2021 is the UN's International Year for the Elimination of Child Labour. While the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic continues to overshadow other crises and issues, it serves to demonstrate the interconnected nature of social problems and consequently the need for collective and international responses. The ever-persistent prevalence of child labour, which has u-turned with numbers of child labourers rising since the pandemic began, is a good starting point.
On Wednesday, March 17th, 2021, the Child Labour Network* organised a multi-stakeholder meeting to discuss actions and possibilities for collaboration during the International Year for the Elimination of Child Labour. The hybrid session, which took place in the House of Councilors’ Building and simultaneously streamed online, was organised with the support of the Parliamentary Association for the Promotion of ILO Activities and the Parliamentary Association for UNICEF, and in corporation with the ILO Office for Japan, UNICEF Tokyo Office, and Japan NGO Network for Education (JNNE).
Opening remarks were made by two parliamentarians, secretary generals of the
Parliamentary Association for the Promotion of ILO Activities and the Parliamentary Association for UNICEF, as well as the president of the Child Labour Network.
Part I: Presentations on the International Year for the Elimination of Child Labour and the impact of the COVID-19 on children
by the ILO Office for Japan and the UNICEF Tokyo Office
Part II: Reports on current strategies and activities for the elimination of child labour
by members of the Child Labour Network: Action against Child Exploitation (ACE), Terra Renaissance, and Save the Children Japan
Part III: Reports from various stakeholders
by representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, JTUC-RENGO (Japanese Trade Union Confederation), the Global Compact Network Japan, and the Child Labour Network.
What is the International Year for the Elimination of Child Labour?
In July 2019, the United Nations General Assembly unanimously adopted a resolution designating 2021 as the International Year for the Elimination of Child Labour. In order to achieve SDG 8.7 (the elimination of child labour by 2025), the ILO has been calling stakeholders to pledge their own actions that can be taken by December 2021, aligning to the IYECL’s three pillar strategy: "Action", "Awareness Raising" and "Scaling Up".
Read more on the action pledge here: https://endchildlabour2021.org/take-action/stakeholders/. Submission deadline for pledges is May 15th.
*Acting Secretariat: Action against Child Exploitation
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