Support for the Child Labour Platform of the UN Global Compact Human Rights and Labour Working Group

There is widespread support among a broad range of stakeholders for the Child Labour Platform (CLP) to continue its role as the leading global multi-stakeholder initiative on business and child labour. This proposal seeks funding to initiate activities of the CLP in the second quarter and to continue for a period of 12 months until April 2014. While companies have begun to join the CLP formally, funding from the Human Rights Fund will accelerate and provide important momentum to the implementation of the workplan of CLP, which in turn is likely to spur additional companies to join. Importantly, the proposed funding will allow the CLP to be well positioned to ensure that Corporate Social Responsibility concerns are integrated into the 2013 Global Conference on Child Labour in Brazil, a key strategic opportunity. The Child Labour Platform was launched at the 2010 Global Child Labour Conference at The Hague by the Dutch Ministry of Social Welfare, the UN Global Compact (UNGC), and the Dutch NGO the Sustainable Trade Initiative (IDH). In April 2012, the CLP became an official work-stream of the UN Global Compact Labour Working Group (LWG), co-chaired by the International Organisation of Employers (IOE) and UNI Global Union (UNI), representing employers’ and workers’ organizations, respectively, in some 150 countries. ILO-IPEC assumed responsibility as the CLP’s Secretariat and provides expert advice and technical assistance. This governance structure stands the CLP in excellent stead for its future success. ILO-IPEC brings 20 years’ experience as the leading global programme on the elimination of child labour and is the promoter and guardian of the international labour standards concerning child labour: ILO Convention No. 182 on the Worst Forms of Child Labour and Convention No. 138 on Minimum Age. As an integral part of the ILO’s Governance and Tripartism Department, ILO-IPEC serves as an important conduit between the CLP and the constituents of the ILO, including governments. As such, the CLP makes a direct contribution to the ILO’s Programme and Budget Outcome 16: “Child labour is eliminated, with priority being given to the worst forms”. In addition, the UN Global Compact, a founding member of the CLP, comprises a network of over 10,000 businesses aiming to align their operations with, among others, Principle 5 of the UNGC: to “uphold the effective abolition of child labour”. The UNGC plays a critical role in connecting the CLP to the wider membership of the UNGC, as well as in promoting that the learnings derived from the CLP are taken to scale in the global business community. The CLP has four over-arching objectives: 1. To foster the exchange of business, government, workers’ and employers’ organisations and civil society experience in addressing child labour. 2. To identify obstacles to and identify practical approaches to tackling child labour in supply chains. 3. To catalyse cooperative approaches to addressing child labour. 4. To contribute to building a knowledge base on child labour in supply chains.

Project symbol

GLO/13/08/NET

Admin unit

IPEC

Start date

01/09/2013

End date

31/12/2015

Total allocation

240685

Total expenditure

Status

Closed

237374

Development Partners

Netherlands, Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Country/Countries

Global

Outcomes

Protection of workers from unacceptable forms of work