Why is this important?

It is important to take a public stand against child labour to demonstrate a commitment to the issue. Furthermore, it is required by many industry standards/organisations, such as the UN Global Compact and the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

About the scoring

A score of 10 is given if the company has a publicly available commitment against child labour expressed in, for example, a:

• Stand-alone policy
• Code of Conduct (CoC)
• Humans Rights policy
• Reference in an annual/sustainability report

A child is defined by the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child to be a person under the age of legal majority, usually under 18 years old. There should be evidence of a clear commitment to working against child labour as defined by the ILO Conventions 138 and 182. Note, a commitment can also include promotion of youth employment, skills development, and job training opportunities for under 18s in accordance with the ILO conventions.

A score of 5 is given if it is clear from public disclosures that the company prohibits human rights or labour rights violations, but children are not specifically and extensively included.

N.B. It is not necessary to have a zero-tolerance policy, for example, in relation to suppliers, as such measures might cause more harm than good for working children.

Indicator reference

Children’s Rights and Business Principles:

• All business should meet their responsibility to respect children’s rights and commit to supporting the human rights of children (Principle 1)
• All business should contribute to the elimination of child labour, including in all business activities and business relationships (Principle 2)

 Other:

• ILO Convention 138
• ILO Convention 182