ILO calls Commonwealth Youth to support the fight against forced labour and child labour

News | 06 November 2017
ILO youth employment expert Matthieu Cognac (2nd from the right) at the Commonwealth Youth Council (CYC) 4 November 2017
KUALA LUMPUR (ILO News) –The International Labour Organization (ILO) called over 300 youth representatives from 52 Commonwealth countries to advocate on issues of modern slavery, forced labour, child labour during the Commonwealth Youth Summit organized by the Commonwealth Youth Council (CYC) in partnership with the Commonwealth Secretariat and the Malaysian Government.


Addressing the summit, Matthieu Cognac, ILO Youth Employment Specialist for Asia and the Pacific encouraged participants to support the 50 For Freedom campaign and call on governments to ratify the Forced Labour Protocol.

According to the latest ILO Global estimates there are 40 million people victim of modern slavery, 25 million in forced labour and 15 million people in forced marriage worldwide. A total of 152 million children are in child labour globally. Additionally, there are71 million youth unemployed worldwide and 156 million young workers living in poverty.

Ahead of the IV Global Conference on Sustained Eradication of Child Labour on 14-16 November 2017 and the Commonwealth Head of Government Meeting in 2018, Matthieu Cognac acknowledged the progress and initiatives taken to tackle forced labour and child labour.

He highlighted the adoption of the Forced Labour Protocol in 2014 which require States to take effective measures regarding prevention, protection and remedy; the Sustainable Development Goals, the Alliance 8.7 which calls for immediate measures to eradicate forced labour, end modern slavery, and by 2025 end child labour in all its forms; and the Call for Action to end forced labour, modern slavery and human trafficking launched by the United Kingdom at the UN General Assembly in September that was signed by 37 countries, including Malaysia and 11 other Commonwealth countries.

“The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting to be held in London next year will also be an opportunity to gather momentum and take a step toward ratification and application of the ILO Protocol on Forced Labour,” said Matthieu Cognac.

The CYC Vice Chairperson Faith Manthi expressed, “Youth need to tackle these issues of modern slavery, forced labour, global inequality. This is the time for us to think of innovative solutions to these problems, taking advantage of the platforms that we have.”

The Commonwealth Youth Summit brought together His Royal Highness, the Prince of Wales, Prince Charles, Youth Ministers, senior government officials and youth representatives from across the globe from 3-5 November in Malaysia.

The Commonwealth Youth Council (CYC) is the officially recognized voice of the more than 1.2 billion young people in the Commonwealth. The ILO, the CYC and other stakeholders also partner on the project “From Protocol to Practice: A Bridge to Global Action on Forced Labour” promoting national and international action to eradicate forced labour, child labour and modern slavery.

 

For more information, please contact:

Jodelen Mitra ILO Technical Officer in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Email: mitra@ilo.org