Our Pledge to Help Eliminate Child Labour in 2021 and Four Recommended Actions that Businesses Can Take

The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) has designated 2021 as the International Year for the Elimination of Child Labour.  While progress has been made to reduce the incidence of child labour, the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic has meant the level of child labour is increasing for the first time after over 20 years and an estimated 152 million children are still in child labour. 

UNGA, Alliance 8.7 – the global partnership to end forced labour, modern slavery, human trafficking and child labour – and the ILO are calling on governments, businesses and civil society organisations to join a global pledge to eliminate the worst forms of child labour, and by 2025 end child labour in all its forms.

The Centre has pledged to take the following actions to further our work to support the elimination of child labour in 2021: 

• Extend Child Labour Prevention and Remediation (CLPR) support. Starting with India and Pakistan, we will appoint and train local child labour remediation partners to extend our CLPR coverage into more countries in 2021.

• Highlight child labour hotspots and strengthen monitoring. In 2021, we will develop risk maps to highlight child labour hotspots and increase support to companies to improve their child labour monitoring where current systems fall short. 

• Reduce the rate of hazardous child labour in the 15-18 age group. We will extend our programmes to create decent work opportunities and deliver skills training for young workers, with the aim of having young worker programmes active in all project countries by the end of 2021. 

• Engage more companies in action to eliminate and address child labour. We will increase participation in our Child Rights in Business (CRIB) Working Group by adding a minimum of 10 new brand and retailer members in 2021. 

Submit an Action Pledge for Your Business  

Joining forces with other stakeholders to go further and faster to end child labour is what the International Year is all about. Following on from our Action Pledges above, The Centre has put together the following list of recommended Action Pledges that businesses can take to contribute to the elimination of child labour in 2021.

1. Extend your child labour due diligence, remediation and monitoring. Many of the worst forms of child labour and hazardous work are found beyond tier one. Pledge action to further extend child labour due diligence, remediation and monitoring activities beyond tier one.  

2. Make young workers a strategic priority in your supply chain. Young workers are routinely excluded from formal work and are forced to find work in informal, hazardous work settings. Pledge action to create decent work opportunities for young workers in your supply chain. 

3. Strengthen capability to address child labour risks. Pledge action to strengthen internal training, skills and knowledge to cascade strong child labour prevention and remediation measures down your supply chain.

4. Join our Child Rights in Business (CRIB) Working Group. CRIB Membership provides access to a range of services and resources to prevent and remediate child labour, with opportunities to collaborate with others on child rights. If you’re not yet a member, make a pledge to join the CRIB Working Group in 2021.  

Are you ready to submit your 2021 Action Pledge? The Centre is available to support your company to develop and submit your pledges. The deadline for submission is 30 March 2021. 

We’re also offering our CRIB Members the option to team up with other members to submit a joint Action Pledge towards the elimination of child labour in 2021. If you are interested in submitting a joint pledge, or would like support in developing pledge commitments for your organisation, please contact info@childrights-business.org.