World Day Against Child Labour 2020: History, significance & this year's theme

Every year on June 12, the World Day Against Child Labour is observed on June 12 in almost 100 countries all around the globe.

According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), there are about 152 million children globally who are engaged in child labour, 72 million of whom are in hazardous work.

Do you know almost one in ten of all children worldwide is in child labour? While the number of children in child labour has declined by 94 million since 2000, the rate of reduction slowed by two-thirds in recent years. 

The ILO launched World Day Against Child Labour in 2002, after which it is annually celebrated to raise awareness about the plight of child labourers worldwide.

History of World Day Against Child Labour

So many children in the age group 5 to 17 are engaged in work that deprives them of a normal childhood, like getting adequate education, proper health care, leisure time or just basic freedom. 

In 2002, the United Nations body that regulates the world of work, the International Labour Organization (ILO), launched the World Day Against Child Labour for this very reason. 

Significance of  World Day Against Child Labour

The reason June 12 is marked as World Day Against Child Labour is to bring attention to the problem of child labour and to find ways to eradicate it or fight against it. The day is used to spread awareness about the harmful mental and physical problems faced by children forced into child labour, around the world. The day also gives an opportunity for people to develop efficient mechanisms to combat specific issues that leads to child labour.

Theme for World Day Against Child Labour

As per the United Nation's website, World Day Against Child Labour 2020 focuses on the impact of the crisis on child labour. The COVID-19 health pandemic and the resulting economic and labour market shock are having a huge impact on people’s lives and livelihoods. The crisis can push millions of vulnerable children into child labour. 

These children are now at even greater risk of facing circumstances that are even more difficult and working longer hours.

This year, the World Day is conducted as a virtual campaign and is being organized jointly with the Global March Against Child Labour and the International Partnership for Cooperation on Child Labour in Agriculture (IPCCLA) .

ILO and UNICEF are developing a simulation model to look at the impact of COVID-19 on child labour globally.