107 progressively the minimum age for admission to employment or work to a level consistent with the fullest physical and mental development of young persons. To date, 53 countries have stipulated the minimum age as 14 years, 78 countries at 15 years, and 44 at 16 years of age.37 With regard to the transposition of the standards into national laws, ILO and USDOL report: Over the 15 years from 2004 to 2018, a total of 59 countries have developed, revised, or updated their legislative framework to comply with the provisions of ILO Conventions on child labour. Some countries had to change their national constitutions to ensure that the rights of children are fully recognized in law and in practice. Many of the adapted laws related to the establishment of a national list of hazardous work for children below the age of 18. (ILO & U.S. Department of Labor, 2019) By signing and ratifying relevant instruments, member states incur legal obligations to improve the lot of children and to bring their national legislation into conformity with those instruments. Furthermore, when countries ratify the convention, they accept being monitored. A "supervisory mechanism" at the ILO holds governments to account, answering the question whether a ratifying government is actually implementing its commitments. Thus, the ILO’s child labour standards represent a rallying cry and a central fulcrum for national implementation. Its engagement of member states, in view of eliminating child labour, the ILO executes in line with Convention 182 Art. 8 (ILO, 1999) and SDG 17 (UN, n.d.). Deliberately connecting the dots between EU trade interests and labour standards in exporting countries, the ILO's Trade for Decent Work Project "aims at improving the application of the ILO fundamental Conventions in EU trading partner countries through improved labour relations and working conditions." At the top of the list is the capacitation of key stakeholders: "Strengthening the capacity of constituents to actively participate in national processes to comply with International Labour Standards (ILS), particularly the Fundamental Conventions" (ILO, n.d.d). Moreover, the ILO supervisory bodies, including the independent Committee of Experts on the Application of Standards, provide information on countries’ efforts to eliminate child labour. Uzbekistan, which has virtually eliminated child and forced labour in its cotton harvest, also benefitted from ILO supervisory action and technical assistance. While two of the ILO conventions are focussed on child labour, one should keep in mind that fundamental labour rights are indivisible and mutually supportive. Consider the possible interactions on an individual case basis: discrimination against migrants or ethnic minorities may be just as important a factor of child labour as household income; a lack of freedom of association rights can increase inequality and prevent economic growth from delivering social progress. Therefore, progress across all of the core labour rights and factors related to political economy as well as economic indicators are relevant for child labour outcomes.
37 See ratifications of ILO conventions: (ILO, n.d.-a)
