Child Labour

12 June, World Day against Child Labour, was launched by ILO in 2002. Nowadays, some 215 million children between 5 and 17 years old are working on a daily basis instead of attending school. Child's Labour Global Past 1650-2000, a publication in IISH series International and Comparative History (2011) provides a long-term historical perspective, in covering the importance of children's work in pre-industrial and industrial societies, both in colonial and non- or post-colonial settings. Research on the varying historical experiences over the world can not only enlighten us about the specific function of child labour, but also about its causes.