News on forced labour

December 2020

  1. © ILO 2022

    Universal protection against the worst forms of child labour

    23 December 2020

    In 2020, for the first time in the ILO’s history, an International Labour Standard achieved universal ratification, with acceptance by all 187 Member States. Universal ratification of ILO Convention No. 182 on Worst Forms of Child Labour (1999) means that all children now have legal protection against the worst forms of child labour. The landmark achievement comes at a significant moment, because the United Nations has designated 2021 as the International Year for the Elimination of Child Labour. Vera Paquete-Perdigao answers some key questions on child labour and the Convention.

November 2020

  1. © ILO 2022

    Child labour is an affront to our common values

    20 November 2020

    The universal ratification of the ILO’s Convention on the Worst Forms of Child Labour is a positive step for Africa’s children says Cynthia Samuel-Olonjuwon, ILO Assistant Director-General and Regional Director for Africa.

June 2018

  1. Poverty leads children from Madagascar to work in dangerous conditions

    12 June 2018

    World Day Against Child Labour focuses this year on hazardous child labour and safe work for youth of legal working age. Almost half of the 152 million victims of child labour – 73 million – toil in hazardous work. In Madagascar, children in child labour in brickmaking and in domestic work, are among those who need to be protected.

February 2015

  1. © Tabitha Ross/ILO 2022

    New study sheds light on plight of working street-based children in Lebanon

    16 February 2015

    Study is the first of its kind to comprehensively profile the size and magnitude of street-based child labour in Lebanon

February 2014

  1. Why definitions matter

    03 February 2014

    Definitions are important in developing reliable data and in guiding action on forced and child labour. They mean we can be held accountable for our efforts to generate change in the name of those who are the most exploited in the world today.

September 2013

  1. ILO study examines working conditions in Thai fishing industry

    02 September 2013

    A new report has found shortfalls in Thailand’s fishing industry in relation to national and international labour standards.

February 2012

  1. Buried in bricks: Bonded labour in Afghanistan

    06 February 2012

    Bonded labour of adults and children in brick kilns is one of the most prevalent, yet least known forms of hazardous labour in Afghanistan. A new ILO study on the phenomenon marks the first attempt to provide a better understanding of the dynamics of bonded labour in two provinces of the country. ILO Online spoke with Samuel Hall consulting, lead author of the study.