New Delhi, Oct 6 (IANS): The country may have achieved significant economic growth and gone through rapid transformation over the years but the issues of child rights and abuse largely remain neglected, Law Minister Salman Khurshid said Thursday.

"We have a deep concern over how the issue of children is being dealt with despite our country achieving significant economic growth," Khurshid said at the inauguration of the 9th ISPCAN Asia Pacific Conference of Child Abuse and Neglect here.

"We still have a lot of work to do on this issue," he added.

The three-day conference, starting Friday, will be attended by a large number of government organisations and child experts from across the world.

Khurshid blamed the poor economic condition of parents which forces them to send their kids into child labour.

Citing the example of the traditional business of carpet weaving in Bhadoi in Uttar Pradesh where children are working in their families, Khurshid stressed the need for bringing these kids into the mainstream without interfering in their family work.

"Supple fingers of children are engaged in carpet weaving which is a traditional business of many families in Bhadoi and Jammu and Kashmir. It is imperative to help them retain their traditional skills without having them subjected to labour and abuse," he said.

The minister expressed confidence in the conference which he said would evolve a way to address the issue.