Ladies and gentlemen, It is an honour for me to address you all on such a special and politically significant occasion. As the Director-General said this morning, ILO estimates indicate that 250 million minors throughout the world are engaged in some form of economic activity. Almost one in every four of these children is under ten years of age. The vast majority of them have to work in order to survive.
Child labour is the principal cause of exploitation and abuse of children in the world today.
The ILO has accordingly established the elimination of child labour as one of its priority objectives. If this objective is to be attained, decisive action is needed at various levels and on several fronts. Two types of action warrant special attention. The first involves providing children with legal protection and devising legislative instruments that set a minimum age for employment. This is fundamental.