Child labour and education in emergencies

NO to child labour YES to safe and quality education in emergencies

This note aims at drawing attention to the importance of close coordination between education in emergencies activities and efforts to address child labour.

The lives of 168 million children worldwide, including 120 million aged between 5 and 14, are affected by child labour. At the same time, 100 million children are impacted by disasters every year, while 230 million children live in conflict areas. In these settings, children’s access to education is severely compromised.

Emergencies, especially when they occur in communities already afflicted by poverty, can increase child labour and also give rise to new types of harmful work for children during the recovery period, thus preventing their regular attendance at school. Governments, humanitarian and development actors and others must recognise the potentially devastating impact of emergencies on child labour and children’s education, and work together to put in place effective prevention and response strategies to fulfil children’s right to an education free from child labour.

This note has been prepared by the child labour task force of the Child Protection Working Group (CPWG) with the support of the Education Cluster and the ILO.