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Overview of the Child Labor White Paper 2025

After a five-year hiatus, the "Child Labor White Paper 2025 - Business and Child Labor" has been published, targeted at corporate executives and human rights due diligence officers. This comprehensive report elaborates on the latest status of child labor worldwide, highlights best practices from various companies, and discusses the responsibilities that businesses must uphold.

The initiative was brought forth by ACE (a nonprofit organization based in Tokyo), in collaboration with Owls Consulting Group and Deloitte Tohmatsu Consulting. Together, they have assembled valuable insights from international agencies and various reports on child labor's existing conditions and corporate commitments to eradicating it. The publication can be accessed online via ACE's website.

Current Global Child Labor Statistics

Recent projections shared by the ILO and UNICEF reveal alarming statistics: approximately 138 million children, about one in every thirteen globally, are engaged in child labor. Despite a decrease from the 2020 statistics, meeting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) objective of completely eliminating child labor by 2025 appears increasingly difficult. The rate of child labor eradication needs to escalate elevenfold if we are to achieve this goal by 2030.

The report reflects collaborative input from Owls Consulting Group, which has a significant background in supporting human rights initiatives, Deloitte Tohmatsu Consulting, which works directly in the field to tackle child labor issues, and ACE, which focuses on eradicating and preventing child labor altogether.

Expanded Insights and Updated Guidelines

In updating the 2020 edition of the Child Labor White Paper, the authors included the most recent developments on the status of child labor, the latest trends in regulations concerning business and human rights, and newly-expanded efforts from multiple stakeholders—encompassing corporations, government entities, NGOs, academic institutions, and consumers aimed at solving the fundamental problems associated with child labor.

The document is rich with practical reference points beneficial for professionals engaged in human rights due diligence within companies. It aims to enrich the knowledge of executives, sustainability officers, procurement managers, and various stakeholders in utilizing this information to strengthen human rights-respecting management.

Structure of the Report

The white paper is structured into three main chapters:

1. The Reality of Child Labor Globally
- Overview of child labor statistics
- Child labor in various industries, including coffee, cocoa, palm oil, seafood, cotton, gold, and cobalt
- Characteristics of child labor in developed countries, including Europe, the United States, and Japan

2. The Intersection of Business and Child Labor
- Trends in discussions around business and human rights
- The negative impacts of child labor on businesses
- Steps businesses are taking to eliminate child labor

3. Stakeholder Efforts and Collaboration Against Child Labor
- Key stakeholders involved in efforts to eliminate child labor and their respective initiatives
- Collaborative actions undertaken by various stakeholders
- Challenges and prospects concerning child labor

Messages from Key Contributors

Yusuke Kamiyama, CEO of Deloitte Tohmatsu Consulting
Child labor poses a serious human rights risk within corporate supply chains, directly impacting brand value and overall corporate performance. Amid heightened calls from consumers and investors for respectful human rights initiatives, companies face mounting pressure to reinforce their engagement with human rights. Unfortunately, by 2024, about 138 million children remain caught in child labor, indicating a critical challenge to the SDGs’ goal of eradicating child labor by 2025. Companies must integrate approaches that extend beyond just “Do No Harm” to actively engage in “Problem Solving” of social human rights issues.

Keisuke Hanuda, CEO of Owls Consulting Group
With the diversification of rules and regulations concerning human rights, more Japanese companies are stepping up to address human rights due diligence. The increased media exposure surrounding human rights violations by large corporations has drawn attention from society, industry, and investors to the crucial need for respecting human rights in business practices. Facing the stark reality of not achieving the 2025 child labor elimination goal, it is imperative that we rethink how we approach problem-solving to create substantive changes.

Yuka Iwatake, Representative of ACE
Despite being recognized as a human rights issue since the early 20th century, child labor persists as a significant challenge. In light of the UN's target to eliminate child labor by 2025, with 138 million children still affected, this report aims to guide businesses and stakeholders on how they can contribute effectively. Child labor needs to be viewed not as an unrelated issue but as a collective responsibility of consumers in a global society.

About ACE

ACE (Action Against Child Exploitation) is an NGO dedicated to protecting children’s rights while working towards the eradication and prevention of child labor. By focusing on child protection in cocoa production in Ghana and raising awareness of child labor issues in Japan, ACE engages in advocacy towards the Japanese government, Ghanaian authorities, and related companies.

For inquiries, contact ACE at:
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 03-3835-7555
Website: ACE Japan