8.7 Accelerator Lab Initiative

Despite progress, child labour and forced labour remain troubling practices around the world. Some countries are leading the way to protect their most vulnerable from these human rights violations by reforming legislation, implementing evidence-based policy solutions and working with social partners and other stakeholders to secure sustainable solutions.

These solutions can be replicated elsewhere and we are all bounded by Target 8.7 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to pick up the pace to make it happen.

What is the 8.7 Accelerator Lab?

The 8.7 Accelerator Lab is an initiative of the ILO Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work Branch (FUNDAMENTALS). It was created to accelerate progress towards the eradication of forced labour and the elimination of child labour by optimizing the effectiveness of development cooperation interventions by embracing six acceleration factors that form the core of the programme.

Acceleration factors

Increase political commitment to eradicate forced labour and eliminate child labour in contexts where it is most needed
Political commitment is central for eradicating forced labour and child labour, for creating buy-in to develop an evidence base to inform policy and legal reforms, for resourcing these activities and policies, for perpetuating ongoing monitoring and for supporting change.
Identify and address the root causes of forced labour and child labour and ensure the sustainability of interventions to effect change
Effective action on forced labour and child labour requires understanding and addressing the root causes. Sustainable interventions are also needed for lasting impact on those root causes.
Generate and share evidence needed to target interventions towards the greatest needs, and to understand where resources are most required and how they can most effectively be used
Evidence and robust data are required to identify and target the greatest needs, establish a baseline and measure progress. Sharing this information is necessary to determine where and how the resources can be most effectively used.
Promote sustainable resources, including Member State financing, for continued action on the root causes beyond project timelines
Sustainable resources to ensure the sustainability of impact beyond project timelines – from Member State and private sector financing will allow for continued action on the root causes.
Accelerate progress on SDG 8.7, with the ILO, its constituents and other stakeholders leveraging the use of new technologies to add value to existing approaches
Acceleration on SDG 8.7 progress needs and feeds on new ideas and expanding the use of effective approaches in new contexts. It specifically requires the ILO and its social partners to leverage the use of new technologies to add extra value to existing approaches.

Who is the 8.7 Accelerator Lab for?

The 8.7 Accelerator Lab targets interventions at the national, regional and global levels, leveraging the use of strategic entry points through an integrated and sectoral approach. Based on a new methodology for selecting country-level interventions, the 8.7 Accelerator Lab provides support to ILO constituents and other stakeholders in what it calls “Catalyst”, “Momentum” and “Inception” contexts based on the prevalence of the problem and the level of political commitment.