Red Card to Child Labour

Working hand in hand with what IPEC characterises as "the world's most popular sport", the campaign uses what is mean to be a potent symbol: the red card that means "you're out of the game." The hallmark of the campaign is the engagement of high-profile athletes and advocates, who seize on the attention and media coverage generated by major sporting events. For example, the launch event featured representatives of ILO social partners, President of the African Football Confederation (AFC), and President of the Federation Internationale of Football Association (FIFA). Similarly, in honour of the 100th anniversary of "The Real Madrid" (December 2002), Red Card generated strong media participation in Europe and the involvement of celebrities of the Madrid football club, who disseminated information on child labour issues.

The participation of children and youth in communicating the Red Card message has been pivotal throughout the campaign. For example, during the 2004 China vs. Iran semi-final match at the Asian World Cup in Beijing, China, 22 children, aged 8 to 10, walked on the pitch (field) at half-time, wearing the campaign's Red Card tee-shirts and flashing red cards. The girls and boys taking part were soccer players who had been selected to attend Beijing's football academy, making them the potential soccer stars of tomorrow. A 30-second campaign video was shown during the children's display, and printed information and campaign materials on child labour were handed out. Along with the Asian Football Confederation, the Chinese Football Association, and the Local Organizing Committee, this event was made possible through a ongoing alliance, officially launched in February 2003, between FIFA and the ILO to promote the Red Card campaign further.

Red Card has been supported by many celebrities and world leaders, such as President Lula da Silva of Brazil and President Thabo M'beki of South Africa. Soccer legend and former Brazilian Minister of Sports Pele has been a member of the Red Card campaign since 2007. Involvement in the campaign has inspired cross-country collaborations. For instance, during a bilateral meeting on June 6 2008, the Brazilian Minister of Labour and Indian Minister of Labour announced a South-South cooperation to combat child labour, particularly its worst forms. Employers' and workers' representatives from both countries were also present at the bilateral meeting. The two Ministers agreed to share good practices and invited each other, along with tripartite delegations, to visit different regions of their respective countries. Areas of common interest cited include labour inspection, conditional cash transfer mechanisms to combat child labour, and vocational training and school feeding programmes.

The Red Card campaign has, over the years, drawn upon other public ways of advocating against child labour. For example, a Red Card campaign launched on June 12 2003, World Day against Child Labour, took place in Rome, Italy's public transport network over a one-year period. In parallel, an exhibition on child labour issue was organised. Amongst the other European cities who have hosted the Red Card campaign: Madrid, Paris, Athens, and Vienna.

The Red Card campaign also mobilises communities and sports associations in vulnerable neighbourhoods around to world to empower girls, boys, and youth to participate in the fight against child labour. One illustration of a strategy that has been used by local sports initiatives to tell the world to give a "Red Card to exploiters of children's rights" is this example from Madagascar where "Hira ny taratasa mena", a Red Card Song in the Malgasy language, was sung and recorded.

Children, Rights.

According to IPEC, "Not all work done by children should be classified as child labour that is to be targeted for elimination. Children's or adolescents' participation in work that does not affect their health and personal development or interfere with their schooling, is generally regarded as being something positive....The term 'child labour' is often defined as work that deprives children of their childhood, their potential and their dignity, and that is harmful to physical and mental development....In its most extreme forms, child labour involves children being enslaved, separated from their families, exposed to serious hazards and illnesses and/or left to fend for themselves on the streets of large cities - often at a very early age. Whether or not particular forms of 'work' can be called 'child labour' depends on the child's age, the type and hours of work performed, the conditions under which it is performed and the objectives pursued by individual countries. The answer varies from country to country, as well as among sectors within countries."

Over 100 countries rapidly ratified ILO's labour standard, the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention No. 182 (adopted in 1999). While Africa is home to some 40%, or about 80 million, of the world's child workers, the continent has in many ways led the way in the struggle against child labour, especially in its worst forms. Of the countries ratifying Convention No. 182, 30 are from Africa, including the first two ratifying states (Seychelles and Malawi).

Numbers on the extent, characteristics, and determinants of child labour are provided by the Statistical Information and Monitoring Programme on Child Labour (SIMPOC), which is the statistical arm of IPEC. For recent child labour statistics from SIMPOC, including country-specific briefs, click here.