Child Labour
ILO is a specialized agency of the United Nations
Promoting jobs, protecting people
ILO home > Topics > Child Labour

Child Labour

Boy working in the bangle industry, Ferozabad

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.

ILO World Report on Child Labour
How can we reduce child labour in the less favourable circumstances of a global economic slowdown?
1
Social protection and child labour
Social protection measures can help reduce the incidence of child labour, says Constance Thomas, Director of the ILO’s International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC).
2
World Day Against Child Labour 2013
The ILO estimates that 15.5 million children are engaged in domestic work in the home of a third party or employer. Stories of the abuse of children in domestic work are all too common.
3
Gordon Brown, UN Special Envoy for Global Education, Georg Kell, Executive Director of the UN Global Compact and Guy Ryder, Director-General of the ILO, urging business to do more on the fight against child labour.
4
FAO publication on child labour
FAO has published the first global study on child labour issues related to livestock. The study has benefited from ILO-IPEC inputs.
5
ArtWorks
TAKE action against CHILD LABOUR!

GET informed...

RAISE your voice...

SPREAD the word...
6

News

  1. Child labour

    Protecting children from having to work

    30 April 2013

  2. Executive Summary

    Executive Summary

    29 April 2013

Key resources

  1.  

    Policy Note

    Tackling child labour: From commitment to action
    7 June 2012

    This paper considers the progress that ILO member States are making in the application of ILO Conventions and Recommendations.

Watch

  1. Eradicate child labour with social dialogue

ILO videos on child labour

ILO Programmes against child labour

  1. 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.

Good practices in combating child labour

© 1996-2013 International Labour Organization (ILO) | Copyright and permissions | Privacy policy | Disclaimer