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Summary: The Global March joins in celebrating
the first World Day Against
Child Labour and commends the
pioneering efforts the ILO has
made in the worldwide drive to
eliminate child labour.
FOR A FUTURE WITHOUT CHILD LABOUR
The Global March joins in celebrating the first World Day Against
Child Labour and commends the pioneering efforts the ILO has
made in the worldwide drive to eliminate child labour. The
problem is clearly one of the most serious issues facing humanity
today. With an estimated 246 million children engaged in child
labour and almost 73% involved in its worst forms, something
must be done now!
It is encouraging that since the unanimous adoption of
Convention 182, most countries have ratified the instrument,
declared their support for the cause, and undertaken several
steps to address the problem. Unfortunately, this has not been
enough. The very first article of Convention 182 calls on member
states to "take immediate and effective measures to secure the
prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labour as a
matter of urgency." In most countries, however, the efforts have
not met this standard.
When we see children suffering through a life of slavery,
prostitution, abuse, and despair, there can be no grounds for
delay! We must change their lives now, with the same sense of
urgency and determination we would show if our own children
were in danger.
Most of the children who were suffering in the worst forms of
child labour when ILO Convention 182 was adopted 3 years ago
have not enjoyed any relief or rehabilitation since then. The
world community has not even managed to stop the fresh
recruitment of child labourers. When most of the children in the
worst forms of child labour today began their life of exploitation
since the adoption of Convention 182, we must recognise that
our efforts have not been enough and we must do much, much
more to end child labour.
The Global March Against Child Labour calls upon the
international community to make the greatest effort possible to
end this widespread violation of human rights and children's
dignity. We call for the ILO and its members to:
* Recommit to ending child labour as one of organisation's and
the world's top priorities
* Establish clear timetables for the elimination of child labour
and its worst forms
* Closely and objectively monitor progress towards the
elimination of child labour as a fundamental part of protecting the
rights of all children
* Devote the maximum possible resources of the ILO to the
cause of ending child labour and integrate the issue of child
labour in all relevant spheres of the ILO's activities
* Advance the role of IPEC from the direct implementation of
child labour projects to catalysing, supporting, and guiding
nationally owned and managed programs for the time-bound
elimination of child labour
* Mobilise the full involvement of all UN agencies, regional
organisations, international donors, national governments, social
partners, and civil society organisations for the cause of ending
child labour.
* Make the effective elimination of child labour a top priority
for all governments
* Make the effective elimination of child labour one of the core
responsibilities of all employers' associations and trade unions
* Involve child labourers themselves in the process of ending
their exploitation
* Generate the highest level of political support for the cause
through the establishment of an International Task Force on Child
Labour composed of heads of UN agencies, heads of state, and
leaders from employers, workers, and civil society, to coordinate
and accelerate international efforts to end child labour
* Celebrate the World Day Against Child Labour each year with
activities and initiatives to spread greater awareness and
strengthen public resolve to address the problem
* Promote ILO Convention 138 as an indispensable tool for
ensuring that girls and boys of all countries have a chance for
quality education before entering the world of work
* Ensure that bringing children from the exploitation of child
labour into the enlightenment of education is placed to the heart
of international development efforts and make working children
a priority target group of educational programs
* Recognise and fulfil the special duty the ILO has to protect
the lives and improve the future of a quarter of a billion humans
working now as child labourers