The Global March has written to the Director General of the International Labour Organization (ILO) Mr Juan Somavia and the Director of the International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC) Ms Constance Thomas urging them to set in motion follow-up to the “Roadmap for Achieving the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour by 2016” (Roadmap 2016) adopted at the Global Child Labour Conference in The Hague, the Netherlands, in May 2010.

The endorsement of Roadmap 2016 is on the agenda of the ILO’s Governing Body which is meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, from 4 to 19 November 2010. Global March is concerned at the ongoing bureaucratic delays in the endorsement process, particularly given the urgency of the goals of the Roadmap. Following its adoption by acclamation at the Child Labour Conference itself in May, the Roadmap was also presented by the Minister of Social Affairs and Employment of the Netherlands Mr Piet Hein Donner to delegates at the International Labour Conference on 11 June 2010 to coincide the World Day Against Child Labour on 12 June 2010.

“The conference itself and the Roadmap were borne out of an increasing sense of urgency conveyed by the ILO’s 2010 Global Child Labour Report and, indeed, by its very title ‘Accelerating action against child labour’,” said Global March Chair Kailash Satyarthi. “The ILO’s Global Action Plan to Eliminate the Worst Forms of Child Labour focused on the target deadline of 2016 to achieve this goal. This has led to a significant number of national action plans on child labour being developed, but the critical stage is yet to come – implementation and follow-up.”

The Roadmap is littered with references to urgency, priority, upscaling and accelerating action and and calls for increased political leadership to achieve this crucial goal which is itself only a step along the path to eliminate all forms of child labour which is ultimately what we in Global March are striving for. The final paragraph of the preamble to the Roadmap states that the participants at the Global Child Labour Conference:

“Declare that we will substantially increase efforts to ensure that we achieve the goal of eliminating the worst forms of child labour by 2016 and we agree to this Roadmap, and we urge the international community to substantially increase its efforts in this regard.”

The Roadmap highlights the roles and responsibilities of the different stakeholders in the elimination of child labour and Part II includes a range of national and international follow-up areas. It is crucial that the ILO and its member States finalise the endorsement of the Roadmap now so that follow-up can get under way. Of course, national governments are already in the process of finalising, implementing and following up national action plans and, indeed, some are processing subsequent revisions of their plans. However, the Roadmap is designed to accelerate these activities, ensure more effective and efficient coordination, build greater national ownership and inclusivity and improve coherence of development policies, programmes and resources by mainstreaming child labour across related development goals. Therefore, the next stage of implementation and follow-up are vitally important to give life to Roadmap 2016.

It is also important that Global March members and partners are familiar with the Roadmap and integrate it into their ongoing programme activities and advocacy work. In addition, Global March is calling on members and partners in those countries which are represented in the ILO Governing Body 2008-2011 to follow up progress with the tripartite representatives. Suggested action could include:

• Seeking meetings to discuss the outcome of the Governing Body discussion on the Roadmap and how this can be most effectively followed up at national and regional level.
• Exploring added value and potential through the integration between national action plans and Roadmap 2016, particularly in ways that the Roadmap could lead to strengthening of national action plan activities and outcomes.
• Exploring effective mechanisms of integrating national child labour elimination goals into national development programmes linked to the MDGs.
• Discussing with Governing Board Worker Representatives the impact of Roadmap 2016 on activities relating to National Steering Committees on Child Labour and strengthening national coalitions of trade unions and civil society organisations.
• Through discussions with Governing Board Worker Representatives, elaborating a trade union/civil society strategy on follow-up to Roadmap 2016 at national level.
• Exploring the responsibilities of businesses and employers’ organisations in Roadmap 2016 and ensuring advocacy and follow-up.
• Seeking meetings with ILO-IPEC project offices in countries where these are established to discuss follow-up to Roadmap 2016 and how this could be further reinforced through project activities.

These are some initial ideas and Global March will be writing in more details to members and partners in the course of November 2010 to explore effective follow-up to Roadmap 2016 by trade union, teachers’ and civil society organisations.

The Governing Body is the executive body of the ILO and meets three times a year, in March, June and November. It takes decisions on ILO policy, decides the agenda of the International Labour Conference, adopts the draft Programme and Budget of the ILO for submission to the Conference, and elects the Director-General.

It is composed of 56 titular members (28 Governments, 14 Employers and 14 Workers) and 66 deputy members (28 Governments, 19 Employers and 19 Workers). Ten of the titular government seats are permanently held by States of chief industrial importance which include: Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom and the United States. The other Government members are elected by the Conference every three years (the last elections were held in June 2008). The Employer and Worker members are elected in their individual capacity.