Joint efforts to prevent child labor abuse

According to the International Labor Organization, approximately 168 million children are still involved in child labor. The world’s future depends on children whose lives are being compromised. 

The UN says that despite measures to prevent child labor exploitation and oppression, child labor abuse remains widespread. The ILO says more than 215 million adolescents don’t go to school and are forced to work. Many of them work in unstable conditions and suffer stress and physical pain.

The ILO warns that growing crises and conflicts put children at higher risk of being abused. The rate of child labor abuse has fallen 30% over the past decade because of international agreements to protect children from forced labor. 

But many children still provide the first link of a production and supply chain. They are forced to work in gold mines, and on cotton, sugar, tea, coffee, and cocoa farms. And many work in the final link of a supply chain, sewing, making footwear, weaving carpet, and making packing fireworks.

Most child laborers work in production chains supplying goods to domestic and foreign markets. That’s why the UN selected the theme “Ending Child Labor in Supply Chains” for this year’s World Day Against Child Labor. 

The UN is calling for a new international treaty to force businesses to remove child labor from their supply chains. The Anti-Slavery Organization of the UK recently announced a list of 122 products that use child labor in 58 countries in Latin America and Asia. 

The ILO has asked social organizations to deliver a clear message against using child labor. 

To help businesses remove child labor from their supply chains, the ILO and the International Organisation of Employers (IOE) have jointly created the Child Labor Guidance Tool, which shows companies how to conduct business in compliance with international labor standards.