The world pledged to end child labour by 2025: So why are 138 million kids still working?

This article is published in association with United Nations.

Twelve-year-old Tenasoa crawls to work every day at a mine in eastern Madagascar where she collects two kilos of the shiny mineral mica each day. She cannot walk because of a physical disability.

There are 10,000 children in Madagascar who, like Tenasoa, work in the largely unregulated mica industry. The silicate is used in paints, car parts, and cosmetics – to add a “shimmer” effect. 

Alongside parents and grandparents, these children toil in dangerous conditions, inhaling harmful dust particles and entering structurally unsound tunnels. Many of them have dropped out of school – if they ever went at all. 

“If we don’t work, we don’t eat,” Soja, Tenasoa’s grandfather, said. “It’s very simple. Men, women and children must all work to survive.”

In 2015, the United Nations set a goal to end child labour worldwide by 2025 but progress has been slow and halting, according to the Child Labour Report released on Wednesday by the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

The report estimates that 138 million children – a 12 million decrease from 2020 – are still engaged in child labour, leading both ILO and UNICEF to call for the rapid acceleration of progress.

“The findings of our report offer hope and show that progress is possible … But we must not be blindsided by the fact that we still have a long way to go,” ILO Director-General Gilbert F. Houngbo said.

Hazardous work

Since 2000, the number of children in child labour has been reduced by over 100 million, a promising decrease which proves that the world has a “blueprint” to end child labour. Much work remains, however.

“Far too many children continue to toil in mines, factories or fields, often doing hazardous work to survive,” said Catherine Russell, Executive Director of UNICEF.

Child labour does not refer to all work done by children. Rather, it is work which deprives children of their childhood and is often dangerous to their health and development.

“It is important to understand that [child labour] is not household chores, it is not children helping their parents around the house…We are talking about work that is oftentimes hazardous,” Benajamin Smith, an ILO child labour expert told UN News.

Of the 138 million children in child labour, 54 million work in hazardous conditions, including mines.

Honorine, aged 13, is one of these children. She works from 10am to 5pm every day in a gravel quarry in Benin. Paid by the number of buckets of gravel she collects, she is saving her wages, hoping to train to be a hairdresser one day.

© UNICEF/Arun Roisri

A young boy in Thailand takes a break while working in intense heat as a labourer.

Behind the statistics

The report notes that child labour is intergenerational. Children in child labour systems often struggle to access education, something which in turn compromises their future opportunities and creates a cycle of poverty and deprivation.

Federico Blanco, ILO expert and lead author of the Child Labour Report, noted that it is important to think of child labour as not just statistical.

“Behind every number, let’s remind ourselves that there is a child whose right to education, protection and decent future is being denied,” Mr Blanco said.

Nur, a 13-year-old Rohingya refugee in Bangladesh, was pulled out of school by his parents in order to help support his family financially. A case worker at a nearby UNICEF-funded centre identified Nur and convinced his family to put him back into school.

“I once dreamt of becoming a teacher. I thought I would never be able to become one. But now I feel that I can learn and become a teacher like I always wanted to,” Nur said.

‘A holistic approach’

In the report, UNICEF and ILO called for integrated policy solutions which work across governmental sectors, addressing the problem from an educational, economic and social perspective.

The report also highlighted that ending child labour cannot be accomplished without also thinking about the conditions that drive families to send their children to work – namely, poverty.

Upholding parents’ rights – including the right to collectively bargain, the right to safe work – is also key for ending child labour.

“The ILO looks at [child labour] in quite a holistic way because it is just as important [for] tackling child labour to make sure that the adults have good working conditions because poverty is really at the heart of child labour,” Mr Smith said.

Taking a country-driven approach is especially important due to regional disparities in child labour – the report noted that while all regions saw decreased numbers, Sub-Saharan Africa accounts for two-thirds of child labour worldwide.

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Childhood dreams – underfunded and unfulfilled

Attempts to end child labour face significant headwinds as a result of funding shortages.

“Global funding cuts threaten to roll back hard-earned gains. We must recommit to ensuring that children are in classrooms and playgrounds, not at work,” Ms. Russell said.

Adwara, aged 10, dreams of being in class. He attended school for a few years and tried to balance work and school but with eight siblings, helping support his family was non-negotiable. Eventually, his teacher told him not to return – he was missing too much school.

Now, he works in a gold mine in Ethiopia, earning approximately $35 per day: “I’d like to go to school,” he said. “I’d like to become someone.”