KABUL (Pajhwok): Marking the World Day Against Child Labour, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) says 138 million children worldwide remain engaged in child labour despite recent progress and urged governments and institutions to take urgent action to end the practice.
In a statement, the United Nations said this year’s theme — “Red Card to Child Labour: Fair Play for Children, Decent Work for Adults” — underscores the need to ensure that every child can learn, play and grow up in a safe environment.
The statement noted that this year’s observance follows the Sixth Global Conference on the Elimination of Child Labour in Marrakech, where participants called for accelerated efforts to eradicate child labour and translate commitments into concrete results.
The recently adopted Marrakech Global Framework for Action against Child Labour seeks to provide a roadmap for achieving that goal by promoting decent work for parents, universal access to quality education, stronger social protection systems, and more effective laws and institutions.
According to the ILO, the 2026 campaign focuses on advancing quality education, expanding social protection, ensuring decent work and adequate incomes for adults, strengthening enforcement of labour laws, improving monitoring and data collection and enhancing accountability in agriculture and supply chains.
The organisation said that despite progress in recent years, millions of children worldwide continue to be deprived of education, healthcare and opportunities for development.
The ILO called on governments, institutions, employers and citizens to raise a “red card” against child labour and implement the commitments adopted in Marrakech to bring meaningful change to the lives of children, families and communities.
Meanwhile, the United Nations Country Team in Afghanistan marked the occasion by raising red cards and describing child labour as a “red line”, stressing the need for stronger efforts to combat the practice.
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