The International Labour Organization (ILO) launched the World Day Against Child Labour in 2002 to focus attention on the global extent of child labour and the action and efforts needed to eliminate it. Each year on 12 June, the World Day brings together governments, employers and workers organizations, civil society, as well as millions of people from around the world to highlight the plight of child labourers and what can be done to help them. What is Child Labour Not all work done by children should be classified as child labour that is to be targeted for elimination. Children’s or adolescents’ participation in work that does not affect their health and personal development or interfere with their schooling, is generally regarded as being something positive. This includes activities such as helping their parents around the home, assisting in a family business or earning pocket money outside school hours and during school holidays. These kinds of activities contribute to children’s development and to the welfare of their families; they provide them with skills and experience, and help to prepare them to be productive members of society during their adult life. The term “child labour” is often defined as work that deprives children of their childhood, their potential and their dignity, and that is harmful to physical and mental development. It refers to work that: is mentally, physically, socially or morally dangerous and harmful to children; and/or interferes with their schooling by: depriving them of the opportunity to attend school; obliging them to leave school prematurely; or requiring them to attempt to combine school attendance with excessively long and heavy work. The worst forms of child labour involves children being enslaved, separated from their families, exposed to serious hazards and illnesses and/or left to fend for themselves on the streets of large cities – often at a very early age. Whether or not particular forms of “work” can be called “child labour” depends on the child’s age, the type and hours of work performed, the conditions under which it is performed and the objectives pursued by individual countries. The answer varies from country to country, as well as among sectors within countries. SDGs and Child Labour The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), adopted by world leaders in 2015, include a renewed global commitment to ending child labour. Specifically, target 8.7 of the Sustainable Development Goals calls on the global community to: "Take immediate and effective measures to eradicate forced labour, end modern slavery and human trafficking and secure the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labour, including recruitment and use of child soldiers, and by 2025 end child labour in all its forms." Despite important gains over recent decades, an estimated 138 million children remain in child labour worldwide, including 54 million in hazardous work. During February 2026, governments adopted the Marrakech Global Framework for Action as a strategic roadmap to accelerate progress towards the elimination of child labour in all its forms. 2026 theme: Red card to child labour: Fair play for children, decent work for adults Under the slogan “Red card to child labour: Fair play for children, decent work for adults”, the 2026 World Day Against Child Labour campaign calls for reinforced action on the policies that prevent child labour and withdrawn children from it: quality education, universal social protection, decent work and adequate livelihoods for adults, stronger laws and enforcement, better data and monitoring systems, and responsible action in agriculture and supply chains. This action is urgently needed. Despite progress, 138 million children remain in child labour worldwide, including nearly 54 million in hazardous work. Behind these numbers are children who should be learning, playing and growing in safety — and families who need decent work, adequate livelihoods and stronger protection. Source : ILO