Formation of international universal standards for the regulation of the work of minors

The article explores the genesis of the formation of international universal standards for the regulation of child labor. It is revealed that the international regulation of child labor began with the Berlin International Labor Conference (1890), which became the impetus for a number of subsequent important international events, as well as the establishment in 1900 of the International Labor Law Association to promote provisions on child labor as part of international labor law. The decisive role of the International Labor Organization (ILO), which was established after the First World War, is proven. In the first two years since its establishment, 16 International Conventions and 18 Recommendations were adopted, in particular, the first international standards covered working hours, unemployment, maternity protection, night work for women, the minimum age for employment, and night work for young people. It was found that the adopted ILO Convention No. 29 «On Forced or Compulsory Labor» contained many guarantees regarding the abolition and prevention of forced labor, therefore it is also important for underage workers, because in this historical period they were often involved in work from the age of 12-14. It is substantiated that the creation in 1992 of the International Program on the Elimination of Child Labor (IPEC) as a separate department of the ILO, which aims to eradicate child labor, especially harmful ones, through programs in various countries of the world, is of great importance. The conclusions propose their own periodization of the genesis of international standards for the protection of minors and the prohibition of child labor, covering four periods from 1890 to the present day, namely: the initial stage is characterized by discussions at the international level about the need to regulate the labor of minors and prohibit their involvement in dangerous and heavy work, the second stage saw the creation of the ILO and the gradual restriction of the labor of minors, the third stage began with the adoption of the Convention on the Minimum Age for Admission to Employment of 26.06.1973 No. 138 and lasted until the beginning of globalization processes, the modern stage, we date from 1999, it continues to this day and is characterized in the aspect of global justice by bringing law enforcement in all states to the requirements of universal international standards in order to eradicate all forms of child labor.