Media advisory
Global Conference in South Africa to tackle rising child labour
GENEVA (ILO News) – The 5th Global Conference on the Elimination of Child Labour will take place in Durban, South Africa from 15 to 20 May 2022.
More than 4,000 delegates – representatives from governments, trade unions, the private sector, civil society, regional and international organizations, think tanks, academia, and youth and children from all over the world – will discuss good practices, identify gaps and the urgent measures that are needed to help children in child labour.
The Conference comes at a critical time. Despite progress in many regions, 160 million children – almost 1 in 10 of all children worldwide – are still in child labour. Numbers are rising, and the COVID-19 pandemic threatens to reverse years of progress.
The 5th Global Conference will convene with only three years left to achieve the goal of eliminating all child labour by 2025, and only eight years to reach the goal of eliminating forced labour by 2030, as established by UN Sustainable Development Goal Target 8.7.
The conference will build on four previous Global Conferences, held in Buenos Aires (2017), Brasilia (2013), The Hague (2010), and Oslo (1997), which raised awareness of the issue, mobilized resources, and established a strategic direction for the global movement against child labour.
The Conference will take place at the International Convention Centre (ICC) in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal Province. Media wishing to attend the conference should register by emailing zeenat@gcis.gov.za. The submission deadline is Friday, 29 April 2022, at 12:00, Central African Time (CAT). Media attendance is limited and will be assigned on a first-come, first-served basis.
Media representatives are also requested to send their broadcast plans and technical requirements for coverage to Shadrack.Mashalaba@labour.gov.za.
For media inquiries, contact Teboho Thejane, Departmental Spokesperson, at Teboho.Thejane@labour.gov.za.
For ILO media interviews contact: newsroom@ilo.org.
More than 4,000 delegates – representatives from governments, trade unions, the private sector, civil society, regional and international organizations, think tanks, academia, and youth and children from all over the world – will discuss good practices, identify gaps and the urgent measures that are needed to help children in child labour.
The Conference comes at a critical time. Despite progress in many regions, 160 million children – almost 1 in 10 of all children worldwide – are still in child labour. Numbers are rising, and the COVID-19 pandemic threatens to reverse years of progress.
The 5th Global Conference will convene with only three years left to achieve the goal of eliminating all child labour by 2025, and only eight years to reach the goal of eliminating forced labour by 2030, as established by UN Sustainable Development Goal Target 8.7.
The conference will build on four previous Global Conferences, held in Buenos Aires (2017), Brasilia (2013), The Hague (2010), and Oslo (1997), which raised awareness of the issue, mobilized resources, and established a strategic direction for the global movement against child labour.
The Conference will take place at the International Convention Centre (ICC) in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal Province. Media wishing to attend the conference should register by emailing zeenat@gcis.gov.za. The submission deadline is Friday, 29 April 2022, at 12:00, Central African Time (CAT). Media attendance is limited and will be assigned on a first-come, first-served basis.
Media representatives are also requested to send their broadcast plans and technical requirements for coverage to Shadrack.Mashalaba@labour.gov.za.
For media inquiries, contact Teboho Thejane, Departmental Spokesperson, at Teboho.Thejane@labour.gov.za.
For ILO media interviews contact: newsroom@ilo.org.