 during the Sandakan by-election in (his) room at Hotel Four Points.

“I urge the MACC (Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission) to investigate (him) for corruption. He is not an individual who is qualified to be a leader,” he said in a video on his Facebook page early Wednesday (June 12) morning.

Video clips and several lewd photos of two men, including one that resembles a minister, appeared to be engaging in sexual acts, have been spread via WhatsApp.

Umno supreme council member Datuk Lokman Noor Adam has lodged a police report over the matter, saying “I want the police to investigate the authenticity of the videos, who has been spreading the videos, and also the ‘actors’ involved”, adding that their “acting was not very good”.