On June 12, 2021, Partners of the Americas (Partners) commemorated the World Day Against Child Labor (WDACL), as well as the International Year for the Elimination of Child Labor. This is a year in which we are called to not lower our guard on our fight, but instead, to increase our efforts to prevent and eradicate child labor, especially given the increased threat that the COVID-19 pandemic poses on vulnerable families and communities.
Five years ago, the United Nations created the Alliance 8.7, an initiative focused on accelerating global efforts to eradicate child labor that affects almost 160 million children and adolescents across the globe. Aligned with this objective, Partners commemorated the WDACL in June 2021, reaffirming our commitment to continue leading through creative solutions, successful, and innovative practices, and promoting the strengthening of all key actors in a bid to continue generating knowledge for the prevention and eradication of child labor.
With the generous support of the U.S. Department of Labor, Partners currently implements projects in Costa Rica, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, and Paraguay. Through these projects, we provide technical assistance to governments, civil society, and the private sector, to address root causes of child labor, including poverty and access to education and social protection, along with promoting acceptable conditions of work. We also believe that through improved access to education and livelihoods, as well as by increasing the workers’ voice, communities eliminate barriers to comply with labor rights and international standards, therefore reducing the risks associated with child labor.
Partners works to support building the capacity of civil society organizations through Colombia Avanza, a project that works in the coffee sector in the departments of Tolima and Huila. In Colombia and Ecuador, through the Palma Futuro Project, we work with private sector partners and key stakeholders by developing and implementing social compliance systems, in partnership with Social Accountability International and J.E. Austin Associates.
In Paraguay, Partners works with the Government of Paraguay to combat child labor by providing technical assistance to strengthen the government’s capacity to enforce labor laws, and strengthen coordination between law enforcement and social protection entities through the global project ATLAS, in partnership with Winrock International and Lawyers without Borders. Our program Paraguay Okakua further supports Paraguay in its efforts to reduce and prevent the worst forms of child labor and combat forced labor, and improve labor law compliance and working conditions, with particular attention to the departments of Guairá and Boquerón.
As part of this year’s commemoration of the WDACL, Partners participated and supported multiple events:
On Friday, June 11, 2021, the Ministry of Children and Adolescents of Paraguay held a virtual event to commemorate the WDACL. On this occasion, the Minister of Children and Adolescents, Teresa Martínez, presented two specific contributions developed with the technical assistance from Paraguay Okakuaa: 1) a training program on child labor and permitted adolescent labor and 2) an application to be used by educators of the Immediate Response Device (DRI), a Ministry of Childhood and Adolescence (MINNA) program that identifies children and adolescents engaged in child labor in the streets and refers them to social protection services. The event was also attended by the Minister of Labor, Employment, and Social Security, Carla Bacigalupo, who highlighted the important support received by Paraguay Okakuaa to improve the labor inspection system in cases of child labor.
Partners also participated in an event on June 11, 2021, organized by the Ministry of Labor of Colombia, in collaboration with Pacto Global – Colombian Network Against Child Labor. In the event, hosted by the Minister of Labor Ángel Cabrera, Partners’ President and CEO John McPhail expressed Partners’ commitment to supporting Colombia in its efforts to prevent and eradicate child labor.
Finally, through the relationship established with the Ministry of Labor in Ecuador, developed through Partners’ USDOL-funded project Palma Futuro, members of our team were invited to participate at the “Let’s Get Together to Eradicate Child Labor” round table, along with the Minister of Labor, Patricio Donoso.
At Partners, we strongly believe in the transformative power of partnerships — with volunteers, development professionals, governments, businesses, and civil society organizations — to match resources, knowledge, and passion to need. Join us in inspiring change and preventing and eradicating child labor.
