International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour

What's new

• Activities around the world for World Day 2009
  12 June 2009 - World Day Against Child Labour aims to promote awareness and action to end child labour. This year we are putting special focus on the plight of girls who often endure additional hardships as victims of child labour. Support for the World Day has been growing each year and 2009 will be no exception. Hundreds of activities will be taking place around the world involving governments, employers, workers, United Nations agencies, civil society organizations and concerned individuals who care about protecting the rights of children. We invite you to join us this World Day and every day as part of the growing worldwide movement to eliminate child labour.
• ILO says crisis increases risk of girls becoming child labourers
  10 June 2009 - The global financial crisis could push an increasing number of children, particularly girls, into child labour, according to a new report issued by the International Labour Office (ILO) for the World Day Against Child Labour on June 12.
• World Day Against Child Labour – 12 June 2009
  08 June 2009 - The annual World Day Against Child Labour will be marked by events in scores of countries around the world on 12 June amid growing concerns over the impact of the economic crisis on child labour, and in particular girls.
• Launch of the IPEC Project for Uganda "Support for the preparatory phase of the Uganda National Action Plan for the Elimination of child Labour" (SNAP)
  24 April 2009 - SNAP, a new four-year project funded by the US Department of Labor, will assist the Ugandan government to further strengthen the country's legal, policy, institutional and social foundations for large-scale action against the worst forms of child labour. Interventions are being designed to tap into components of the Ugandan Decent Work Country Programme as well as opportunities offered by other ongoing political, social and economic development programmes and policies. The project launch will take place on 24 April 2009 in Kampala to coincide with the 90th Anniversary Celebrations of the ILO and is being organized with the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development, the Federation of Uganda Employers, and two workers' organizations - the National Organization of Trade Unions and the Central Organization of Free Trade Unions.
• Understanding Children's Work: an inter-agency research cooperation project on child labour
  15 March 2009 - Assessing the impact of programmes to eliminate child labour is complex, particularly in view of the fact that projects touch many aspects of children’s welfare as well as economic and social development. A new study of impact evaluations published by UCW, a joint ILO, UNICEF and World Bank research project, reviews a number of impact evaluations that have been carried out on child labour prevention and protection policies to date, examining current evaluation methodologies and drawing out best practices and lessons.
• ILO-IPEC, World Scout Movement extend cooperation to fight child labour
  12 February 2009 - Michele Jankanish, Director of the ILO’s International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC) and Luc Panissod, Acting Secretary-General of the World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM), have signed a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to extend their cooperation in the fight against child labour for a further three years.

Recent publications

• Give girls a chance - Tackling child labour, a key to the future
  10 June 2009 - This report provides an overview on the involvement of girls in child labour and the policy responses required to tackle the problem. It provides global estimates on girls involvement in child labour and looks at major sectors of work in which girls are involved. It also considers the issue of gender inequalities in education and how these contribute to child labour and the transition of girls into the youth labour market. The report concludes with proposals on the policy response required to tackle child labour of girls.
• Media summary: Give girls a chance - Tackling child labour, a key to the future
  10 June 2008 - Media summary of the ILO report “Give girls a chance - Tackling child labour, a key to the future”.
• IPEC news, March 2009
  30 March 2009 - Newsletter of the ILO's International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour. In this issue: Football for Hope in Sialkot; Children should not bear the brunt of the financial crisis; new standards for child labour statistics; World Congress III against Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents sets future agenda; new projects; news from the regions; World Day against Child Labour 2009; ILO-ITC courses on child labour.
• Combating child labour through education: A resource kit for policy-makers and practitioners
  23 March 2009 - Education strategies have proved critical in the prevention of child labour and in rehabilitation of former child labourers. This education resource kit pulls together research, guidelines, tools and good practices on combating child labour through education. The 25 resources included in the kit constitute a diverse and comprehensive collection of resources developed by ILO-IPEC and its partners during the period 2002-2008.
• Action against child labour. IPEC highlights 2008
  19 February 2009 - This report is the implementation report of the ILO's International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC) covering the year 2008. It provides highlights the Programme's activities worldwide in 2008. The report also reflects upon the impact of the global economic crisis on the child labour, and on progress towards ILO's vision of eliminating all worst forms of child labour by 2016.
• Vocational training and apprenticeship: An alternative to underage work and the worst forms of child labour in French-speaking Africa
  15 February 2009 - This brochure is the product of IPEC’s project in Francophone Africa supported by the Government of France. It presents the approach, interventions and results obtained in promoting vocational training and apprenticeship for children in the 13-17 year range as an alternative to child labour. The three-year project, which runs to the end of 2009 has been carrying out programmes in eight countries: Benin, Burkina Faso, Madagascar, Mali, Morocco, Niger, Senegal and Togo. (Only in French.)
• Combating trafficking in children for labour exploitation: A resource kit for policy-makers and practitioners
  21 November 2008 - This resource kit captures over 10 years of work by IPEC and its partners and makes the Programme’s experiences and knowledge available to those who design, implement and improve policy and programming to fight child trafficking. It is composed of five separate but interrelated books that cover a range of themes, including: understanding child trafficking, research and knowledge base, building legal and policy frameworks, mobilization and building partnerships, taking action against child trafficking, and the processes that may contribute to effective remedial action. Accompanying the texts are more than 150 resources comprising publications, ‘how-to’ manuals, guidelines and copies of relevant international instruments and protocols.
• Child labour, education and health: A review of the literature
  19 November 2008 - This paper reviews the rapidly-expanding literature on the relationships between child labour, education and health. With the renewed interest in child labour as an economic and social problem, researchers have attempted to assess its linkages to the core elements of human capital, hoping to solve continuing riddles in development policy and improve the quality of life for the world¿s poorest and most disadvantaged inhabitants.
• Sampling for household-based surveys of child labour
  15 October 2008 - This manual presents a wide range of sampling techniques for household-based child labour surveys with a particular emphasis on sampling design and selection procedures. It is meant to assist survey professionals in statistical offices, universities and research organizations. Many of the concepts and approaches introduced by the Manual are illustrated with examples from SIMPOC child labour surveys conducted in all major world regions.
• Child labour and education: Evidence from SIMPOC surveys
  09 June 2008 - A new working paper analyzing a diverse sample of SIMPOC national survey data from all world regions. The authors review evidence of the impact of child labour on education, emphasizing the effects of child labour on school attendance, grade repetition, dropout, literacy achievements and overall human capital accumulation.