ILO - International Labour Organization

06/08/2026 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 06/08/2026 08:59

138 million children in child labour: ILO calls for urgent action

Video

138 million children in child labour: ILO calls for urgent action

Nearly 138 million children are still in child labour, including 54 million in hazardous work. In this message, Gilbert F. Houngbo, Director-General of the International Labour Organization (ILO), calls for urgent action to change this reality.

8 June 2026

World Day Against Child Labour

12 June 2026

World Day Against Child Labour

He points to a global push to speed up progress through decent work, education, social protection, and stronger laws. This year's theme, "Red Card to Child Labour: Fair play for children, decent work for adults," is a reminder that every child deserves to learn, play, and grow up safe.

Video transcription:

Today, nearly 138 million children remain in child labour, including 54 million in hazardous work.

This is unacceptable - we must accelerate action.

The Marrakech Global Framework against Child Labour gives us a roadmap grounded in decent work for parents, universal quality education, social protection and stronger laws and institutions.

For the first time, it includes clear indicators of progress and a built-in accountability mechanism to track implementation and to keep child labour high on the global agenda beyond 2030.

This year's theme - "Red Card to Child Labour: Fair play for children, decent work for adults" - reminds us that every child has the right to learn, to play and to grow up protected and safe.

Together, let us act with urgency and determination to end child labour.

ILO - International Labour Organization published this content on June 08, 2026, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on June 08, 2026 at 14:59 UTC. If you believe the information included in the content is inaccurate or outdated and requires editing or removal, please contact us at [email protected]