- Child Labour
- Decent work
- Domestic workers
- Economic and social development
- Employment promotion
- Employment security
- Equality and discrimination
- Forced labour
- Freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining
- Green jobs
- HIV/AIDS
- Labour administration and inspection
- Labour law
- Labour migration
- Millennium Development Goals
- Safety and health at work
- Skills, knowledge and employability
- Social security
- Tripartism and social dialogue
- Working conditions
- Youth employment
Child Labour
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Today, throughout the world, around 215 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 the ILO's Minimum Age Convention No. 138 and the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention No. 182, the ILO's International Programme on Child Labour (IPEC) works to achieve the effective abolition of child labour.
News
Key resources
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Policy Note
Tackling child labour: From commitment to action
7 June 2012This paper considers the progress that ILO member States are making in the application of ILO Conventions and Recommendations.
Watch
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Eradicate child labour with social dialogue
ILO videos on child labour
Ending Child Labour by 2016: the Continuing Challenge - 12 June 201212 June 2012 - (2m51)There has been progress in the effort to eliminate the worst forms of child labour worldwide. As a result of international commitments and the ILO convention to eradicate the worst forms of child labour, tens of millions of children around the world are out of work and in school. But as the world gets closer to the deadline in 2016 for the eradication of child labour around the world, the pace of progress is slowing. In its 2010 Global Report on child labour, the ILO has said that the global number of child labourers had declined from 222 million to 215 million, or 3 per cent, over the period 2004 to 2008, representing a “slowing down of the global pace of reduction.” The report also expressed concern that the global economic crisis could “further brake” progress toward the goal of eliminating the worst forms of child labour by 2016. Progress was greatest among children aged 5-14, where the number of child labourers fell by 10 per cent. Child labour among girls decreased by 15 per cent. However, it increased among boys (by 8 million or 7 per cent). What’s more, child labour among young people aged 15 to 17 increased by 20 per cent, from 52 million to 62 million. |
Child labour standards
ILO Programmes against child labour
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International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC)
Created in 1992, IPEC has grown to become the biggest dedicated child labour programme in the world and the largest technical cooperation programme within the ILO. It is now operational in some 90 countries, benefiting millions of children worldwide.