The business world is failing to adequately protect children’s rights, according to Jørgen Vig Knudstorp, chief executive of the Lego group.

The toy company, which operates in more than 100 countries, on Friday announced a partnership with Unicef to promote the agency’s program for ensuring businesses respect and support children’s rights.

As part of the deal, Lego has pledged to strengthen child protection within its own business model, as well as encouraging other companies to take action.

One of the top issues, aside from child labor, is protecting children online, Knudstorp said, adding that Lego is working to ensure that it markets to children responsibly.

Viktor Nylund, chief of corporate responsibility for Unicef, said he hopes the partnership will pressure other companies in the toy sector to take more action to reduce the dangers of online gaming.

Lego has committed to sharing best practice, and we really see that through this partnership, we will be able to influence the industry as a whole,” he said. “While supply chains continue to be an area of concern, one of the key challenges is online gaming. The toy industry is getting into this in a big way as the characters they use lend themselves so naturally to the gaming world. It is important they recognize that this is one of the highest risk areas because of issues ranging from online bullying and exploitation to inappropriate contact.”

Knudstorp said it is unacceptable that 25 years after the adoption of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, many businesses are still failing to recognize the importance of young people as key stakeholders. Aside from toy companies, other businesses also should be paying more attention to children’s issues, he added.

“Of course companies who are not in the business of play focus their attention elsewhere and tend to concentrate on other stakeholders,” he said. “We want to show that this is a group of people they should not overlook.”

Unicef launched a 10-point manifesto on children’s rights and businesses in 2012 in partnership with Save the Children and the United Nations Global Compact. Key issues include eliminating child labour and providing decent work for young workers, parents and caregivers.

“I feel bad to preach to other companies, but we should understand that Unicef have developed some decent principles that everyone should adhere to,” Knudstorp said. “If we all do that, we will all face a better future. There are two billion more children coming onto this planet in the next 30 years and if we don’t deal with children’s basic rights, we will have a difficult future.”

Knudstorp pointed to conflict zones in particular and said that there was ample proof that children’s brains did not develop to their full potential when children are under severe stress.

Separately, the Lego Foundation – the company’s philanthropic arm, which owns a quarter of the toy company – announced it is giving Unicef $8.2m over the next three years to promote quality early learning through play for children around the world.

“We believe in play as a transformative tool in society,” Knudstorp said. “Next to food, love and good health, play is critical and we need more creativity if we are going to solve the world’s problems.”

Some of the money will be used for a global review of policies on early childhood development to provide policy makers with evidence to prove the critical importance of play.

The collaboration will also involve working with the South African government to ensure that play is an integral part of the national school curriculum, which is currently being reassessed.

Hanne Rasmussen, CEO of the Lego Foundation, said: “We know that the first years of a child’s life are absolutely critical and by investing in our children early on, we help build a strong foundation benefitting them, their communities and society a lifetime.”

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