Despite important progress achieved over the past decades, child labour remains one of the most urgent and persistent injustices of our time. According to the latest ILO and UNICEF global estimates, nearly 138 million children worldwide are still engaged in child labour, including around 54 million children trapped in hazardous work that threatens their health, safety, education, and development.

This reality is unacceptable

Child labour is not the result of individual choices alone. It is a deep-rooted and multidimensional structural problem driven by poverty, informal and precarious employment, unequal access to quality education, weak social protection systems, armed conflict, war, forced displacement, climate change, and the lack of decent work and adequate livelihoods for adults.

The world has already missed the target of eliminating child labour by 2025. This failure must serve as a wake-up call for governments, international organisations, employers, workers' organisations, and civil society. Progress is possible, but it must be accelerated through stronger political will, effective enforcement, and rights-based public policies.

In line with the 2026 call to give a "red card" to child labour, the ILC underlines that the fight against child labour must go beyond prohibitive legislation. It must be grounded in social justice, decent work, universal rights, and comprehensive public policies that protect both children and their families.

In this context, the ILC calls for the following urgent actions:

·   Every child must have guaranteed access to free, quality, inclusive, and compulsory education.

·   A zero-tolerance approach to child labour must be adopted, and national and international monitoring and enforcement mechanisms must be strengthened.

·   ILO Convention No. 138 on Minimum Age and ILO Convention No. 182 on the Worst Forms of Child Labour must be fully and effectively implemented in all countries.

·   Universal social protection systems must be expanded, including income security, child benefits, early childhood care, and parental support.

·   Families must be supported through decent work, fair wages, secure employment, and adequate livelihoods for adults, so that no child is forced into labour because of poverty.

·   Labour inspection systems must be strengthened, particularly in sectors where child labour remains widespread, including agriculture, domestic work, textiles, mining, and informal work.

·   Public policies must address the impact of crises, wars, forced displacement, and climate change, which increase the vulnerability of children and families.

·   Responsible action must be ensured across supply chains, and employers must be held accountable for preventing and eliminating child labour in all forms.

Children are not meant to work. They are meant to live, play, learn, grow, and dream in freedom and dignity.

The fight against child labour is not only a responsibility for today; it is a moral and social obligation to our shared human future.

As the International Labour Confederation, we call on all governments, international institutions, social partners, and civil society organisations to act with urgency and determination.

Let us end this injustice together.

Every child deserves to play, learn, and grow.

Every child deserves a future free from exploitation.