International Organization for Migration (IOM): Expanding Evidence Base on Child Labour, Forced Labour, and Human Trafficking
The International Organization for Migration (IOM), the International Labour Organization (ILO), and Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA) join forces to host a global conference showcasing new research findings on child labour, forced labour, and human trafficking.
Worldwide, more than 25 million people were in forced labour for the commercial gain of others, while 160 million children – 63 million girls and 97 million boys – were estimated to be engaged in child labour globally at the beginning of 2020. Nearly half of those were involved in hazardous work.
The global conference will take place from 27 to 29 June under the theme Generating Evidence to Support the Elimination of Child Labour, Forced Labour, and Human Trafficking. It brings together researchers, policy actors, social partners and practitioners from around the world and will provide a platform for grant recipients to share their research findings, engender discussion among partners, strengthen partnerships, and ultimately advance the understanding of child labour, forced labour and human trafficking, to inform policy and practice. The research topics include risk factors for vulnerability, assessment of the effectiveness of child labour, forced labour, counter-trafficking policies and interventions, and many more.
“It is vital that we continue to engage and support new researchers to work on these challenging topics,” emphasized Harry Cook, Programme Coordinator in IOM’s Protection Division. “Better evidence is urgently needed to prevent these forms of exploitation and to uphold the rights of migrants, including internally displaced persons.”
The registration for the conference is available here.