International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour and Forced Labour (IPEC+)

The ILO Flagship Programme "International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour and Forced Labour" (IPEC+) – in line with Target 8.7 of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda – seeks to provide ILO leadership in global efforts to eradicate all forms of child labour by 2025 and all forms of contemporary slavery and human trafficking by 2030. IPEC+ It also aims to ensure that all people are protected from – and can protect themselves against – these gross human rights violations.

IPEC+ recognizes that these unacceptable forms of work deny workers their basic human rights at work and that they share root causes of poor governance, discrimination and social exclusion, family and community poverty and lack of access to decent work and to the rights of freedom of association and collective bargaining. Ensuring the occupational safety and health (OSH) of children above the minimum working age is a critical strategy for protecting them from child labour. Early intervention addressing OSH concerns can in some instances help prevent work situations from degenerating into situations of forced labour.

IPEC+ works, from the village to the global stage, with the ILO’s constituents (governments, employers’ and workers’ organizations), as well as with enterprises and small producers’ organizations, NGOs and civil society organizations, to promote the eradication of child labour and forced labour and the realisation of all fundamental rights at work, with a focus on:

the rural and informal economies;
enterprises and global supply chains;
countries in crisis and fragile situations.

IPEC+ has developped a theory of change based on a four interwoven categories of change and expected results in eight areas.

IPEC+ theory of change

Developing better policies and laws, and robust and accountable public institutions to enforce the law is a critical starting point for the promotion and realization of fundamental principles and rights at national levels. It is also essential for the protection of rights-holders and access to remedies when their fundamental rights at work are violated – including the denial of their right to organize.

Expected results:

Better policies, laws and institutions

Universal ratification of ILO fundamental conventions
Strong engagement of all relevant actors including effective action by employer’s and worker’s organizations and strengthened partnerships with UN agencies and other stakeholders will ensure their respective constituencies bring their weight to bear in the pursuit of fundamental principles and rights at work.

Expected results:

Effective action by employers' and workers' organizations

Strengthened partnerships with UN agencies and other stakeholders
Equally important are bottom-up approaches that aim at the empowerment and representation of rightsholders, including vulnerable families to receive legal and social protection, and marginalized workers to have a stronger voice, so that they can assert their rights and entitlements, particularly through organizing for collective strength and representation.

Expected results:

Marginalized workers have a stronger voice

Vulnerable families receive legal and social protection
Critical to this strategy is strengthening the evidence base, upon which effective policies, advice and interventions are designed, tested and adjusted. This involves conducting surveys, developing tools, improved knowledge sharing and evaluating emerging practices, and enhancing knowledge on the prevalence, causes and consequences of violations of fundamental principles and rights at work.

Expected results:

Enhanced knowledge on the prevalence, causes and consequences of violations of fundamental principles and rights at work

Improved knowledge sharing and evaluation of emerging practices