Meeting of the IPEC International Steering Committee for the World Day Against Child Labour. 103rd Session of the International Labour Conference. Geneva, 10th of June 2014. Pouteau/Crozet/Albouy/Flickr. (CC 2.0 by-nc-nd)
On 8 June, during this year’s International Labour Conference (ILC), I attended the High Level Panel Discussion on Child Labour which marked the ILO’s annual World Day Against Child Labour (12 June). This year’s theme: ‘End child labour in supply chains – It’s everyone’s business!’ Unfortunately, it was business as usual.
As is usual during an event on children’s rights, some sort of entertainment was provided – this time it took up a good 30 of the 90 minutes that were assigned to the event. As promised by the flyer promoting the panel discussion, the ILO delegates were treated to a light refreshment and a musical performance by Choeur pour l’Abolition du Travail des Enfants, a group of artists from Côte d'Ivoire that raises awareness on child labour among the Ivorian public. The chorus of their song ‘My Child’ ends with the line “my child, you are better than all the filthy gold that crushes you and makes you bleed”. It was clear we were talking ‘worst forms’ from there on.
