Question: What is the U.S. Department of Labor’s role in international child labor issues?

Answer: As the leading donor to the International Labor Organization's (ILO) International Program on the Elimination of Child Labor (IPEC), the Department of Labor (DOL) has provided valuable resources toward child labor elimination efforts worldwide. Since FY 1995, DOL has contributed approximately $157 million to ILO/IPEC, with $45 million alone in FY 2002. DOL support for IPEC helps to remove children from hazardous work, increase the participation of countries in IPEC, develop statistical surveys and baseline information on child labor, and increase worldwide awareness and public education about child labor. In the area of research and reporting, DOL continues to contribute to the information base on international child labor issues through its publication of a series of reports on the topic, available from the International Child Labor Program's Web site.