LIMA - Some 25 Latin American countries on Tuesday signed a declaration to eradicate child labor, as part of a regional gathering organized by the International Labor Organization (ILO) and held in Lima, Peru.

The initiative aims to reaffirm and speed up efforts to prevent and abolish child labor through greater inter-institutional cooperation.

Child labor aggravates social inequality, depriving minors from getting the proper education and training they need for their future development, the organization said.

The document is part of a series of Development Goals for the year 2030, including the goal of "Promoting lasting, inclusive and sustainable economic growth and decent employment for all".

According to the ILO, 168 million children and adolescents are put to work around the world, including 12.5 million in Latin America, without any rights or benefits, and with meager wages, worsening poverty and inequality in the region.

The signing ceremony was presided by Peruvian Labor and Job Creation Minister Fredy Otarola, and attended by representatives from Argentina, the Bahamas, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, the Dominican Republic, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay and Venezuela.