Minister Thulas Nxesi launches 5th Global Conference on the Elimination of Child Labour

• Published date: 05 May 2022
• Publication title: South African Official News

Employment and Labour Minister Thulas Nxesi formally launched the 5th Global Conference on the Elimination of Child Labour which will be held from 15-20 May in South Africa to help find solutions towards the elimination of child labour.

'The time is therefore opportune for the global community to converge on African soil to find solutions that will help our continent, in particular, to deal with the reported highest prevalence and largest number of working children,' Nxesi further said in collaboration with the International Labour Organization (ILO), the Department of Employment and Labour will host the conference for the first time on African soil.

The conference will take place at Inkosi Albert Luthuli International Convention Centre (ICC) in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal Province. South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa is expected to open the conference. He will share the stage with Southern African Development Community (SADC) chairperson and President of the Republic of Malawi Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera, ILO Director-General Guy Ryder and Argentina President Alberto Ángel Fernández Pérez (virtual).

The Conference will be attended by ILO constituents, international and regional organizations, civil society organizations, research institutions, foundations, individual experts and Nobel laureates.

'After the devastating natural disaster that befell KwaZulu-Natal and Durban in the last weeks, it is important that we go ahead and hold the Conference in eThekwini as a show of support and solidarity with the people of the province and the Republic of South Africa. As part of that show of solidarity, the conference organisers took a decision to forego the usual social events that characterise these events,' the Minister said.

According to the International Labour Organization more than 160 million children are still in child labour around the world. Over one third of them are out of school. Agriculture is said to be the sector that accounts for the largest share of child labour worldwide.

The 5th Global Conference on the Elimination of Child Labour will be taking place amidst the COVID-19 pandemic which is threatening to reverse years of progress. More than 4,000 delegates half of whom will attend in person to discuss good practices, identify gaps and the urgent measures that are needed to help children in child labour.

The ILO conference is in line with Sustainable Development (SDG) Target 8.7 and the International Programme on the Elimination of Child...