Latin America and the Caribbean consolidate their regional roadmap to accelerate the eradication of child labour

LIMA (ILO News) – Under the slogan #aSharedVoice in action, the Regional Initiative Latin America and the Caribbean Free of Child Labour concluded its 11th Annual Meeting with a key result: the strategic foundations of the new Strategic Plan 2026–2030. This outcome is the result of a tripartite process of dialogue, analysis and consensus that consolidates the region’s shared vision for the next five years.

The new Plan builds on the lessons learned, progress made and challenges faced during the strategic cycle that is coming to an end, which guided the tripartite dialogue and the definition of new regional priorities. Based on this joint reflection, and enriched by the exchange of experiences among constituents and regions, the Plan also incorporates the findings and recommendations of the Regional Report on Child Labour in the Americas, which will serves as a key technical and policy input.

Ana Virginia Moreira Gomes, ILO Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean, highlighted that this new cycle reaffirms the Initiative as a solid and coherent regional platform capable of turning tripartite cooperation into tangible results for children, while positioning the region with leadership and evidence towards the Sixth Global Conference on the Elimination of Child Labour, to be held in Morocco in 2026.

The new Strategic Plan will also serve as the basis for the regional position that Latin America and the Caribbean will present at the next Global Conference, thus reinforcing its global leadership and commitment to measurable and sustainable results.

Speaking on behalf of the governments, Roberto Padilha Guimaraes, Labour Auditor at Brazil’s Ministry of Labour and Employment, stressed that the new Strategic Plan 2026–2030 “will mark the regional roadmap for the coming years, inaugurating a new cycle of action, cooperation and shared learning.” He also underlined that the broad Regional Consultation for the Americas made it possible to consolidate a joint voice of governments, employers and workers to be presented at the next Global Conference on Child Labour. “Words are not enough,” he warned. “We must turn commitments into concrete action. A region free of child labour is not a utopia – it is an achievable goal if we join forces.”

Representing employers, Álvaro García, Vice President of the Confederation of Industrial Chambers of Mexico (CONCAMIN), emphasized that the progress achieved represents an opportunity to strengthen joint action and renew the tripartite commitment. He also cautioned that while new technologies bring opportunities, they may also generate risks and new forms of child labour if preventive action is not taken. “Collaboration distinguishes the Regional Initiative, which is a global reference in the eradication of child labour and the promotion of decent work.”

On behalf of workers, Susana Santomingo, Coordinator of the National Committee for the Eradication of Child Labour (CETI), representing the General Confederation of Labour (CGT) of Argentina, reaffirmed the value of social dialogue promoted by the Regional Initiative and the consensus achieved around this new cycle. “We are united by a goal that ennobles us all: to prevent and eradicate child labour in our region. Girls and boys are the future, not the present,” she said.

The conclusion of this process reaffirms the capacity of Latin America and the Caribbean to transform tripartite consensus into concrete action and to project a solid, coordinated regional response with local impact. With this roadmap now defined, the region moves forward together towards the goal of ending child labour in all its forms.

The 11th Annual Meeting was attended by partners who have consistently supported the fight against child labour: the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID); the Andalusian Agency for International Development Cooperation (AACID); the Brazilian Cooperation Agency (ABC); and the Government of the Netherlands.