South-South Cooperation: Good Practices of Labour Inspection on the Prevention and Eradication of Child Labour

South-South cooperation is an important topic of the 5th Global Conference on the Elimination of Child Labour

15-20 May 2022, Durban,  South Africa, and it will be show-cased during the panel : South-South Cooperation: Good Practices of Labour Inspection on the Prevention and Eradication of Child Labour on the 17th May in Durban. It is co-organized by ILO and the government of Brazil, under the overarching complementary agreement for the ILO-Brazil South-South Partnership was finalized in 2009 giving priority to promoting the fundamental principles and rights at work and social protection for all.  In the period 2005–2022, Brazil has contributed more than USD 25 million for projects in Brazil itself but also in other developing countries, within the context of South-South and triangular cooperation, all with the aim of pursuing the ILO’s four strategic objectives, namely rights at work, combatting child labour, labour inspection, employment, social protection, and social dialogue. This event is also held within the framework of the overall United Nations South-South Cooperation impetus (BAPA +40) and the ILO’s Strategy (2012/ 2018) for the promotion of South-South and triangular cooperation, as well as the implementation of the Development Cooperation Strategy of the ILO (2021).

The subject of this event is more than relevant since South-South cooperation has a key role in the achievements of the SDGs and recently, on March 2022, the Governing Body of the ILO endorsed the ILO guidelines on general principles of labour inspection, previously validated by a tripartite meeting of experts held in December 2021. Although non-binding, the guidelines complement the provisions of the Labour Inspection Convention, 1947 (No. 81), the Labour Inspection (Agriculture) Convention, 1969 (No. 129), the Labour Inspection Recommendation No. 81 and the Labour Inspection Recommendation (Agriculture) No. 129.

The role of labour inspection in combating child labour is also highlighted in various ILO standards, including the fundamental ILO Conventions on combating child labour (C.138 and C.182) and the Recommendations that accompany them (R.146 and R.190). Under this perspective, it is highlighted that the existence of an effective labour inspection system, capable of facing the challenges and complexities that involve the issue of child labour, is a central element for the eradication of this type of violation.

Our objective is to share and disseminate good practices of the Labour Inspectorate related to the eradication of child labour by the labour inspectorates of Brazil, Cabo Verde, Peru, Portugal, and Uruguay, while supporting and enhancing South-South and triangular cooperation.  The department of Partnerships and Field Support of the ILO will be moderating this panel, as it carries the function of promoting SSTC in the ILO and with ILO’s partners.