BRASILIA - Last week, delegations from 25 Latin American and Caribbean countries in Brazil concluded the activities of a South-South Cooperation Roundtable focused on the fight against child labor, with the signing of four formal agreements, defining 16 commitments for activities and 50 expressions of interest for future collaboration.

According to ILO estimates, there are still 12.5 million working children in the region. The Director for Latin America and the Caribbean, José Manuel Salazar, highlighted when opening the meeting that it would be necessary to invest resources equivalent to 0.3% of GDP to eradicate child labor by 2025.

The Roundtable was held within the framework of a Regional Initiative for a Latin America and the Caribbean free of child labor signed by the governments of the region and supported by the ILO, which seeks to accelerate efforts to eradicate this practice. The meeting was convened by the Brazilian government as part of the Brazil-ILO South-South Cooperation Program.

South-South cooperation that occurs horizontally and promotes the exchange of experiences, the efficient use of available resources and international solidarity, is considered an important alternative at a time when countries face the challenge of doing more. with less.

The participants in the meeting exchanged ideas on strategies for resource mobilization, as well as on good practices and mechanisms that facilitate the implementation of South-South cooperation initiatives.

In the rounds of negotiations held in Brasilia, the countries were able to exchange information on the successful experiences they can share as well as on their needs in terms of cooperation in the fight against child labor, which resulted in the form of agreements, in commitments to joint activities and numerous expressions of interest for future collaboration.

The agenda included topics such as labor migration, youth employment, indigenous communities, transition from school to work, education, value chains, agriculture and information technologies.

The agreements that would be put into practice in the next three to six months foresee activities for the exchange of information and tools, training, joint investigations, transfer of methodologies, internships of specialists, among others.

Salazar highlighted the fact that the regional Roundtable was held in Brazil “a country with which the ILO has developed an important partnership. The Brazilian Cooperation Agency (ABC) has contributed a significant amount of resources for South-South cooperation, showing leadership in initiatives of this type ”.

The ILO Regional Director made his first official visit to Brazil after taking office on June 1.

In addition to participating in the Cooperation Table, Salazar met with the Minister of Social Development and Fight against Hunger, Tereza Campello, with the Chief Minister of the General Secretariat of the Presidency, Miguel Rosetto, with the director of the ABC, Fernando de Abreu , as well as with other government representatives.

“During these meetings, I had the opportunity to reiterate the ILO's commitment to continue supporting Brazil,” said Salazar.