For the first time in history, an International Labor Organization convention has been unanimously signed by its 187 member states and territories.
We had to wait twenty-one years! This Tuesday, August 4, Convention 182 on the worst forms of child labor was signed by all of its 187 member states and territories. Adopted in June 1999, this convention of the International Labor Organization (ILO) commits the signatory countries to “Take immediate and effective measures to ensure the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labor as a matter of urgency”.
Its purpose, to monitor, prevent, condemn, punish the culprits and help young victims to get out of it, to reintegrate into society and to have access to education. ILO members ratifying the Convention must also “Take into account the special situation of girls”.
A 21-year journey
Entered into force in November 2000, this convention on the worst forms of child labor has been gradually ratified by all members of the ILO. In the course of 2000, Rome and London ratified it. The following year, Paris, Vietnam, the United States, Ukraine, Turkey and Yemen signed it. In 2002, Berlin ratified it. In 2014, Somalia made a commitment. Among the latest signatories are Tuvalu, Palau, India and finally in 2020, the Kingdom of Tonga, which ratified it on Tuesday, August 4.
According to the Director-General of the ILO, Guy Rider, ratification by all States “Means that all children now enjoy legal protection against the worst forms of child labor. It reflects a global commitment that the worst forms of child labor (…) have no place in our society ”.
Disastrous and alarming consequences
Faced with a lack of access to education and extreme poverty, an estimated 152 million children are still forced to work to survive. Worse yet, 73 million children do hazardous work. The ILO had a mixed picture of hindsight “By almost 40%” child labor between 2000 and 2016 but that "Progress has stalled in recent years, especially in the youngest age group (5 to 11 years) and in certain geographic areas".
In addition, the organization announces fears that the Covid-19 epidemic and its disastrous consequences on the economy "Do not cancel" completely the efforts made in recent years. Which could "lead to an increase in child labor for the first time in twenty years", worries the ILO.
A scourge the organization wanted to eradicate by 2021, a year it had proclaimed as the international year for the elimination of child labor across the world.