June 12 – World Day Against Child Labor
2019 marks the 100th anniversary of the convention adopted by the International Labour Organization concerning minimum age in industry. “The exploitation of children is the most appalling and unbearable evil for the human soul. Serious work in the field of social legislation always begins with the protection of children.” Albert Thomas, the first Director of the ILO, maintained this position at the time.
2019 also marks the twentieth anniversary of the adoption of “Convention on the Worst Forms of Child Labour” of the ILO, which not all countries have ratified.
The ILO itself recognizes that, worldwide, 152 million children between the ages of 5 and 17 are victims of child labor, and almost half of them - 73 million - are in situations of hazardous child labor, mostly performing tasks in the agricultural sector.
The report states that 72 million cases are concentrated in Africa; 62 million in Asia and the Pacific; 10,7 million in the Americas; 5,5 million in Europe and Central Asia; and 1,1 million in the Arab States.
In terms of prevalence, 1 in 5 children in Africa (19,6%) are in child labor, while in other regions it ranges between 3% and 7%: 2,9% in the Arab States (1 in 35 children); 4,1% in Europe and Central Asia (1 in 25); 5,3% in the Americas (1 in 19); and 7,4% in the Asia-Pacific region (1 in 14).
Nearly half of the 152 million victims of child labor are between 5 and 11 years old; 42 million (28%) are between 12 and 14 years old; and 37 million (24%) are between 15 and 17 years old.
The prevalence of hazardous child labor is highest among children aged 15 to 17. However, a quarter of those engaged in hazardous child labor (19 million) are under 12 years old.
Of the 152 million cases of child labor, 88 million are boys and 64 million are girls.
Boys represent 58% of all child laborers of both sexes, and 62% of all child laborers of both sexes performing hazardous work. Boys are observed to be more at risk of child labor than girls, but this may be due to the fact that girls' work is not always reported, especially in the case of domestic work.
Child labor is concentrated primarily in agriculture (71%), which includes fishing, forestry, livestock farming and aquaculture, and comprises both subsistence and commercial agriculture; 17% of children in child labor work in services; and 12% in the industrial sector, particularly mining.
In Latin America and the Caribbean
Latin America and the Caribbean are the regions that registered the sharpest decline in hazardous child labor, according to the Regional Office of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). In its report "Towards the Urgent Elimination of Hazardous Child Labor", highlights that “In Latin America and the Caribbean, this work has decreased the most, with a reduction of 2,4% between 2012 and 2016.”
However, the ILO continues to emphasize that “The unquestionably worst forms of child labor, such as commercial sexual exploitation, trafficking of children for labor exploitation, and the use of children in armed conflict and drug trafficking, pose particular problems because they involve clandestine and difficult-to-address illicit activities. Some also pose specific risks to girls, who are often more vulnerable due to the prevailing patriarchal cultural and social norms in Latin America.”
