Regulating the Unregulated: Advancing Corporate Accountability for Child Labour in Zambia's Informal Economy through Mandatory Corporate Social Responsibility

Child labour remains a persistent challenge in Zambia, particularly within the agricultural sector where informal, household-based production systems predominate, despite the existence of a comparatively comprehensive legal and policy framework aligned with international standards and obligations. This paper adopts a qualitative research design grounded in doctrinal legal analysis and interpretive policy review, complemented by secondary empirical evidence, to examine the effectiveness of existing regulatory mechanisms. The study finds that the persistence of child labour reflects a structural gap in Zambia's legal and enforcement framework, which is predominantly oriented toward formal employment relationships and therefore fails to address the informal sector where a significant proportion of child labour is reported to occur. Enforcement institutions exhibit similar limitations, with inspection systems concentrated in registered enterprises and weak coordination across agencies. These gaps are further compounded by socio-economic pressures, including poverty and post-pandemic economic shocks, which likely render existing estimates conservative. The paper argues that mandatory Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), particularly through supply chain due diligence, offers a viable mechanism for extending accountability beyond formal employment and addressing child labour within agricultural value chains.