Today, throughout the world, nearly 250 million children work, many fulltime. They do not go to school and have little or no time to play. Many do not receive proper nutrition or care. Tens of millions of these children are victims of the worst forms of child labour: work in hazardous environments, where they are exposed to toxic chemicals, dangerous machinery, or extreme heat; use in illicit activities such as drug trafficking, prostitution, or the production of pornography; trafficking or being forced into slavery or slave-like conditions; being forced to take part in armed conflicts. In this first decade of a new century, combating child labour must be among humanity's highest priorities. There is a solid foundation for action to build upon, from experiences accumulated by a growing number of countries in the 1990s. During that decade, the world awoke to child labour, primarily because of rising public support for children's rights, and an expanding concern about fair labour standards and decent work for adults in the global economy. Just a decade ago, research on the causes and effects of child labour was thin. Field project work on child labour was hard to find, and the reform of national policies and laws on child labour was proceeding slowly. Many countries with serious child labour problems were denying its very existence. Since then, there has been a sea change in attitudes towards child labour, especially its worst forms. This has been most evident in the outpouring of international political support for the eradication of abusive child labour, best demonstrated by the rate of ratification of the ILO's Convention No. 182 (1999), which calls for immediate action to eliminate the worst forms of child labour. More than 130 countries, a clear majority of ILO Member States, have ratified the ILO Convention, by far the fastest pace of ratification in the history of the ILO. The growing support for the Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138), now ratified by more than 120 countries, provides further confirmation of increased worldwide awareness of the child labour issue. Together, the ratifications of these Conventions are clear and quantifiable indicators of the rapidly expanding global will to place child labour high on the international action agenda. The ILO has a strong technical cooperation programme (International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour IPEC) to back up the Member States political will. The aim is the elimination of child labour worldwide, emphasizing the eradication of the worst forms as rapidly as possible. It works to achieve this in several ways: through country-based programmes which promote policy reform and put in place concrete measures to end child labour; and through international and national campaigning intended to change social attitudes and promote ratification and effective implementation of ILO child labour Conventions. Complementing these efforts are in-depth research, legal expertise, data analysis, policy analysis and programme evaluation carried out at different levels. See: Abolition of forced labour; Minimum age; Trafficking; Worst forms of child labour