At the silver jubilee convention of the All India Management Association, which concluded here on Saturday, Kielburger, who is from Canada, urged the corporate leaders to commit themselves to elimination of global poverty and the rights of children.

Three years ago he read about child slavery in Pakistan, which spurred him to research this subject and to found ``Free the Children'' organisation with his friends. At present, the organisation is spread all over the world and Kielburger is flooded with awards, such as the Franklin D and Eleanor Roosevelt Medal. Archbishop Desmond Tutu was also a recipient of this award.At the 25th National Management Convention on Saturday, the boy never prayed for help from the corporateleaders but sought justice which, he said, would help them in future.

"Countries around the world have the same values deep down inside and corporations and governments must respect these values and express a commitment to elimination of global poverty while ensuring the rights of the child. The realisation must be drawn on them that it is one world and what was being sought was not charity but justice," he said.

He added that the multinational corporations have greater clout than a number of governments. "This means that corporations have the power to do good, which could include educating the child, improving the quality of society they operate in, thus making for a better future for themselves," Kielburger said.

Turning to Mahatma Gandhi, "who created an army without guns or funds for freedom and human rights," he advised the corporate sector to raise a similar army to ensure freedom for children.

Regarding the United Nations Convention on Children, Kielburger said that though most of the countriessigned this treaty, little had been done for the children.

Excessive expenses on military activities and the recent nuclear explosions were also criticised by Kielburger. "The world spends $800 billion on military, $250 billion on advertising and $40 billion on golf. All it takes is $5 billion to put every child in school. It pains me to see India and Pakistan invest in nuclear bombs while their children suffer," he said.