Child labour

Palau ratifies Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention

Palau is the 183rd Member State to have ratified Convention No. 182

News | 04 March 2019
On 4 March 2019, the Government of Palau deposited with the International Labour Office the instrument of ratification of the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182), marking the ILO’s first centenary.

As a recent Member State of the ILO, who joined in 2012, Palau has now ratified its first ILO fundamental Convention, illustrating its deep commitment to advancing fundamental principles and rights at work and paving the way for the ratification of the other fundamental Conventions. Palau is the 183rd Member State to have ratified Convention No. 182, which calls for the prohibition and the elimination of the worst forms of child labour, as a matter of urgency.

The Pacific Island Nation is home to just over 22,000 people, around a quarter of whom are under 18 years of age. Ratification of Convention No. 182 represents a commitment by the Government to protect its children against the worst forms of child labour including slavery, forced labour and trafficking; the use of children in armed conflict; the use of a child for prostitution, pornography and in illicit activities and hazardous work.

Earlier this year, Palau reported action recently taken to protect children against the worst forms of child labour with the adoption of a new Penal Code outlawing child pornography and trafficking of children for labour exploitation.

Palau is joining forces globally to end child labour, forced labour, modern slavery and human trafficking, with a view to attaining Target 8.7 of the Sustainable Development Goals, which calls for the prohibition of the worst forms of child labour, the eradication of forced labour, and by 2025, the end of child labour in all its forms.

The ILO is working with the last three member States to ratify Convention No. 182 and achieve universal ratification of this fundamental Convention, in light of the ILO’s centenary celebrations this year. According to the ILO’s global estimates, 152 million of children were in child labour in 2016, of which 73 million were in hazardous work.