The International Labour Organization (ILO) has launched the Child Labour Observatory (CLO), a new centralized platform bringing together country-level information on child labour across the ILO's 187 Member States.
Established following the Durban Call to Action on the Elimination of Child Labour, the CLO is designed as a one-stop shop for data, legislation, policies and evidence of progress to accelerate efforts towards the elimination of child labour.
A platform to support decision-making and accountability
The Child Labour Observatory supports policymakers, researchers, governments, employers' and workers' organizations, the business community, civil society, development partners, international organizations and other stakeholders in tracking trends and policy developments, comparing country and regional progress, and identifying gaps where intensified action is needed.
To facilitate access to country information, the CLO is organized around three core pillars:
- Context: official statistics and visualizations on children in economic activities and household chores, disaggregated by age and sex.
- National legal framework: key elements such as the general minimum age for admission to employment or work, hazardous work lists, and legal provisions relating to the worst forms of child labour.
- Policies and plans: national strategies, action plans, policies and programmes aimed at the elimination of child labour.
The CLO relies on official sources, with entries linked to their original references to ensure transparency and traceability.
Complementing the Forced Labour Observatory
The CLO complements the Forced Labour Observatory (FLO), the ILO's global data platform on forced labour and trafficking in persons, together providing stakeholders with a stronger evidence base to inform policy development, implementation and monitoring.
The FLO provides comprehensive global and country-level information on forced labour, including international and national legal and institutional frameworks, as well as measures relating to enforcement, prevention (including fair recruitment and due diligence), protection, access to justice, remedies, and cooperation.
Developed in response to the ILO's mandate to strengthen the global evidence base, the FLO supports users in understanding how countries are addressing forced labour risks and outcomes, and contributes to policy dialogue and programme development based on comparable information.
Supporting evidence-based action
Both observatories are designed as practical tools for:
- Policy formulation and review: benchmarking legal and policy frameworks and identifying implementation gaps.
- Research and analysis: comparing trends across countries and regions using structured datasets and country profiles.
- Responsible business conduct: supporting due diligence, prevention strategies, and informed engagement across supply chains and labour market governance.
Users are invited to explore the Child Labour Observatory (CLO) and the Forced Labour Observatory (FLO) to strengthen evidence-based action, track progress, and support coordinated national and international efforts towards the elimination of child labour and forced labour.
