Worldwide, the International Labor Organization (ILO) estimates that there are 152 million child laborers, of which 72 million are in Africa. In addition, the ILO estimates that there are 3.4 million people in forced labor in Africa. Child laborers and victims of forced labor typically work in situations that fall outside the internationally recognized acceptable conditions of work, such as unsafe working conditions and wages below the legal minimum wage. These often illegal practices can enable producers to cut costs, and therefore provide an unfair advantage to producers and countries that fail to comply with their trade-related labor commitments and/or internationally recognized labor standards. These practices may also harm workers and businesses in the United States when they are competing with products made by children and/or workers in forced labor.

In Kenya, children are engaged in the worst forms of child labor, including in agriculture, industry, commercial sexual exploitation, and in the informal sector. Kenya is also a source, transit, and destination country for children and adults subjected to forced labor and trafficking for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation. Gaps persist and contribute to child labor, forced labor, and the inadequate protection of workers in Kenya, including gaps in Kenya’s legal framework and policies, weak enforcement of labor laws, a lack of information on enforcement and coordination activities, and insufficient assistance services to victims.  In Kenya, gaps with respect to acceptable conditions of work include work-week and overtime violations, weak enforcement of occupational safety and health regulations, and insufficient fines to deter unsafe practices.