The fifth Global Conference on the Elimination of Child Labour must lead to more, better, and faster action on one of the worst forms of child labour: Forced labour of children. With the right regulatory framework and enforcement in place, businesses can fully play their part.
Our 3-page brief sets out how businesses can help to end forced labour of children, including government actions to advocate for.
An estimated 4.3 million children were in forced labour in 2016, of which three million were trapped in forced labour in the private economy and more than one million were trapped in commercial sexual exploitation.
Since then, figures are thought to have increased as the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated root causes.
What is forced labour of children?
Where forced labour and child labour overlap, children are in forced labour. Child labour and forced labour have similar root causes. These include poverty, weak governance structures, lack of access to quality education, discrimination, labour market informality, and lack of company awareness and/or capacity to tackle these abuses.
For more information on forced labour of children, please read our introductory brief.