News Release
Department of Labor allocates $6.95M to support ILO research on child, forced labor to inform policies, protect vulnerable workers
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced an allocation of $6.95 million to support a research project by the International Labor Organization to better inform policymakers in their efforts to end child and forced labor.
Directed by an international advisory board and overseen by the department’s Bureau of International Labor Affairs, the Research to Action II initiative will improve information-sharing between researchers and decision makers. The project seeks to take advantage of the International Labor Organization’s established research network to refine and improve current strategies and methods by coordinating research between organizations on child and forced labor.
The Research to Action II initiative will also strengthen statistical and research capacity of partner governments and other stakeholders and produce research needed to give policymakers a shared research agenda to advance labor rights. It will update research products to inform policies and interventions in collaboration with academic experts, national statistical entities and global stakeholders.
Recent ILO estimates suggests global progress on eliminating child labor and forced labor has stalled. Current, reliable and in-depth information is needed by governments to make sound and sustainable policy decisions to address these human rights violations, making the initiative critically important.
The ILO’s findings will complement ILAB’s research and learning portfolio, including its recently launched ILAB Knowledge Portal.
