UN Report on Child Labor cites research by the Facts and Norms Institute

GENEVA, August 20, 2025 — The United Nations Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, Mr. Tomoya Obokata, released a sobering report on the state of child labor worldwide, warning that the international community’s goal of ending all forms of the practice by 2025 remains “unmet by far.”

The report, submitted to the Human Rights Council ahead of its 60th session, identifies persistent challenges, from weak enforcement to digital exploitation, while also highlighting innovative solutions from around the globe.

The document draws on extensive input from member states, civil society, and academic institutions, including a detailed submission from the Facts and Norms Institute and the UFMG Law School’s Slave Labor and Human Trafficking Clinic.

The UN findings on the root causes of child labor echo the analysis provided by FNI in its March 2025 input, which focused on the situation in Brazil. The Institute’s submission emphasized the devastating link between economic hardship and child exploitation, a point reflected in the global analysis.

“Poverty stands out as the most significant factor pushing children into work,” the Facts and Norms Institute stated in its submission. “This reinforces a vicious cycle where child labor, by limiting education and skill acquisition, perpetuates poverty into adulthood and future generations.” The Special Rapporteur’s report highlights this dynamic, listing poverty, socioeconomic inequality, and lack of access to education and social protection as primary drivers that must be tackled more rigorously by states.

In a section on “Promising practices in eradicating the worst forms of child labor,” the UN report explicitly cites the research provided by the FNI. When discussing specialized judicial mechanisms, the report notes, “In the area of criminal justice, India has Fast Track Courts for Child Sexual Offences, and Specialized Courts for Childhood and Adolescence exist at the regional level in Brazil.” A footnote directly attributes this information to the “Submission by the Facts and Norms Institute and the Slave Labor and Human Trafficking Clinic of the Federal University of Minas Gerais.”

The UN report also raises alarms about under-researched and insufficiently addressed areas, such as the criminal exploitation of children, including their use in drug trafficking. This aligns with a key challenge identified by FNI, which warned that “certain manifestations of child labor, including… the dangerous involvement in drug trafficking (with its specific recruitment tactics, high risks, and exploitation), remain insufficiently addressed and researched.”

The Special Rapporteur will formally present the report and its recommendations to the Human Rights Council during its 60th session in Geneva this September, where it is expected to shape global policy discussions on protecting children from exploitation.