SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth | SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
Ministry of Labour and Employment | Ministry of Women and Child Development
The International Labour Organisation (ILO) has launched a centralized global platform — created in response to the Durban Call to Action — to support evidence-based action against child labour across 187 Member States, including India.
Launched on February 10, 2026, the Child Labour Observatory (CLO), serves as a “one-stop shop” for country-level data, legislation, and national action plans. Organized around three core pillars—Context (statistics), National Legal Frameworks, and Policies/Plans—the CLO aims to accelerate progress toward the elimination of child labour by providing policymakers and businesses with a transparent evidence base. This hub complements the existing Forced Labour Observatory (FLO), creating a dual-layered surveillance and accountability framework to track trends and identify implementation gaps worldwide.
Key Pillars of the Child Labour Observatory (CLO)
Statistical Context and Visualizations: Providing disaggregated data on children in economic activities and household chores by age and sex to track real-time trends.
National Legal Framework Repository: Centralizing key legal elements, including minimum age laws, hazardous work lists, and provisions against the “worst forms” of child labour.
National Strategies and Policies: Hosting a comprehensive database of national action plans and programmes targeted at the systemic elimination of child labour.
Responsible Business Conduct Support: Enabling the business community to conduct supply chain due diligence and develop prevention strategies based on comparable country profiles.
Inter-Agency Data Synergy: Linking with the Forced Labour Observatory (FLO) to provide a holistic view of labour market governance, enforcement, and victim protection.
What is the “Durban Call to Action”? The Durban Call to Action is a global framework adopted in 2022 to accelerate efforts toward the elimination of child labour after years of stalled progress. It emphasizes the need for a multi-sectoral approach—combining social protection, education, and decent work for adults—to address the root causes of child labour. The newly launched Child Labour Observatory is a direct institutional response to this Call to Action, designed to ensure that national and international interventions are grounded in high-quality, comparable data.
Policy Relevance
The February 2026 launch represents a transition from fragmented reporting to “Global Data Standardization” in child protection. By institutionalizing the CLO, the ILO is providing the Ministry of Labour and Employment with a benchmarking tool to align India’s state-level enforcement with international best practices and the Durban Call to Action.
Strategic Impact:
Enhancing Supply Chain Transparency: Indian businesses can utilize the CLO’s “National Legal Framework” pillar to strengthen their due diligence processes, ensuring compliance with global ESG standards.
Evidence-Based Policy Review: The Ministry of Women and Child Development can benchmark India’s “Hazardous Work List” against regional peers to identify gaps in protection for specific age groups.
Strengthening Accountability: Access to centralized, disaggregated statistics allows for more targeted interventions in sectors with high child labour prevalence, such as agriculture or home-based manufacturing.
Relevant Question for Policy Stakeholders: What ‘Minimum Age Standards’ and hazardous work classifications can the Ministry of Labour refine to align India’s legal framework with the highest-performing profiles in the Child Labour Observatory?
Follow the full news here: ILO: Child Labour Observatory