World Day Against Child Labour is an annual observance that is marked on June 12 to call for collective action against child labour. The international event was launched by the International Labour Organization (ILO) in 2002 to focus global attention on the extent of child labour and the efforts needed to eliminate it. It was spurred by ratifications of ILO Convention No. 138 on the minimum age for employment and ILO Convention No. 182 on the worst forms of child labour. World Day Against Child Labour aims to bring together governments, employers, workers, and civil society to highlight the plight of child labourers and find measures to combat child labour in all its forms. In this article, let’s know more about the World Day Against Child Labour 2024 date, theme and significance of the global event.

According to the UN data, 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, which stands at 72 million. Asia and the Pacific ranks second highest in both these measures with seven percent of all children and 62 million in absolute terms are in child labour in this region. The data reveals that Africa and the Asia and the Pacific regions together account for almost nine out of every ten children in child labour worldwide.

World Day Against Child Labour 2024 Date

World Day Against Child Labour 2024 will be observed on June 12.

World Day Against Child Labour 2024 Theme

Each year, a theme is designated to World Day Against Child Labour. This is year's theme is ‘Let’s act on our commitments: End Child Labour!’

World Day Against Child Labour Significance

World Day Against Child Labour was first established in the year 2002 to increase global awareness about the consequences of child labour. The world had been making steady progress in reducing child labour for nearly two decades now but over the past few years, conflicts, crises and the COVID-19 pandemic have plunged more families into poverty. As per UN data, today, 160 million children are still engaged in child labour, which is almost one in ten children worldwide.

The day holds great significance as it highlights the need to pay attention to the problem of child labour and to find ways to eradicate it from the world. The day is used to spread awareness about the harmful mental and physical problems faced by children forced into child labour, all over the world.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 12, 2024 09:55 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).