11/02/2026
📢 Joint Statement on Children’s Participation at the VI Global Conference on Child Labour
From 11–13 February 2026, the VI Global Conference on Child Labour takes place in Morocco. On this occasion, representatives of working children, movements of working children, civil society organisations and researchers have issued a joint statement.
In this statement, we reaffirm that under Article 12 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, children have the right to be safely and meaningfully heard in all matters affecting their lives. While efforts have been made to involve children before and during the conference, meaningful participation requires that children, particularly organised working children and their movements, are integrated into the core spaces where discussions, agendas and outcomes are shaped.
We remain concerned that current forms of participation do not meet the nine basic requirements for effective, ethical and meaningful participation, and do not ensure that children’s perspectives are given equal weight alongside other stakeholders. This is not only a shortcoming in the realization of working children’s rights, but also a missed opportunity to learn directly from children with lived experience of work and labour.
👉 The statement calls on the conference organisers, in particular the Government of Morocco and the ILO, to strengthen inclusive, safe and meaningful children’s participation in future global conferences.
🔗 Read the full joint statement here: https://dialogue-works.com/joint-statement-for-the-vi-global-conference-on-child-labour-morocco-11-13-february-2026/
We remain committed to supporting processes that genuinely realise children’s right to be heard.
International Labour Organization MOLACNNATS MAEJT Afrique Terre des Hommes Campaign Cwish Welfare of Children and Youth Kenya Children's Voice Today Dreikönigsaktion der Katholischen Jungschar Facilitator for Change- FC Centre for Services and Information on Disability(CSID) Proteknôn Christian Advocates for Justice & Development in Negros Inc. The Concerned for Working Children Enda Jeunesse Action International Yayasan PKPA Indonesia Pronats e.V.
