International Child Labor & Forced Labor Reports

ILAB as a Knowledge Generator

ILAB’s research and reporting are carried out under Congressional mandates and Presidential directives. They provide specific, actionable information to various stakeholders about how to combat labor abuses in countries around the world.

• Foreign governments use the reports to strengthen laws, enforcement, policies, and programs for vulnerable children and families in or at-risk of child labor or forced labor.
• Companies rely on these reports to inform risk assessments, to conduct due diligence on their supply chains, and to develop strategies to address the problem.
• Consumers use our research to minimize the risk that their purchases inadvertently support exploitative labor practices around the world.
• Civil society organizations, including academic institutions, use the reports to inform advocacy efforts to assist victims.
• U.S. federal government agencies use the reports to safeguard federal procurement and guard against the importation of goods made with forced labor, including forced child labor.

Other Research

ILAB funds research projects that develop and pilot new tools and methodologies that deepen our knowledge and understanding of child labor and forced labor, including their root causes. ILAB programming has supported:

• The collection and analysis of credible data on child labor, forced labor, and human trafficking from over 90 national child labor surveys and 10 surveys focused on forced labor or forced child labor;
• The development of new survey methodologies, qualitative and quantitative studies, and statistical guidelines on child labor and forced labor; and
• The establishment of global estimates on child labor and forced labor, which serve as the standard for measuring worldwide progress on these issues.