BRASILIA (ILO News) – The Latin America and the Caribbean Regional Initiative Free from Child Labour today’s tenth anniversary, October 15, 2024, in Brasilia, Brazil, highlighting ten years of significant progress, as well as the challenges to be overcome, in the elimination of child labor.
Since its creation in 2014, 31 countries, business organizations and trade unions, and the ILO have come together to end child labour, with the contribution and support of strategic partners, and mechanisms such as South-South Cooperation and Triangular Cooperation.
In an alarming context, where 8.2 million girls, boys and young people are still in this situation in Latin America and the Caribbean, the Regional Initiative reaffirms the need for decisive and coordinated global action. “We’re not just talking about numbers; We talk about the lives of girls and boys, whose future opportunities are being sacrificed. The need for decisive and coordinated global action is more urgent today than ever,” emphasized Ana Virginia Moreira Gomes, Director of the ILO Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean, during the opening ceremony.
© Adriano Brito/ILO
Ana Virginia Moreira, Regional Director of the ILO Office for Latin America and the Caribbean, during the Commemorative ceremony for the tenth anniversary of the Latin America and the Caribbean Regional Initiative Free from Child Labor
Representing the leadership taken by the region and this collective effort, the Deputy Director of the Brazilian Agency for International Cooperation (ABC), Ambassador Maria Luiza Ribeiro Lopes, also participated; Deputy Executive Secretary of the Brazilian Ministry of Labor and Employment, Victor Pellegrini Mamana; National Secretary for Social Assistance of the Ministry of Development and Social Assistance, the Family and the Fight against Hunger of Brazil, André Quintao Silva; Cooperation Counselor of the Spanish Embassy in Brazil, José Miguel de Lara Toledo; Head of the Cooperation Department with Ibero-America of the Andalusian Agency for International Cooperation for Development (AACID), Olga Pozo (almost); and the Division Chief for Latin America and the Caribbean of the Office of Child Labor, Forced Labor and Trafficking in Persons of the United States Department of Labor (USDOL), Tanya Andrade; Head of the ILO’s Emerging Partnerships Unit, Anita Amorim; as well as Marlene Mazariegos, representative of business organizations (OIE), and Nallely Domínguez, representative of trade union organizations (CSA).
© Adriano Brito/ILO
10th Anniversary of the Regional Initiative and the 10th Annual Meeting of the Focal Points Network
This anniversary also led to the launch of the Regional Child Labor Observatory, an innovative tool that will allow us to know the status of each of the countries in the region and speed up the elimination of this injustice. “It is a digital platform that seeks to provide updated and relevant information to support decision-making by governments, social organizations, academia and the general public related to the elimination of child labor,” said Pilar Rodriguez, Coordinator of the Council’s Technical Secretariat . Regional initiative.
This year, the anniversary also coincides with 25 years since the adoption of the ILO Convention No. 182 on the worst forms of child labouremphasizing the need to continue a renewed and coordinated effort to eliminate the target.
The 10th Annual Meeting of the Initiative’s Focal Points Network will take place from 15 to 18 October, where what has been done will be analysed, successful experiences will be shared and work will be carried out to promote activities that allow progress in prevention and elimination of childish work.