The International Labour Organization (ILO) launched the World Day Against Child Labour in 2002 to focus attention on the global extent of child labor and the action and efforts needed to eliminate it. Each year on 12 June, the World Day brings together governments, employers and workers organizations, civil society, as well as millions of people from around the world to highlight the plight of child laborers and what can be done to help them.

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), adopted by world leaders in 2015, include a renewed global commitment to ending child labor. Specifically, target 8.7 of the Sustainable Development Goals calls on the global community to: "Take immediate and effective measures to eradicate forced labor, end modern slavery and human trafficking and secure the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labor, including recruitment and use of child soldiers, and by 2025 end child labor in all its forms." The challenge over the next four years will be for the ILO to work in a more focused and strategic way to act as the catalyst of a re-energized global alliance in support of national action to abolish child labor. This transformation in approach to global leadership will ensure that the ILO will contribute more effectively to consigning child labor to history.

Joint message from the ILO and UNICEF to mark the World Day Against Child Labour 2020, June 12 ;

The 2020 World Day Against Child Labour focuses on the impact of COVID-19 on Child Labour, while looking forward to the International Year on the Elimination of Child Labour, 2021. On the occasion of the World Day, a joint ILO-UNICEF paper entitled “COVID-19 and child labour: A time of crisis, a time to act” is being released. The paper looks at some of the main ways through which the pandemic is likely to affect progress towards the eradication of child labour.

Statement on the impact of COVID-19 on child labour in agriculture. International Partnership for Cooperation on Child Labour;

1. The COVID-19 pandemic presents a highly distressing concern for the potential impact on child labour in agriculture. The enduring spread of COVID-19 continues to take a toll on agro-businesses, agricultural value chains, food production systems and access to schools in rural communities worldwide. It therefore affects livelihoods, household incomes and learning opportunities. The on-going socioeconomic decline and its particular consequences on those who produce essential food and agricultural products, along with the movement restrictions caused by the outbreak put children of farm households at heightened risk of being pushed into child labour.

2. That is, many more children could be added to the over 108 million children in child labour that are estimated to work in agriculture. They typically work very long hours and are exposed to working conditions that are hazardous to their health and restrict their ability to attend school. Compounded by eroded household livelihoods, the temporary school closures may cause many children to permanently drop out of school.

3. Lacking access to adequate social protection, vulnerable groups such as smallholder farmers, informal sector workers, rural youth and migrant workers are likely to see their livelihoods severely impacted by the gender-biased economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. Those already facing hunger and extreme poverty, needing humanitarian assistance face particularly dire conditions.

4. The International Partnership for Cooperation on Child Labour in Agriculture (IPCCLA) are deeply concerned on the potential impact of the COVID-19 crisis on the prevalence of child labour in agriculture and the potentially lasting deleterious effects on child growth and development. To address these risks, IPCCLA call for immediate nationally and internationally coordinated responses to provide support to vulnerable rural households so as to prevent a situation where families fall deeper into poverty and deploy more children in agricultural labour.

5. Emergency responses to prevent acute livelihood losses will need to be aligned with long-term strategies to eradicate child labour in agriculture. Moving towards universal access to social protection, health and education services, enforcement of occupational safety and health standards and labour rights, freedom of association and guaranteeing gender equality should be important ingredients of such strategies. The IPCCLA encourages all key stakeholders, governments, farm organizations, trade unions, employer associations and NGOs to help develop such national strategies and provide support to the agricultural sector and rural areas where the loss of markets and the collapse of essential services have eroded rural livelihoods.

6. In addition, governments and rural stakeholders are encouraged to create conditions for vulnerable and disadvantaged children in rural areas to access remote learning modalities and facilitate catch up classes and - where feasible – move to safe re-opening of school premises. Special measures should be taken to enroll children who were previously out of school or experienced barriers to access education.

7. IPCCLA will continue providing technical assistance and facilitating dialogue and cooperation with governments and rural stakeholders to promote action towards the eradication of child labour in agriculture. The partnership will further seek to influence COVID-19 responses such that these are considerate of the welfare of children and minimize adverse impacts on agriculture and rural livelihoods. Finally, IPCCLA encourages inter-sectoral and multi-stakholder collaboration and joining forces for the upcoming International Year on Eliminating Child Labour (2021) and beyond.

Forum: World Day Against Child Labour 2020. ''COVID-19 and Child Labour: Looking forward in times of crisis.''

On 12 June, join us for a high-level debate on the occasion of the World Day Against Child Labour 2020 on Online, ILO TV , You are kindly invited to send your questions to the panelists ahead of the debate to child labour by 10 June.

Today, throughout the world, around 218 million children work, many full-time. They do not go to school and have little or no time to play. Many do not receive proper nutrition or care. They are denied the chance to be children. More than half of them are exposed to the worst forms of child labour such as work in hazardous environments, slavery, or other forms of forced labour, illicit activities including drug trafficking and prostitution, as well as involvement in armed conflict. Guided by the principles enshrined in ILO's Minimum Age Convention No. 138 and the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention No. 182, the ILO Programme on Child Labour (IPEC) works to achieve the effective abolition of child labour.

The ILO promotes specific action on the following fronts:

• Universal ratification of the ILO child labour Conventions and all the ILO core Conventions.

• Ensuring a new focus on national policies and programmes to promote an integrated approach to all fundamental principles and rights at work.

• Broadening integrated area based approaches to tackle the root causes of child labour.

• Aligning the minimum age for admission to employment and the age for completion of compulsory schooling.

• Strengthening workplace safety and health for all workers, but with specific safeguards for children between the minimum age for admission to employment and the age of 18 by preparing and/or updating hazardous child labour lists.

• Promoting and strengthening the functioning of institutions and mechanisms aimed at monitoring the effective application and enforcement of fundamental rights at work including protection against child labour, (courts, tribunals, magistrates, labour inspectors and child labour monitoring).

• Continuing development of advocacy and strategic partnerships at international, national and community level and promoting the worldwide movement against child labour.

• Replicating and expanding good practices that have produced sustainable results.

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Past Events

• World Day Against Child Labour 2019: Children shouldn’t work in fields, but on dreams!

• World Day Against Child Labour 2018: Generation Safe & Healthy

• World Day Against Child Labour 2017: In conflicts and disasters, protect children from child labour

• World Day Against Child Labour 2016: End child labour in supply chains - It's everyone's business!

• World Day Against Child Labour 2015: NO to child labour – YES to quality education!