The Challenge of Child Labour in International Law

Franziska Humbert analyses how the prohibition of child labour is protected under international law. Concluding that the UN and the International Labour Organization provide for weak implementation mechanisms, the work examines existing trade measures such as import bans, labeling and activities by transnational companies, and recommends a more effective regime.

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Child labour remains a widespread problem around the world. Over 200 million children can be regarded as child labourers, and about 10 million children are involved in producing either agricultural or manufactured products for export. Franziska Humbert explores the status of child labour in international law. Offering a wide-ranging analysis of the problem, she explores the various UN and ILO instruments and reveals the weaknesses of the current frameworks installed by these bodies to protect children from economic exploitation. After assessing to what extent trade measures such as conditionalities, labelling and trade restrictions and promotional activities can reduce child labour, she suggests an alternative legal framework which takes into account the needs of children.