JOHANNESBURG, May 5 (Xinhua) -- South Africa is going to host the International Labor Organization (ILO) Global Conference on the Elimination of Child Labor later this month, announced Employment and Labor Minister Thulas Nxesi on Thursday.
"The time is therefore opportune for the global community to converge on African soil to find solutions that will help our continent, in particular, to deal with the reported highest prevalence and the largest number of working children," Nxesi said.
South Africa reported nearly 600,000 children employed in child labor in 2015, with children aged 16-17 years more likely to be employed in child labor than other age groups. Globally, more than 160 million children were still working as child labor, according to the ILO.
Approximately a third of these children are not in school. The agriculture sector was credited with accounting for the largest proportion of child labor around the world.
The Director of the ILO Decent Work Team for Eastern and Southern Africa Joni Musabayana said Africa was one of the most child labor-burdened regions in the world, and the conference must come up with solutions to deal with key drivers.
Its focus is on facilitating the elimination of child labor in all its forms by 2025, along with the eradication of forced labor, modern slavery, and human trafficking by 2030. The conference will be held from May 15 to 20. ■