ILO, NECA unveil guidance tool on child rights, labour

T HENigeria Emplo yers' Consultative Association ( NECA) and the International Labour Organisation ( ILO), through the “Accelerating action for the Elimination of Child Labour in Supply Chains in Africa” ( ACCEL) Project, has organised series of programmes and carried out research to strengthen the capacities of employers and employers’ organisations in ensuring compliance in the elimination of child labour.

The Guardian learnt that through the ACCEL Africa project, the capacity of organisations had been strengthened for greater involvement in all tiers of child labour elimination, particularly in global supply chains in the organised private sector.

Statistics has it that Nigeria recorded the highest rate of child labour in the ECOWAS region, with approximately, 15 million child workers as at 2020, equivalent to a staggering 43 per cent of the total population of minors in the country.

President of NECA, Taiwo Adeniyi, at the official launch of the ‘ Child Labour Guidance Tool for Businesses in Nigeria’, said it was a milestone for Nigeria and the lifetime of the accelerating action for the elimination of child labour in supply chains in Africa project.

He said it was aimed at promoting the elimination of child labour in the Cocoa and Artisanal Small- Scale Gold Mining ( ASGM) sectors in Nigeria through the ACCEL project.

He said the four- year project funded by the Dutch Government for implementation in Nigeria has since been implemented from 2020 to date, strengthened and deepened the capacity of organisations, as well as key stakeholders in the organised private sector on the urgent need to eliminate child labour practices and its impacts from global supply chains in Nigeria and the rest of the world.

Adeniyi, who was represented by the 1st Vice President of NECA, Kunle Oyelana, said the project has positively impacted the focus areas in Nigeria, including communities in Niger, Ondo and Osun States, where child labour practices are prevalent.