Sudan’s children in crisis on World Day Against Child Labour

As World Day Against Child Labour is observed globally today, the International Labour Organization (ILO) laments that approximately 160 million children are part of the global workforce, comprising 63 million girls and 97 million boys, with nearly 79 million engaged in work deemed hazardous to their health, safety, and development.

Observed on June 12 each year, World Day Against Child Labour is an annual global initiative spearheaded by the International Labour Organization (ILO) to promote awareness and initiate actions to eradicate child labour.

As Sudan continues to face one of the world’s most complex humanitarian crises, the rise in child labour underscores the urgent need for a coordinated response. The 2025 theme for World Day Against Child Labour, ‘Let’s act on our commitments’, resonates clearly in the Sudanese context.

In Sudan, child labour is influenced by regional instability, displacement, and poverty. According to the 2024 UNICEF Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS), 25 per cent of children aged 5 to 17 work, with higher rates in conflict regions, 49.4 per cent in East Darfur and 48.2 per cent in South Darfur, compared to 7.5 per cent in Khartoum. Children mainly engage in agriculture, herding, artisanal mining, domestic service, and informal urban jobs, often lacking legal protection or safe conditions.

Sudan’s situation demonstrates how child labour is often linked with conflict, displacement, hunger, and institutional challenges. Although international conventions provide protections, enforcing them necessitates effective systems, which are currently compromised in Sudan.

According to UNICEF Sudan, approximately 23 million children are exposed to violence, abuse, or exploitation, which increases their likelihood of entering child labour, according to UNICEF Sudan’s child protection overview.

A UNICEF briefing note adds: ‘‘children face recruitment and use by armed actors’’ amid ‘‘grave violations,” reflecting mounting pressures on vulnerable youth. It also states that “Children are being killed, maimed, and displaced, with grave violations reported daily. Many face recruitment and use by armed actors, child labour, and early marriage.”

At the policy level, Sudan is a signatory to ILO Conventions 138 and 182, which establish international standards on the minimum age for work and prohibit the worst forms of child labour. However, the implementation of these frameworks remains severely limited in the current context. Ongoing insecurity and institutional collapse have weakened enforcement mechanisms, leaving many children without legal or practical protection.

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