Summary:

• Child labour in Uganda has surged despite national efforts, particularly affecting the agricultural sector. The launch of the CLEAR Supply Chains initiative aims to address these challenges by focusing on education, skills development, and sustainable farming practices in coffee supply chains.

On June 12th, the International Community marked the World Day Against Child Labour, underscoring the urgent need to eradicate child labour globally. The occasion coincided with the 25th anniversary of the adoption of the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, a milestone that initially sparked significant global efforts to combat child labour. Despite decades of progress, recent setbacks due to conflicts, crises, and the COVID-19 pandemic have pushed millions more children into hazardous work, undoing much of the progress made.

Recent statistics highlight a troubling trend in Uganda, where child labour rates have spiked from 14% in 2016/17 to 39.5%, affecting approximately 6.2 million children excluding household chores (UBOS 2021). This surge persists despite various policy interventions and national action plans aimed at eliminating child labour.

The agricultural sector in Uganda remains a hotspot for child labour, particularly among very young children. Issues related to child labour in supply chains have gained prominence in public discourse, prompting legislative actions in some states and corporate initiatives to integrate sustainability due diligence into business practices.

The European Union’s Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive has catalyzed efforts to ensure compliance along Uganda’s coffee supply chain. However, challenges persist, with many businesses focusing more on monitoring children at workplaces rather than addressing underlying causes such as weak labour rights, poverty, barriers to education, and inadequate social protections.

In response to these challenges, a comprehensive initiative named Ending Child Labour in Supply Chains (CLEAR Supply Chains) was launched in Uganda on this World Day Against Child Labour. Led by a consortium including the International Labour Organization (ILO), United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), and the International Trade Centre (ITC), with support from the European Union, the program aims to address the socio-economic roots of child labour in Uganda’s coffee supply chain.

The CLEAR Supply Chains program will pilot an integrated model in Kalungu, Masaka, and Manafwa districts, engaging policymakers, supply chain operators, and affected communities. It emphasizes initiatives such as education retention and reintegration, youth skills development, livelihood diversification, climate-resilient farming practices, and promotion of labour rights.

This initiative complements existing efforts such as the CAPSA project, which strengthens government capacities to combat child labour, forced labour, and human trafficking in sub-Saharan Africa, and the ACCEL project, focused on child labour in the tea and coffee sectors.

Despite current challenges, the collective efforts of international organizations, national stakeholders, and the private sector reaffirm the possibility of achieving a world free from child labour, echoing the progress of the past 25 years.