The International Labour Organization (ILO) launched the first World Day Against Child Labour in 2002 as a way to highlight the plight of these children. The day, which is observed on June 12th, is intended to serve as a catalyst for the growing worldwide movement against child labour.
The World Day Against Child Labour provides an opportunity to gain further support from individual governments and that of the ILO social partners, civil society and others, including schools, youth and women's groups as well as the media, in the campaign against child labour.
ILO, the United Nations body that regulates the world of work, launched the World Day Against Child Labour in 2002 to bring attention to and join efforts to fight against child labour.
In 2015 the UN general assembly adopted the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), one of which was to eliminate child labour in all forms by 2025.
The target under this Goal is to take immediate and effective measures to eradicate forced labour, end modern slavery and human trafficking and secure the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labour, including recruitment and use of child soldiers, and by 2025 end child labour in all its forms.
Theme: "Universal Social Protection to End Child Labour"
The 2022 theme of the world day calls for increased investment in social protection systems and schemes to establish solid social protection floors and protect children from child labour.
According to UN data, today, 160 million children are still engaged in child labour – some as young as five.
Africa ranks highest among regions both in the percentage of children in child labour — one-fifth — and the absolute number of children in child labour — 72 million. Asia and the Pacific rank second highest in both these measures — 7% of all children and 62 million in absolute terms are in child labour in this region.
Africa and the Asia and the Pacific regions together account for almost nine out of every ten children in child labour worldwide.
According to the census of India, 2011, there are 1.01 crore child labourers in India.
