2021: International Year for the Elimination of Child Labour

The International Labour Organization (ILO), in collaboration with the Global Partnership Alliance 8.7, launches 2021 as the International Year for the Elimination of Child Labour, with the aim of encouraging legislative and political action directed at eradicating the scourge of child labour around the world.

Significant progress has been made in the last decade as a result of international mobilisation. However, despite a 38% decline in child labour globally, 152 million minors are still engaged in child labour, and the COVID-19 pandemic has not only significantly aggravated this situation, but jeopardises the achievements in the fight against child labour.

The declaration of 2021 as the International Year for the Elimination of Child Labour was unanimously adopted in a UN General Assembly resolution in 2019. One of the main purposes of the initiative is to urge governments to implement all the necessary measures in order to achieve Goal 8.7 of the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which calls on the Member States to take immediate and effective measures to eradicate forced labour, put an end to modern slavery and human trafficking, ensure the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labour (including recruitment and the use of child soldiers), and to end child labour in all its forms by 2025.

This action-packed International Year will pave the way for the V Global Conference on Child Labour to be held in South Africa in 2022, where stakeholders will share their experiences and further engage in ending child labour in all its forms by 2025, as well as forced labour, human trafficking and modern slavery by 2030.

The information about the ILO future events as a part of the International Year for the Elimination of Child Labour can be found on this website.

For more information on the joint initiative of the ILO and Alliance 8.7 concerning the International Year for the Elimination of Child Labour, please refer to the following links.

Last update

28/1/2021