World Day Against Child Labour 2023: Date, Theme, History and Significance

WORLD DAY AGAINST CHILD LABOUR 2023: Children deserve to grow up in environments that are conducive to their wellbeing and development. They should not be forced to do manual work to earn a living, since they can easily be abused physically and mentally. Unfortunately, in most developing nations, child labour and abuse is rampant. World Day Against Child Labour is observed on June 12 annually to highlight this issue and demand an end to the practice.

World Day Against Child Labour 2023: Theme

The theme for World Day Against Child Labour this year is ‘Social Justice for All. End Child Labour!’. As per the ILO, true social justice can only be achieved once child labour is abolished across the globe. The COVID-19 pandemic greatly disrupted the positive efforts made to end child labour, as due to the pandemic, many families lost their livelihoods. This forced children of such families to earn a living for sustenance. As per a 2021 report by UNICEF and the International Labour Organization (ILO), about 160 million children were working as child labourers at the start of 2020.

ILO states that child labour can be eliminated by creating a robust legal framework based on International Labour Standards. In addition to social dialogue, children must be provided education to protect them from exploitation. Above all, the root cause must be addressed, which is poverty and social inequality. If poverty and economic insecurity can be alleviated, adults will no longer have to send their children out to earn a wage.

World Day Against Child Labour 2023: History

ILO observed the first World Day Against Child Labour, on June 12, 2002, at its headquarters in Geneva and was launched a day prior. This year marks the 21st observance of the day.

World Day Against Child Labour 2023: Significance

World Day Against Child Labour was launched to support and intensify the growing demand of ending child labour across the world. In India, the central government has in place, a National Policy on Child Labour since 1987, which focuses on rehabilitation of children and adolescents subjected to labour. It also focuses on the root cause of poverty by helping improve economic prospects of the victims’ families.