Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2011, published 101st ILC session (2012)

Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182) - Bolivia (Plurinational State of) (Ratification: 2003)

Articles 3(a) and 7(1) of the Convention. Worst forms of child labour and the sanctions applied. Sale and trafficking of children. The Committee previously requested the Government to provide information on the effect given in practice to the provisions of the national legislation that apply to the sale and trafficking of children.

The Committee notes that the Government’s report does not provide information on this matter. The Committee notes that, according to the information contained in a report on trafficking in Bolivia of 14 June 2010 (the report on trafficking of 2010), available on the website of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Bolivian girls from rural areas are the victims of trafficking to urban centres for prostitution. A significant number of children are also victims of trafficking for forced labour in mines, agriculture and domestic work. According to this report, the Bolivian police initiated 64 prosecutions and obtained seven convictions in 2008 for trafficking. In 2009, the number of investigations conducted concerning trafficking in persons increased by 16 per cent in relation to the previous year, leading to a total of 288 investigations. However, only 21 cases gave rise to prosecutions, with only seven convictions being obtained. Furthermore, three of the seven persons convicted of trafficking were given suspended sentences. The four other offenders were convicted to sentences of imprisonment of from three to 12 months. The Committee also notes that the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child, in its concluding observations of 16 October 2009 on the Government’s fourth periodic report (CRC/C/BOL/CO/4, paragraph 79), expressed concern at the fact that the Plurinational State of Bolivia continues to be a source and destination country for victims of trafficking and at the high number of children registered by the police as disappeared persons. The Committee urges the Government to take the necessary steps as a matter of urgency to ensure that in-depth investigations and effective prosecutions of persons engaging in the sale and trafficking of persons under 18 years of age are conducted and that sufficiently effective and dissuasive sanctions are applied in practice. It once again requests the Government to provide information in its next report on the effect given in practice to the provisions of the national legislation that apply to sale and trafficking, including statistics on the number and nature of the offences reported, the investigations conducted, prosecutions and convictions.

Article 4(1). Determination of hazardous types of work. With reference to its previous comments, the Committee notes the Government’s indication that the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Welfare has prepared a draft Presidential Decree determining the list of hazardous types of work and that this draft text is currently under examination by the Political and Economic Review Unit. The Committee expresses the firm hope that the draft Decree determining the list of hazardous types of work will be adopted in the very near future and requests the Government to provide a copy once it has been adopted.

Article 7(2). Effective and time-bound measures. 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 the net primary school enrolment rate is relatively good and that the country stands a good chance of attaining the objective of universal primary education by 2015. It nevertheless expressed concern at the low secondary school enrolment and attendance rates.

The Committee takes due note of the Government’s indication that a programme for the distribution of school vouchers Juancito Pinto was launched in 2006 to cover the costs of schooling for children enrolled in primary education. According to the Government, around 1.7 million children have benefited from the programme since 2006. The Committee, however, observes that, according to the statistics of the UNESCO Institute for Statistics, 91 per cent of girls and boys were enrolled in primary school in 2008, compared with only 69 per cent of girls and boys in secondary education. The Committee also observes that there has been a slight decrease since the beginning of the 2000s in the numbers attending primary and secondary school.

The Committee also notes that, according to the 2010 UNESCO Education for All Global Monitoring Report, entitled “Reaching the marginalized”, there are significant disparities in relation to access to education. The report indicates that the average duration of schooling for a Bolivian child is nine-and-a-half years, with the figure being 11 years for the wealthiest children in the country and less than six years for the poorest, while an indigenous girl of Aymara, Guarani or Quechua origin only stays at school for an average of five-and-a-half years. Furthermore, the average length of the schooling for 30 per cent of girls in rural areas from the poorest quintile of the population does not exceed four years on average, although that situation only concerns 4 per cent of all the boys in the country and 8 per cent of Bolivian girls. The Committee notes that, in its concluding observations of 16 October 2009 (CRC/C/BOL/CO/4, paragraph 67), the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child, while welcoming the Juancito Pinto programme, expressed concern at the fact that not all children, particularly indigenous children, attend primary school, and that some primary school fees continue to be charged despite the constitutional guarantee of free education. The Committee on the Rights of the Child also expressed concern at the low transition rate from primary to secondary school.

While taking due note of the efforts made by the Government to combat school drop-outs, the Committee observes that the school attendance rate for secondary school remains relatively low and that the Juancito Pinto programme only covers children in primary education. It also observes that the children of indigenous peoples, and particularly girls, have much less chance of gaining access to and remaining in education. The Committee, therefore, encourages the Government to intensify its efforts to improve the operation of the country’s education system. In this respect, it requests the Government to take the necessary measures to increase the school attendance rate, particularly in secondary school, and to decrease disparities in access to education, by affording particular attention to the children of indigenous peoples, and particularly girls, as well as children from the poorest families. It also requests the Government to continue providing information in its next report on the impact of the “Juancito Pinto” programme.

Clause (b). Direct assistance for the removal of children from the worst forms of child labour. Sale and trafficking of children. The Committee previously noted that the Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, in its concluding observations of April 2008, expressed continuing concern at the absence of appropriate measures to combat the sale and trafficking of women and children at the national and regional levels (CEDAW/C/BOL/CO/4, paragraph 26). The Committee noted in this respect that a national plan was being formulated for the comprehensive protection of children, which will take into account the sale and trafficking of children for economic and sexual exploitation. Noting the lack of information on this point in the Government’s report, the Committee once again requests the Government to provide information in its next report on the action programmes implemented within the framework of the national plan for the comprehensive protection of children with a view to removing children from sale and trafficking. It also requests it to provide a copy of the national plan.

Clause (d). Identifying children at special risk. Child HIV/AIDS orphans and other vulnerable children (OVC). The Committee notes that, in its concluding observations of 16 October 2009 (CRC/C/BOL/CO/4, paragraph 63), the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child expressed concern at the fact that HIV/AIDS is becoming a prevalent problem in the country. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the specific time bound measures adopted to prevent child HIV/AIDS orphans from being engaged in the worst forms of child labour.

Street children. The Committee notes that, in its concluding observations of 16 October 2009 (CRC/C/BOL/CO/4, paragraph 75), the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child expressed concern at the high number of children in street situations who are particularly exposed to sexual exploitation. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the measures adopted or envisaged to protect street children from the worst forms of child labour and to ensure their rehabilitation and social integration.

Article 8. International cooperation and assistance. Regional cooperation. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Plurinational State of Bolivia and the Government of Chile had organized a workshop on the worst forms of child labour with the objective of strengthening regional cooperation between the two countries and preparing a mutual assistance strategy for the protection of child victims of sale and trafficking.

The Committee notes the information contained in a report on the worst forms of child labour of 15 December 2010 available on the website of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, according to which the Governments of Bolivia and Chile have signed a bilateral agreement to combat the worst forms of child labour, with particular reference to the trafficking of children in cross border regions. It also notes that the Plurinational State of Bolivia is participating in the ILO–IPEC project entitled “Combating the worst forms of child labour through horizontal cooperation in Latin America” (the ILO–IPEC project to combat child labour through horizontal cooperation). According to the technical progress report of September 2010 on the project, the Governments of the Plurinational State of Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador and Paraguay participated in a meeting in August 2010 with a view to exchanging experience on conditional cash transfer programmes and the elimination of child labour. Finally, the Committee notes that, according to the report on trafficking of 2010, the Bolivian Government is envisaging the establishment of six units specializing in combating trafficking in the border areas with Brazil, Argentina and Peru, in collaboration with the Governments of those countries. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the measures adopted in the context of the bilateral agreement with Chile, as well as on the other joint action undertaken or envisaged with other neighbouring countries to combat trafficking of children, particularly in the context of the ILO–IPEC project to combat child labour through horizontal cooperation.

Poverty reduction. Further to its previous comments, the Committee notes the Government’s indication that the National Plan for Economic and Social Development adopted in 2007 has the objective of halving the poverty level in relation to the year 1990. The Committee notes that, according to UNDP statistics, the Human Development Index (HDI) of the Plurinational State of Bolivia has increased slightly since 2008, but nevertheless remains well below that of the Latin American and Caribbean region. In this respect, the Committee notes that, in its concluding observations of 16 October 2009 on the Government’s fourth periodic report (CRC/C/BOL/CO/4, paragraph 61), the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child observed with concerned that 70 per cent of Bolivian children live in poverty, and 45 per cent in extreme poverty. Noting that poverty reduction programmes contribute to breaking the cycle of poverty, which is essential for the elimination of the worst forms of child labour, the Committee encourages the Government to intensify its efforts to combat child poverty. In this respect, it once again requests the Government to provide detailed information in its next report on the impact of the National Plan for Economic and Social Development.