The International Labour Organisation’s Work on Regulating the Worst Forms of Child Labour: A Focus on Convention No. 182 of 1999 and Its Impact

This thesis explores the historical evolution of child labour and the role of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) in regulating it, with a particular focus on its efforts to combat the worst forms of child labour. The research is divided into three main parts. The first provides a historical overview of how child labour developed from the pre-industrial period to the modern era, especially in Western countries and later in the Global South. After it, it will continue explaining the birth and the institutional development of the ILO and its early commitments to eradicate child labour, to then shift to the second part which examines the evolution of the ILO’s legal and institutional framework to address the issue, culminating in the adoption of Convention No. 182 in 1999, which specifically targets the worst forms of child labour. The final chapter focuses on the practical implementation and impact of this Convention, through some global case studies. The thesis aims to assess how international norms, particularly those established by the ILO, have contributed to shaping global standards and national policies in the fight against child labour.