Public private partnership
Event at ILO highlights business initiatives to tackle child labour
12 March 2014
GENEVA - Forty representatives of businesses, employers’ and trade union organizations, UN agencies and civil society organizations took part in the third meeting of the Child Labour Platform (CLP), held at the headquarters of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) in Geneva, March 6-7, 2014.
Among the event’s highlights were exchanges between some of the world’s most influential multinational enterprises - including in cocoa, sugar, cotton and tobacco - about their practical experiences in seeking to develop effective and sustainable initiatives to tackle child labour in global supply chains. Participants also discussed the ILO’s initiative to create a guidance tool to assist the private sector to secure respect for the right of freedom from child labour.
Guest speakers from the ILO reported on its mission to monitor progress towards eliminating child labour in cotton harvesting in Uzbekistan, indicating also the need to broaden the scope of ILO cooperation with Uzbekistan to address the compulsory mobilization of adults. The CLP also welcomed the Brazilian Ministry of Labour, which presented its proactive engagement with employers’ and workers’ organisations to enhance progress against child labour and towards the implementation of the ILO’s Decent Work agenda.
The CLP was established to build the capacity of businesses to work towards eliminating child labour in global supply chains. It operates, with the ILO’s International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC) as its secretariat, under the auspices of the UN Global Compact Human Rights and Labour Working Group, and is co-chaired by the International Organisation of Employers (IOE) and the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC).
Among the event’s highlights were exchanges between some of the world’s most influential multinational enterprises - including in cocoa, sugar, cotton and tobacco - about their practical experiences in seeking to develop effective and sustainable initiatives to tackle child labour in global supply chains. Participants also discussed the ILO’s initiative to create a guidance tool to assist the private sector to secure respect for the right of freedom from child labour.
Guest speakers from the ILO reported on its mission to monitor progress towards eliminating child labour in cotton harvesting in Uzbekistan, indicating also the need to broaden the scope of ILO cooperation with Uzbekistan to address the compulsory mobilization of adults. The CLP also welcomed the Brazilian Ministry of Labour, which presented its proactive engagement with employers’ and workers’ organisations to enhance progress against child labour and towards the implementation of the ILO’s Decent Work agenda.
The CLP was established to build the capacity of businesses to work towards eliminating child labour in global supply chains. It operates, with the ILO’s International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC) as its secretariat, under the auspices of the UN Global Compact Human Rights and Labour Working Group, and is co-chaired by the International Organisation of Employers (IOE) and the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC).