Background

The International Labour Organization (ILO), in collaboration with the Alliance 8.7 global partnership, is launching the International Year for the Elimination of Child Labour in 2021, to encourage legislative and practical actions to eradicate child labour worldwide. The International Year was unanimously adopted in a UN General Assembly resolution in 2019. A main aim of the year is to urge governments to do what is necessary to achieve Target 8.7 of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Target 8.7 asks Member States 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 the recruitment and use of child soldiers, and by 2025 to end child labour in all its forms.

Even child labour remains a great concern, Indonesia has made significant progress in its efforts to eliminate child labour. Both ILO Convention 138 on minimum age and ILO Convention 182 concerning prohibited and immediate action on elimination of the worst form of child labour had been ratified and the standards on child labour have also been reflected in national laws, particularly in Manpower Act No 13, year 2003.

Following the ratification of ILO Convention No 182, Government of Indonesia strengthened its commitment by endorsing National Acton Plan (NAP) for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour in 2002 and elaborating NAP into Roadmap Toward Child Labor Free Indonesia in Year 2022.

Roadmap toward Child Labor Free Indonesia in 2022 is a guideline that contains a description of the key issues based on first-year action experiences and strategic guide in accelerating the achievement of Child Labor Free Indonesia by 2022. This is a reference for all parties, including government ministries, employers' organizations and business representatives, trade unions, civil society groups (non-governmental organizations, social organizations, community organizations, etc.), as well as international organizations.

However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, child labour incidents have increased. Like other countries in the world, Indonesia has been severely hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. Today, with more than 1.55 million cases, Indonesia has the highest confirmed coronavirus cases in ASEAN. The crisis has rapidly shifted from a health to an economic and employment crisis.

Therefore, it is important for the ILO and its social partners to continue raising the awareness and triggering a social movement towards the elimination of child labour. The massive campaign will be conducted by the ILO in collaboration with Cause Indonesia, an organization that provides a virtual platform and community, through a virtual race by inviting more than 3,500 participants nationwide to be involved and to be part of the social movement against child labour. The virtual race will include both runners and cyclists and they will be involved in social media campaign through ILO and Cause Indonesia social media accounts.

Objective

All stakeholders and the public at large get together to mark the 2021 International Year for the Elimination of Child Labour, raising the awareness and creating a social movement nationwide about the urgent needs of the elimination of child labour and to achieve Indonesia’s goal to be free of child labour in 2022.

Key messages

• It is time to eliminate child labour
• Children should go to school, not working
• Realizing child labour free in Indonesia in 2022
• Working together to eliminate child labour
• etc

Event format

The event will be initially started by virtual race for runners and cyclists that will be shared to all over Indonesia. The participants should register through web/applications and they have to provide a consent that they would follow the health protocols of COVID-19 pandemic. The participants are obliged to run between June to July (in specific time duration) for 12.6 kilometres for runners and 25 kilometres for cyclists. The result should be submitted through web/apps and all finishers will receive a token of appreciation. The participants are also expected to be involved in social campaign and movement with messages related to the elimination of child labour, the importance of education for children, child labour free working environment and so forth. The selected, most interesting messages will be awarded with prizes.

Campaign formats

• Press releases (pre- and post-events)
• Social media messages through social media cards, message threats, photos and so forth
• Articles/News items
• Informational banners
• Videos