Projects
Our international grants support projects to combat some of the most abusive labor practices, including the use of child labor, forced labor, and human trafficking in global supply chains. ILAB-funded projects also promote trade partners’ compliance with the labor requirements of U.S. trade agreements and preference programs – helping to ensure a fair global playing field for workers in the United States and around the world.
Building Governments’ Capacity
ILAB works with governments to make them more effective in combating labor abuses, through efforts in areas such as data collection, monitoring, and enforcement. As a direct result of ILAB initiatives:
- More than 80 countries have strengthened their monitoring and enforcement of laws, regulations, policies, and programs to combat child labor, forced labor and human trafficking;
- More than 60,000 labor inspectors and law enforcement officials have been trained to more effectively enforce child labor, forced labor, and human trafficking laws and regulations; and
- Governments have adopted best practices to assist victims of child labor and forced labor. For example, ILAB worked in partnership with the Government of Paraguay to develop and pilot an electronic system that registers adolescent workers to ensure they are protected under the law and assist with enforcement of labor laws.
Assistance for Vulnerable Children and Families
ILAB projects adopt a holistic approach to promote sustainable efforts that address child labor’s underlying causes, including poverty and lack of access to education. Project strategies include linking vulnerable groups to existing government social programs, providing children with quality education or afterschool services, helping families improve their livelihoods to meet basic needs without relying on child labor, and raising awareness about risks of trafficking so that adults don’t end up in situations of forced labor.
ILAB at the Forefront of Rigorous Evaluation Research
ILAB continues to invest in impact evaluations of innovative interventions to broaden the global knowledge base on effective strategies for combating child labor and forced labor. ILAB’s randomized controlled trials, the gold standard for impact evaluations, allow governments and policymakers to make evidence-informed decisions about programs that affect child laborers and their families.
Find out what ILAB projects are doing in response to COVID-19.
Title | Amount | Grantee | Start Sort ascending | End |
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Building a Comprehensive Government of Mexico Approach to Combating Child Labor and Forced LaborThis project will enhance the effectiveness of the Government of Mexico to combat child labor and forced labor at the federal level and support specific interventions in the southern states of Chiapas, Yucatán, and Quintana Roo. The duration of the project will be five years (60 months). |
$13,000,000 | International Labor Organization | 04/01/2022 | 03/31/2027 |
Sustentar: Project to Build and Strengthen Sustainability Systems in the Tomato and Chile Sectors in MexicoThe Sustentar project aims to increase private sector stakeholders’ accountability to uphold core labor standards consistent with Mexican labor laws and the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement’s (USMCA) Labor Chapter, with a specific focus on addressing child labor, forced labor, and acceptable conditions of work. The project will include a focus on states that produce chile peppers and tomatoes, including Baja California, Baja California Sur, and Chihuahua. |
$5,000,000 | Social Accountability International | 04/01/2022 | 10/31/2026 |
Madagascar Shines: Reducing Child Labor in Mica-Producing Communities of MadagascarThe Madagascar Shines project aims to reduce child labor in mica-producing communities in the Anôsy region of Madagascar through community engagement, coordination, and capacity building. |
$4,500,000 | Pact, Inc. | 02/14/2022 | 06/09/2025 |
Increasing Collective Action to Address Child Labor, Forced Labor, and Other Unacceptable Conditions of Work in El Salvador, Guatemala, and HondurasThe project will work with civil society and workers' organizations in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras to strengthen their capacity and bolster their collaboration with government agencies, the private sector and other stakeholders to protect labor rights and reduce child labor and forced labor. The project will focus on organizations that represent indigenous, Afro-descendant, and Garifuna populations, while promoting gender and racial equity. |
$8,400,000 | Pan American Development Foundation | 12/31/2021 | 06/06/2026 |
Catalyzing Civil Society to Accelerate Progress Against Child Labor (Catalyst)The project aims to build the capacity of civil society organizations around the world to advance the fight against child labor by raising the voices of workers, advocates, and other civil society representatives. |
$4,000,000 | Global March Against Child Labor | 12/15/2021 | 12/14/2025 |
MY Voice: Project to Combat Forced Labor and Child Labor in the Production of Goods in MalaysiaThe MY Voice project will combat forced labor and child labor in the garment and palm oil industries in Malaysia in three main ways: 1) building the capacity of workers and civil society organizations to advocate for labor rights; 2) elevating the role of worker voice in private sector social compliance systems in these industries; and 3) increasing access to remedies for workers exploited for forced labor or child labor. |
$5,000,000 | Social Accountability International | 12/15/2021 | 06/14/2026 |
Global Accelerator Lab 8.7 Project – Intensifying Action Against Forced Labor and Child Labor Through InnovationILAB’s Global Accelerator Lab 8.7 project will support broader and more effective action under Alliance 8.7, a global partnership to assist United Nations (UN) member States to end child labor, forced labor, human trafficking and modern slavery by 2030. |
$10,000,000 | International Labor Organization (ILO) | 12/01/2021 | 10/15/2025 |
Mexico Awareness RaisingThe Mexico Awareness Raising project aims to support the government of Mexico, including the federal and state-level Secretariat of Labor and Social Welfare, to design, execute, and sustain effective communication strategies that inform workers, unions, and employers of the legal ramifications of the country’s labor law reforms. |
$10,000,000 | Partners of the Americas | 01/01/2021 | 06/30/2025 |
Improving Workers’ Occupational Safety and Health in Selected Supply Chains in Mexico – A Vision Zero FundPart of the broader Vision Zero Fund - which aims to promote worker safety and health in global supply chains – this project aims to improve the occupational safety and health of workers in selected supply chains with a focus on COVID-19, female workers, and workers in vulnerable conditions. This project also helps Mexico meet its labor obligations under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). |
$5,000,000 | International Labor Organization/Vision Zero Fund | 01/01/2021 | 12/31/2024 |
Strengthening Workers’ Ability to Exercise their Labor Rights in MexicoTo build the capacity of workers, support worker engagement and organizing, and strengthen democratic worker organizations in the aerospace, mining, and call center industries, such that they become protagonists in fulfilling the potential of Mexico’s historic labor reform. The project will offer workers and their organizations expert technical assistance, ongoing skills development, and pro bono advisory and legal services. Additionally, the project will create spaces for analysis, exchange, reflection, and the development of recommendations to improve labor law reform implementation. |
$10,000,000 | American Center for International Labor Solidarity (Solidarity Center) | 12/31/2020 | 06/30/2025 |