IV Global Conference on the Sustained Eradication of Child Labour, Buenos Aires, 14-16 November 2017

Since 1997, countries around the world have shared knowledge on policies and good practices, and have committed to eliminate child labour in a series of global conferences held in Oslo (1997), The Hague (2010) and Brasilia (2013).

The IV Global Conference on the Sustained Eradication of Child Labour will be organized by the Government of Argentina and will be held in Buenos Aires on 14-16 November 2017.

While significant progress has been made globally in the fight against all forms of child labour between 2000 and 2012,1 with ILO constituents having increasingly adopted and implemented integrated strategies and coordinated policies to combat child labour the goal that was set to eliminate it in its worst forms by 2016 was not achieved.

Under the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) of the 2030 Agenda, UN Member States, employers’ and workers’ organizations, as well as civil society organizations, are urged to eliminate child labour by 2025, and forced labour, modern slavery and human trafficking by 2030. In order to contribute to this goal, the ILO launched Alliance 8.7, a global partnership designed to align the efforts of those working towards the achievement of SDG Target 8.7.

In this framework, it was agreed that the IV Global Conference should cover both the sustained eradication of child labour and the elimination of forced labour and, in this context, it will also address the issue of the quality of youth employment.

2030 Agenda

In 2015, world leaders adopted the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals: 17 interrelated goals and 169 associated targets to guide global development. Goal 8 aims to «Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all». In Target 8.7 leaders committed to «take immediate and effective measures to eradicate forced labour, end modern slavery and human trafficking and secure the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labour, including recruitment and use of child soldiers, and by 2025 end child labour in all its forms».

1 IPEC: Marking progress against child labour: Global estimates and trends 2000-2012. Geneva, ILO, 2013.