The UN International Labour Organization (ILO) [official website] on Sunday released a statement [text] calling for the world to end child labor in supply chains [UN News Centre report] such as agriculture, mining and manufacturing. The statement was made on the annual World Day against Child Labour, and ILO Director-General Guy Ryder [official profile] cited 168 million children in child labor, 85 million of whom are in hazardous work. Ryder also stated that rural and informal economies are usually the largest contributors due to the lack of institutional regulation and the prevalence of small family enterprises such as family-run farms. Ryder also detailed three legislative focuses that would help eliminate child labor. “Governments are recognizing that the fight against child labour requires coherent policy packages to back child labour legislation: quality education, social protection and decent jobs for parents,” Ryder stated. Overall, Ryder is confident that local, national and global trends are pushing towards the elimination of child labor.

In recent years child labor laws have become a growing subject of international attention. In the US, federal regulations like the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) [PDF] are the major controlling factor of child labor. In April 2015 Human Rights Watch (HRW) [advocacy website] reported [text] that Israeli settlement farmers in the occupied West Bank are using Palestinian child laborers in dangerous conditions in violation of international laws [JURIST report]. In July 2014 the Bolivian National Congress passed legislation permitting [JURIST report] children as young as 10 to join the workforce as long as it does not interfere with one’s education and is done independently in an effort to provide for their family. In 2013 the ILO released a report on child labor advocating social protections [JURIST report] as the key to ending the practice. “[The] report contributes to a better understanding of the underlying economic and social vulnerabilities that generate child labour.”