New alliance against forced labour, modern slavery, human trafficking and child labour

The ILO facilitated a regional consultation to achieve the targets of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 8.7.

Press release | Bangkok | 14 September 2016
BANGKOK (ILO News) – Experts and key players working on child labour, forced labour and human trafficking, from East, South-East Asia and the Pacific are meeting in Bangkok to discuss forming a new alliance to support Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Target 8.7.

The two-day meeting (14-15 September) is being facilitated by the International Labour Organization (ILO). Delegates will jointly identify priorities to support the challenge of achieving Sustainable Development Target 8.7, which requires UN member states 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.”

The outcome of this regional consultation will feed into the launch of the Global Alliance 8.7 in New York in September 2016, and into the 4th Global Conference on Child Labour in Buenos Aires in 2017.

The Workshop was opened by Ms Tomoko Nishimoto, the ILO’s Assistant Director-General and Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific; H. E. Glyn T. Davies, US Ambassador to the Kingdom of Thailand; and H.E General Sirichai Distakul, Minister of Labour of the Kingdom of Thailand.

“SDG Alliance 8.7 is intended to realize extraordinary and ground-breaking ways of bringing multiple actors together for concerted and focused actions to help countries to achieve the goals and targets set forth in SDG 8 and other related SDGs,” said Ms Nishimoto. “This regional consultation offers stakeholders in the region the opportunity to put forward clear recommendations and priority actions to support the achievement of SDG 8.7 in East Asia, South East Asia and the Pacific.”

Participants include delegations from Cambodia, China, Fiji, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Philippines, Thailand, Timor-Leste and Viet Nam. There will also be significant participation from civil society organizations, UN and development agencies, youth and the private sector.

Discussions will focus on the best ways to achieve the targets of SDG 8.7, including increased coordination at national, regional and global levels; more effective policies and action plans, including a sharper focus on prevention; and a clear system of monitoring and measuring impact through data and statistics.

For further information please contact:

Sophy Fisher
Senior Communication and Public Information Officer
ILO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, Bangkok
fisher@ilo.org
T: +662 288 2482

Jiraporn Wongpaithoon
Communications Officer
ILO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, Bangkok
jiraporn@ilo.org
Tel.: 02288 1664