An international workshop on international commitments on prevention and elimination of child labor (Photo: VGP/Thu Cuc)

The International Labor Organization (ILO) says illegal child labor is a global problem. In 2020, there were 160 million children working worldwide, 79 million doing hazardous work. During to the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of child workers worldwide increased by 8.9 million. A survey on child labor in Vietnam in 2018 showed that there were more than 1 million children between 5 and 7 years old engaged in child labor - 5.4% of the children in this age group, but lower than the rate in other countries in the Asia-Pacific region and globally in 2016. Efforts to prevent and reduce illegal child labor face numerous difficulties, some due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the figure is likely to rise.

Over the years, Vietnam has paid a lot of attention to the prevention and reduction of child labor. It has joined international treaties to ensure children's rights. It was the first country in Asia and the second in the world to ratify the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. Vietnam has also ratified ILO Convention 182 on the Prohibition and Immediate Action for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labor and ILO Convention 138 on the Minimum Age for Working and has pledged to comply with international labor standards, including the abolition of child labor as required by new generation free trade agreements it has signed.

Vietnam is currently implementing the National Program on Prevention and Reduction of Illegal Child Labor which aims to reduce the rate of child labor for 5 to 17- year-olds below 4.9% by 2025 and below 4.5% by 2030 and improve awareness of the problem among families, agencies and employers such as businesses in craft villages. The program is focusing on ways to strengthen prevention, detection and intervention, especially in agriculture, handicraft, and the service industry.

The Vietnamese Government’s commitment to addressing the problem was demonstrated in the 2016-2020 period when legislation concerning child labor was fine-tuned. Vietnam is one of 26 countries participating in Alliance 8.7, a global alliance of governments, social organizations and international organizations against child labor and forced labor.