The Dutch government is earmarking an extra €6.8 million to combat child labour. The funding will go to an ILO programme that combats child labour through education. Foreign minister Maxime Verhagen announced this today at The Hague Global Child Labour Conference.

‘The vicious circle of poverty can only be broken if more children go to school. Education is the key to a better future,’ the minister said in his speech. At present, 13% of the development budget is earmarked for education. The money set aside for the ILO programme is extra funding.

The new ILO programme aims to ensure that national education programmes include measures that will enable more child labourers to get an education. These could include setting up schools near places where children work, like brick kilns, railway stations and garbage dumps.

The minister stressed that action to eliminate child labour has to be stepped up. A broad package of measures is needed. These could include the introduction of a certification system for child labour free products and codes of conduct for businesses. The international community can play its part by only providing grants to companies whose primary suppliers do not use child labour.

Countries must also step up political dialogue with countries where child labour is prevalent, invest more in education and consider trade measures.

Click here to read Verhagen's speech at the Child Labour Conference on 11 May 2010.

At the end of the two-day Global Child Labour Conference in The Hague yesterday, more than 450 delegates from 80 countries agreed on a so-called roadmap, which characterizes the effective abolition of child labour as a “moral necessity.” read more

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