Child Labour and Human Trafficking: An Overlapping Crisis Fuelled by Demand

World Day Against Child Labour — 12 June 2025

This year’s World Day Against Child Labour marks a critical moment in the global effort to protect children. The forthcoming 2025 global estimates from the ILO and UNICEF will shape future strategies, but one truth is already clear: child labour remains a widespread crisis, with 160 million children — nearly one in ten — still trapped in exploitative work.

A major but often overlooked driver of child labour is human trafficking. While exact numbers are hard to pinpoint due to the hidden and illegal nature of these crimes, countless children are trafficked into forced labour across various sectors — from agriculture and mining to domestic work and manufacturing. In many regions, especially in parts of Africa and Asia-Pacific, child labour is tragically normalised, making it even more difficult to track and eliminate.

But behind this abuse lies another harsh reality: demand. If there’s a market for cheap goods, fast fashion, or low-cost services, there will always be someone willing to exploit vulnerable children to meet that demand.

That’s where ethical consumerism comes in.

If we are not conscious about the simple things — what we wear, what we buy, what we use — then we are, even unknowingly, fuelling the demand that drives exploitation. Every purchase is a choice. Every product has a supply chain. If that chain includes child labour, we are part of the problem — unless we choose differently.

This World Day, the ILO urges all governments to ratify and implement key conventions to protect children, including ILO Convention No. 138 on Minimum Age and Convention No. 182 on the Worst Forms of Child Labour. But it’s not just up to governments.

We all have a role. By choosing ethical brands, asking questions about where our products come from, and raising awareness, we do the small but vital things that add up. Ending child labour and child trafficking requires global action — but it also begins with personal responsibility.

Let’s not just mark the day — let’s be part of the solution.