"UN: Pandemic may push millions into child labour", 14 June 2020

The International Labour Organisation (ILO) and UNICEF have warned that millions of children are at risk of being pushed into child labour due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

In a press release …, they said the situation could create the first increase in child labour in 20 years. Victims of child labour have decreased by 94 million since 2000, they said.

Some studies have indicated that a one per cent increase in poverty results in at least a 0.7 per cent rise in child labour in certain countries…

ILO director-general Guy Ryder said: “Social protection is vital in times of crisis as it provides assistance to those who are most vulnerable.

“Integrating child labour concerns across broader policies for education, social protection, justice, labour markets, and international human and labour rights makes a critical difference.”

The Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training’s General Department of Technical Affairs director-general and spokesman Touch Channy told … that the government has invested in children by transferring cash to poor pregnant women and children under the age of two. The initiative has been implemented for about a year…

Since the Covid-19 outbreak, Cambodia’ government has scaled up its social protection programme, according to a press release published by the two organisations ...

The ministry urged all poor Cambodians who have not yet been identified by the programme to meet with local authorities for an interview before the campaign for identifying poor families in urban areas ends later this month.