On World Day Against Child Labor, the International Labor Organization (ILO) has called for action to end child labor.

On Monday, the ILO held a high-level panel themed "social justice for all, end child labor," which is a side event during the session of the International Labor Conference. The discussion focuses on the link between social justice and the elimination of child labor.

Panelists representing workers, employers and governments stressed the urgency of the fight against child labor and discussed ways to increase social justice.

"For the first time in 20 years, child labor is on the rise. 160 million children, almost one-in-10 worldwide, are in child labor," ILO Director-General Gilbert F. Houngbo said in a video speech addressed on this occasion.

"We must step up our fight against child labor, by supporting greater social justice. If we do this, an end to child labor is not just possible. It is within reach," he stressed.

The world had been making steady progress in reducing child labor since 2000, but over the past few years, conflicts, crises and the COVID-19 pandemic, have plunged more families into poverty, and forced millions more children into child labor, the ILO said in a statement published on Monday.

Economic growth has not been sufficient, nor inclusive enough, to relieve the pressure that too many families and communities feel, the statement added.

Measures to fight against child labor include the establishment and implementation of a strong legal framework based on International Labor Standards and social dialogue, provision of universal access to education of good quality and to social protection, as well as direct measures to alleviate poverty, inequality and economic insecurity, and promote decent work for adult workers, it added.

The ILO launched the first World Day Against Child Labor in 2002 as a way to highlight the plight of children engaged in child labor. 

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(Cover: An Afghan child works at a brick factory in Kabul, capital of Afghanistan, June 12, 2019. /CFP)