The World Day Against Child Labour is an International Labour Organization (ILO)-sanctioned

holiday A holiday is a day set aside by custom or by law on which normal activities, especially business or work including school, are suspended or reduced. Generally, holidays are intended to allow individuals to celebrate or commemorate an event or tra ...

first launched in 2002 aiming to raise awareness and activism to prevent

child labour Child labour refers to the exploitation of children through any form of work that deprives children of their childhood, interferes with their ability to attend regular school, and is mentally, physically, socially and morally harmful. Such e ...

. It was spurred by ratifications of ILO Convention No. 138 on the minimum age for employment and ILO Convention No. 182 on the worst forms of child labour. The World Day Against Child Labour, which is held every year on June 12, is intended to foster the worldwide movement against child labour.

Background

The World Day Against Child Labour was first established in the year 2002 by the

International Labour Organisation (ILO) The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social and economic justice by setting international labour standards. Founded in October 1919 under the League of Nations, it is the first and ol ...

to draw constant attention to the issue of child labour and to revise and revisit our strategies to eliminate child labour. It has been 19 years since 2002, and the World Day Against Child Labour is observed on 12 June every year. The United Nations General Assembly while acknowledging the magnitude of child labour, unanimously adopted a resolution declaring 2021 as the International Year for the Elimination of Child Labour and has asked the ILO to take the lead in its implementation. This day brings together governments, local authorities, civil society and international, workers and employers organizations to point out the child labour problem and define the guidelines to help child labourers. According to ILO's data, hundreds of millions of girls and boys worldwide are involved in work that deprives them of receiving adequate education, health, leisure and basic freedoms, violating this way their rights. Of these children, more than half are exposed to the worst forms of child labour. These worst forms of child labour include work in hazardous environments, slavery, or other forms of

forced labour Forced labour, or unfree labour, is any work relation, especially in modern or early modern history, in which people are employed against their will with the threat of destitution, detention, violence including death, or other forms of ex ...

, illicit activities such as

drug trafficking A drug is any chemical substance that causes a change in an organism's physiology or psychology when consumed. Drugs are typically distinguished from food and substances that provide nutritional support. Consumption of drugs can be via insuffla ...

and

prostitution Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in Sex work, sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, n ...

, as well as involvement in armed conflict.

Significance

The Significance of the World Day Against Child Labour is to pay attention to the problem of child labour and to find ways to eradicate it. The day is used to spread awareness about the harmful mental and physical problems faced by children forced into child labour, all over the world.

References

External links

World Day Against Child Labour

United Nations days Child labour-related organizations Recurring events established in 2002 {{UN-stub