Over the past two decades, the Americas region has made significant progress in reducing child labour. However, structural challenges, such as informality, limited access to social protection, persistent inequality, and the impacts of climate and economic crises continue to affect millions of children and adolescents.
In light of this, the Sixth Global Conference on the Elimination of Child Labour, hosted by the Government of Morocco in 2026, offers a pivotal opportunity to assess progress, renew commitments, and strengthen global efforts. The ILO Governing Body has endorsed a preparatory process to ensure regional perspectives are central to this dialogue.
The Regional Initiative "Latin America and the Caribbean Free of Child Labour", comprised of 31 countries and regional representatives of employers' and workers' organizations, has proven to be an effective tripartite mechanism for coordination, knowledge sharing, and monitoring of commitments, especially those related to ILO Conventions No. 138 and No. 182 and Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Target 8.7.
As part of the preparatory process for the Sixth Global Conference, the Regional Initiative is convening a regional consultation with the participation of tripartite stakeholders.
As a precedent, national consultations have been held, allowing countries to establish guidelines, approaches, and perspectives for the global meeting that could be shared in the regional meeting.
Purpose of the consultation
The Americas Regional Tripartite Consultation aims to:
- Identify progress, persistent challenges, and emerging issues in the prevention and elimination of child labour in the region.
- Provide key inputs for the Sixth Global Conference through the consolidation and validation of national findings.
- Strengthen tripartite social dialogue to foster consensus, alliances and sustainable commitments among governments, workers and employers aimed at preventing and eliminating child labour towards participation in the Sixth Global Conference.
Composition
The consultation will bring together:
- Governments: 31 focal points from member countries of the Regional Initiative, plus representatives from Canada and the United States.
- Employers: At least 7 regional focal points nominated by International Organisation of Employers (IOE), with additional representatives as needed.
- Workers: At least 7 regional focal points nominated by International Trade Union Confederation/ Trade Union Confederation of the Americas (ITUC/TUCA), with additional representatives as needed.
Observers will include UN agencies (e.g. UNICEF, IOM, FAO, CEPAL), regional intergovernmental bodies (e.g. OEA, SICA, CARICOM), and NGOs (e.g. the Global March).
Format and engagement
The consultation will be conducted in two virtual phases:
Phase 1 (September-October 2025):
- National tripartite dialogues led by Ministries of Labour.
- Virtual survey and meetings to discuss progress and recommendations.
- Exchange of the preliminary regional document for feedback.
- First regional consultation session in virtual format (24 September 2025).
Phase 2 (22-25 October 2025):
- Second session for the final validation of the regional document during the Annual Meeting of Focal Points of the Regional Initiative.
The sessions will have simultaneous interpretation in English, Portuguese and Spanish.
Outcomes
Expected outcomes include:
- A validated regional document: "Towards the Sixth Global Conference on the Elimination of Child Labour".
- Policy recommendations and roadmap for the elimination of child labour.
- Contributions to the agenda and outcomes of the Sixth Global Conference.
