Europe and Central Asia Regional Consultation in preparation of the Sixth Global Conference on the Elimination of Child Labour (Morocco, 2026)

Over the past two decades, the Europe and Central Asia region has made significant progress in reducing child labour. However, structural challenges - including informality, limited access to social protection, persistent inequality, and the growing impacts of climate and economic crises - continue to affect millions of children and adolescents.

In light of this, the Sixth Global Conference on the Elimination of Child Labour, to be hosted by the Government of Morocco in 2026, offers a pivotal opportunity to take stock of progress, renew commitments, and strengthen global efforts. The ILO Governing Body has endorsed the preparatory process and mandated the convening of regional tripartite consultations across Africa, the Americas, the Arab States, Asia and the Pacific, and Europe and Central Asia (see GB.353/POL/4, paragraphs 12–17). These consultations will engage tripartite stakeholders to ensure that regional priorities and perspectives are central in the global dialogue.

Purpose

The Europe and Central Asia Regional Tripartite Consultation aims to:

• Assess the current state of child labour in the region using the latest ILO-UNICEF Global estimates of child labour, national data, and ILO research.
• Exchange effective practices and innovative solutions to address persistent and emerging challenges, including insufficient enforcement, gaps in social protection, migration, informality, and hazardous forms of child labour.
• Develop clear, evidence-based regional priorities for the elimination of child labour.
• Strengthen tripartite social dialogue to foster consensus, alliances and sustainable commitments among governments, employers and workers, aimed at preventing and eliminating child labour towards participation in the Sixth Global Conference.

Composition

The consultation will bring together:

• Governments: Representatives from countries and territories in the Europe and Central Asia region, including: Albania, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Moldova, Montenegro, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Türkiye, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Uzbekistan, and Kosovo (as per UN Security Council Resolution 1244 (1999) ).
• Employers: One representative from each country.
• Workers: One representative from each country.
• Observers: Representatives from IOE, ITUC, UN agencies, EU, Council of Europe, INGOs, civil society, academia, and experts.

Format and engagement

The consultation will include:

• Live sessions via Zoom.
• Online discussion forums.
• A pre-event questionnaire.
• A repository of documentation, good practices, and policy materials.

All resources will be hosted on the ITC-ILO eCampus learning platform.

Sessions will be conducted in English and Russian.

Outcomes

Expected outcomes include:

• Key findings, priorities, and policy recommendations to support the agenda by guiding future actions, informing policies, and strengthening advocacy efforts. These results will contribute to the success of the upcoming conference and help make progress in eliminating child labour.