Speaking at the joint regional child rights conference and the children’s helplines’ summit in Gaborone recently, she pointed out that over the last few years, they engaged with the United States Embassy through its Bureau of International Labour Affairs (ILAB), together with non-governmental organisations such as Humana People to People Botswana. She noted that through such engagements, her ministry also provided comprehensive information on its labour law enforcement efforts and conducted targeted inspections in key districts where there were reports of child labour. Mokgethi explained that the government of Botswana ratified the International Labour Organisation's Labour Inspection Convention and the Labour Inspection (Agriculture) Convention.
She added that their efforts were not in vain saying in 2022, Botswana received a “moderate advancement” rating for its efforts to eliminate child labour. She also said that was a clear demonstration of their commitment to addressing child labour and protecting children's rights. Mokgethi further said they were also committed to adhering to all the international conventions that they signed, including The African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. “As Botswana, we are committed to ensuring that our children enjoy safe passage to productive adulthood. We will jealously uphold our children’s inalienable rights to health, education and shelter. We will protect our children from physical and emotional harm as well as inhuman and degrading treatment. In our quest to become a high income economy, we will continue to invest smartly and effectively in our children to build first-rate human capital. We will emulate countries like Singapore, Japan, China and Norway, which are today enjoying their demographic dividends because they invested heavily on their future human capital, their children,” she added.
