Fafo-report 439

Lise Bjerkan and Christophe Gironde

Achievements and setbacks in the fights against child labour

Assessment of the Oslo Conference on Child Labour October 27 – 30, 1997

ISBN 82-7422-434-5
2004 69 s kr 169,- Ordrenr: 439 Bestilling

Web edition (pdf 292kb) * More publications on this subject

This report assesses the impact of the 1997 Oslo Conference on child labour and the status today of the issues addressed at that conference.

In spite of growing global public concern with the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) in 1989, international initiatives and actions were hampered by differences in approaches to child labour by key stakeholders. The Oslo Conference was successful in defining a common platform to combat child labour. Seven years after, there seems to be a new need for refocusing international strategies both to continue to mobilise donors and to increase impact of the work on the ground.

The report is the first in a series of working papers from a Fafo research program on child labour generously financed by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

1 Introduction
Analytical framework

2 Child Labour in International Policy, 1989–1997
The ILO Framework
Trade Union Advocacy
UNICEF
The World Bank
Key Themes of the Policy Debate
An emerging common ground?

3 The Oslo Conference
Preparation by Norway, ILO, UNICEF
Non-governmental preparations
The Agenda for Action
Common Ground

4 International Policy Since Oslo
The Agenda for Action: a reference document for policy making
Implementing the Agenda for Action
The Limits to Cooperation
The Current State of Policy and Implementation
Options for Policy Initiatives

Appendix 1: Persons interviewed
Appendix 2: Agenda for Action
Appendix 3: ILO Convention No. 182