Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2010, published 100th ILC session (2011)

Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182) - Comoros (Ratification: 2004)

The Committee notes that the Government’s report has not been received. It hopes that a report will be supplied for examination by the Committee at its next session and that it will contain full information on the matters raised in its previous direct request, which read as follows:

Article 3 of the Convention. Worst forms of child labour. All forms of slavery or similar practices. Clause (a). Sale and trafficking of children. In its previous comments the Committee noted that the national legislation contains no specific provisions on the sale and trafficking of children. It nonetheless noted that sections 345–348 of the Penal Code deal with the abduction of minors. Section 345 of the Penal Code penalizes anyone who forcibly or fraudulently abducts minors or causes them to be forcibly or fraudulently abducted, or moves, removes or lures them away, or causes them to be moved, removed or lured away, from the locations where they were placed by the persons to whose authority or supervision they were entrusted. Section 123 of the Family Code treats as a minor anyone who has not attained the age of majority, which is fixed at 18 years. Noting the absence of information in the Government’s report, the Committee again asks the government to indicate to what extent section 345 of the Penal Code makes it possible in practice to charge and convict a person of the sale and trafficking of children under 18 years of age for economic or sexual exploitation.

Clause (b). 1. Use, procuring or offering of a child for prostitution. The Committee noted previously that section 322(1) and (6) of the Penal Code punishes the use, procuring or offering of a child for prostitution. According to section 323(1) of the Penal Code the fact that the offence is committed against a minor constitutes an aggravating circumstance. The Committee noted that, according to the annual report of October 2006 of the Observatory on the Rights of Children in the Indian Ocean Region (ODEROI) entitled “Violence against children in the Indian Ocean region” and mentioned by the Government in its report, sexual exploitation, including prostitution, particularly of girls, exists in the country. Consequently, noting the absence of information in the Government’s report, the Committee once again requests the Government to provide information on the application in practice of section 322(1) and (6) and section 323(1) of the Penal Code, including statistics on the number and nature of violations reported, investigations, prosecutions, convictions and penalties imposed. It also requests the Government once again to indicate whether the Penal Code or any other legislation penalizes the client in cases of child prostitution.

2. Use, procuring or offering of a child for the production of pornography or for pornographic performances. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that, according to the ODEROI annual report of October 2006, the use of children in pornography is considered a problem in the country. It noted that the national legislation does not, however, appear to prohibit and penalize this worst form of child labour. Noting the absence of information in the Government’s report, the Committee once again asks the Government to indicate the measures taken or envisaged to prohibit and treat as a criminal offence, in accordance with Article 3(b) of the Convention, the use, procuring or offering of a child under the age of 18 for the production of pornography or for pornographic performances. It also once again requests the Government to establish penalties for this purpose.

Clause (c). Use, procuring or offering of a child for illicit activities. In its previous comments the Committee reminded the Government that under Article 1 of the Convention, immediate and effective measures must be taken as a matter of urgency to secure the prohibition of this worst form of child labour. Noting the absence of information in the Government’s report, the Committee once again requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken to prohibit the use, procuring or offering of a child for illicit activities, in particularly for the production and trafficking of drugs, in accordance with Article 3(c) of the Convention. The Committee also once again requests the Government to adopt penalties for this purpose.

Articles 3(d) and 4(1). Hazardous work and determination of types of hazardous work. In its previous comments, the Committee noted draft Order No. 5 fixing the types of work and categories of enterprises prohibited to young persons and the age requirements regarding the admission of children to employment (draft Order No. 5) and observed that the term “child” used in the draft Order is not defined and is sometimes used with an age between 15 and 18 years being indicated (see sections 5, 9, 10, 12 and 13) or without any age specified (see sections 2–4, 6–9 and 11). The Committee nonetheless noted the Government’s statement that a draft regulatory act has been prepared determining the types of work and the categories of enterprises prohibited to young persons and the age requirements regarding the admission of children to work, and that its purpose is to raise the minimum age from 16 to 18 years. The Committee noted that in its report on the Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138), the Government stated that so far there have been no developments regarding the adoption of the draft regulatory act determining the types of work and categories of enterprise prohibited to young persons and the age requirements for the admission of children to work. The Government added that, to remedy this, the text of the draft regulatory act will be revised and copies will be sent to employers’ and workers’ organizations with a view to its adoption at the earliest possible date. The Committee expresses the hope that the draft regulatory act will take account of Articles 3(d) and 4(1) of the Convention. It requests the Government to take measures to ensure that the draft regulatory act is adopted in the near future and to provide a copy of it once it has been adopted.

Article 5. Monitoring mechanisms. 1. Labour inspection. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that sections 154–177 of the Labour Code deal with the bodies and means involved in the application of provisions relating to labour. It noted in particular that under section 154 of the Labour Code the labour and social legislation departments have a central administration and, in each of the islands, a labour and social legislation inspectorate, possibly with one or more controllers. Under section 155 of the Labour Code, the central administration is responsible for the legislative provisions relating to labour and worker protection. Section 156 states that the labour and social legislation inspectorate is responsible for the enforcement of the legislative and regulatory provisions relating to conditions of work and the protection of workers in the performance of their jobs, including provisions on the employment of children and young persons. Noting the absence of information in the Government’s report, the Committee once again asks the Government to communicate information on the work of the central administration and the labour and social legislation inspectorate, particularly with regard to the worst forms of child labour, including, for example, extracts of reports or documents indicating the scope and nature of violations reported concerning children and young persons involved in the worst forms of child labour.

2. Criminal offences. Noting the absence of information in the Government’s report, and inasmuch as Article 3(a)–(c) of the Convention concerns criminal offences, the Committee once again requests the Government to indicate whether it plans to establish additional monitoring mechanisms for use by the labour and welfare administration to ensure the application of these provisions of the Convention.

Article 6. Programmes of action. The Committee noted previously that, according to the information sent by the Government in its 2002 annual report under the follow-up to the Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, a national plan to ensure effective abolition of child labour in the country has been drawn up. Noting the absence of information in the Government’s report, the Committee once again requests the Government to send information on the measures taken in the context of the implementation of the national plan, indicating, in particular, whether programmes of action for combating the worst forms of child labour have been adopted, and on the results attained.

Article 7(2). Effective and time-bound measures. Noting once again that the Government has not supplied any information on this provision of the Convention, the Committee repeats its request for detailed information on the effective and time-bound measures taken to provide the necessary and appropriate direct assistance for the removal of children from the worst forms of child labour and for their rehabilitation and social integration.

Clause (a). Preventing the engagement of children in the worst forms of child labour. Access to free basic education. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that child labour is a visible phenomenon in the country, particularly as a result of poverty and the low school enrolment rate among some children. It further noted that children engage in work from the age of 12 onwards, with 94 per cent of children aged between 12 and 18 working in agriculture (15 per cent), fishing (14 per cent) and domestic work (10 per cent). The Committee also noted that the Government had adopted a programme to secure Education for All by 2015 (EPT 2015), and that a national movement for the education of girls has been launched. It nonetheless noted that according to the UNESCO Education for All Global Monitoring Report of 2008, owing to a lack of data, it has been impossible to make projections concerning the achievement of the goals fixed by the EPT by 2015, except as regards gender parity in primary education, where it is indicated that Comoros may not achieve the goals by 2015.

The Committee noted that, according to a programme development document sent by the Government with its report on the Minimum Age Convention 1973 (No. 138), the number of children in primary education virtually stagnated between 2003 and 2007 with the number of children enrolled rising from 104,274 to 104,418, and that the number of pupils in the first and second cycles of secondary education increased during the same period from 37,651 in 2003 to 41,118 in 2007, that is an increase of 2.2 per cent per year. The document also indicated that the net enrolment rate at primary level rose from 73 per cent in 2007 to 76 per cent in 2008. The Committee noted, however, that according to information available on the UNICEF website (www.unicef.org/infobycountry/comoros_statistics.html), for the years 2000–07, the net primary school attendance ratio is only 31 per cent for both girls and boys and the net secondary school attendance ratio is only 11 per cent for girls and 10 per cent for boys. In this regard, the Committee noted the information sent by the Government in the abovementioned programme development document to the effect that the accommodation capacity of schools is very limited and that some, particularly primary and secondary schools, have to refuse to enrol some children of school age. Consequently, many children, especially those from poor families and underprivileged backgrounds, are deprived of education. The document also highlights the ineffectiveness of the school system which is due to poor distribution of teachers and inefficient use of human resources. The education system also suffers from a lack of motivation among training supervisors, insufficient learning time and limited access to school manuals, all factors that account in part for its poor record. Furthermore, in terms of structure, there is a heavy demand for education that the country is unable to meet because of a net shortfall in available resources.

The Committee noted from the programme development document the Government’s statement that it intends to step up efforts to attain the objectives of EPT 2015, in particular by striving to provide universal primary schooling that is free, compulsory and of a high standard, to eliminate all forms of inequality in educational provision in primary and secondary schools, in particular by stepping up education for girls, to improve access to and the quality of secondary education and to diversify educational supply so as to provide all young people with the same opportunities to succeed. The Committee must nevertheless reiterate its concern at the low school attendance rate at both primary and secondary levels. Considering that education contributes to preventing the engagement of children in the worst forms of child labour, the Committee strongly encourages the Government in its commitment to redouble its commitment efforts to improve the functioning of the national education system. In this regard, it requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken in the context of EPT 2015 to raise the school attendance rate and reduce the school drop-out rate, particularly among girls. It also requests the Government to continue providing information on the results obtained.

Clause (d). Identifying and reaching out to children at special risk. Child domestic labour. The Committee noted previously that, according to the ODEROI annual report of October 2006, child domestic labour is common practice in the country. Poverty, combined with lax enforcement of legislation, is partly responsible for this situation. Although no detailed analysis exists of the conditions of work of child domestic workers in Comoros, the latter are said to be the victims of alarming violence, particularly girls, who are reportedly subjected to sexual abuse by members of the host family. The Committee noted that according to the ODEROI report, a “National strategy for the protection of children most at risk” was adopted in 2004. It noted that children employed in domestic work, particularly little girls, are often the victims of exploitation, which assumes highly diverse forms, and that it is difficult to monitor their conditions of employment because of the “clandestine” nature of the work. Noting the absence of information in the Government’s report, the Committee once again requests the Government to indicate whether, in the framework of the implementation of the “National strategy for the protection of children most at risk”, it intends to take effective and time-bound measures to protect children employed in domestic work, particularly girls, against the worst forms of child labour and the various forms of abuse to which they may be subjected. It once again requests the Government to supply information on the measures taken in this regard.

Part V of the report form. Application of the Convention in practice. In its previous comments the Committee noted that no statistical data on the number of children who are victims of the worst forms of child labour appear to be available for Comoros. Noting the absence of information in the Government’s report, the Committee once again expresses the hope that, in its next report, the Government will be in a position to provide statistics and information on the nature, extent and trends of the worst forms of child labour, the number of children protected by the measures giving effect to the Convention, the extent and nature of violations detected, investigations, prosecutions, as well as on the convictions and penalties imposed. As far as possible, the information supplied should be disaggregated by sex.