Cher joins United Nations campaign to end child labour

Hollywood movie star Cher has added her voice to the call by the United Nations’ International Labour Organization (ILO) for an end to child labour. The actor and singer is supporting the ‘Red Card to Child Labour!’ campaign, announced  by ILO director-general Guy Ryder at the closing last month of the third Global Conference on Child Labour in the Brazilian capital Brasilia.

A decade ago the global number of child labourers stood at 246 million. The  number has fallen significantly, but there are still 168 million child workers around  the world, more than half of whom are trapped in the worst forms of exploitative labour.

They work in fields, mines and factories and many are sexually abused,  coerced into the drug trade or forced to join armies and militias.

‘The ILO is working to free millions of these children and they can use our help,’  says Cher in a video message (above).

The ILO launched the first Red Card campaign in 2002 to raise public awareness of child labour.

Eight years later, the second Global Conference on Child Labour, which took place at The Hague in the Netherlands, committed to eliminating the  worst forms of child labour by 2016. The 152 countries that participated in the  recent conference in Brasilia have renewed their commitment to reach that target.

‘The Red Card is a powerful image that is recognizable across the world as a warning that something is wrong and must stop,’ said ILO chief Guy Ryder. ‘As we redouble our efforts to eradicate child labour, the support of Cher – as well as other famous artists and athletes – is a vital way of mobilizing our global society so that together we can rid the world of child labour.’