On the occasion of the World Day against Child Labour, we would like to draw the attention of the public and competent bodies to the problem of child labour exploitation.

Worldwide, more than 168 million boys and girls are engaged in some form of child labour, which deprives them of the right to adequate education, threatens their health and denies the right to play. According to the estimates of the International Labour Organization (ILO), more than 85 million children are exposed to the worst forms of the child exploitation, such as prostitution, pornography and trafficking.

Although the Constitution of the Republic of Serbia prohibits child labour, in line with the international obligations undertaken by signing ILO Convention and UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, according to the research conducted by UNICEF in Serbia, 4% of children aged 5-14 are engaged in some form of child labour. The largest number of these children comes from the poorest families, and particularly vulnerable are Roma children, who are very often engaged in labour from an early age.

As the causes of child labour need to be sought primarily in poverty, solving this problem requires a holistic and multidisciplinary approach. The emphasis should be placed on prevention and thus it is necessary to enable available, compulsory, qualitative and completely free education for every child up to the age of acquisition of working capacity.

Today, on the World Day against Child Labour, we appeal to the public, control and state institutions to address the problem of child labour more seriously so that all children equally enjoy the rights guaranteed by the Constitution of the Republic of Serbia and Convention of the Rights of the Child.