Global March carried out a study to analyse the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on child labor and education, collecting information from each of the following seven South American countries: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay and Peru*.

On June 9, Global March members from South America in collaboration with other regional bodies presented the results of the study and held discussions with different stakeholders on the issue during a virtual event. Check the recording of the event here and the agenda here.

The report of the study covers how the COVID-19 pandemic deepened existing social inequalities in the region, including factors that cause or contribute to child labour, which creates an environment that tends to exacerbate this phenomenon. Among these factors are poverty, adult unemployment, educational exclusion, lack of social services, weak implementation of policies and cultural perceptions that naturalise child labour in the societies.

While Global March members commit to continue strengthening their efforts in promoting education and advocating for the protection of children’s rights; governments are urged to assume their role as guarantors prioritising strategies and strengthening public policies to address and contrarest the social problems that have increased in the context of the pandemic, especially those affecting children and adolescents.