The International Labor Organization (ILO) places Costa Rica first in the region in reducing labor among children between 5 and 14 years. The 2016 National Household Survey shows 12 thousand fewer underage workers.
Costa Rica is committed to continue working to strengthen public policy to decrease child labor and is committed to remaining a regional leader by having the lowest index (1.1 percent) of workers aged 5 to 14 years.
The National Institute of Statistics and Censuses (INEC) presented the results of special section on child labor from the 2016 National Household Survey that showed 12 thousand fewer underage workers than in 2011.

These are carried out within the framework of our national strategy to combat poverty called, “Bridge to Development,” by promoting … adhesion to national and international commitments, and to continue working and protecting our children,” said President Luis Guillermo Solis Rivera on the occasion of the international day to eradicate child labor, June 12.

We are committed to making Costa Rica a country free of child labor. This policy is a national agreement to prevent and eradicate this heinous practice and its worst forms (hazardous work, sexual exploitation and trafficking of minors) in order to eliminate child labor in its entirety by 2020, said the Minister of Labor Alfredo Hasbum Camacho.

For her part, the Vice President of the Republic, Ana Helena Chacón Echeverría stressed that, “Since we ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child, we have taken serious steps to fulfill the rights of this population … to study, play, laugh, and live safely and without violence, receive respect without discrimination, and enjoy social security and comprehensive development.”

The International Labor Organization (ILO) set June 12 to commemorate the eradication of the worst forms of child labor. The theme chosen for this year as a point of reflection is, “In conflicts and catastrophes, protect children from child labor,” said the Ministry of Labor.