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

Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182) - Madagascar (Ratification: 2001)

Article 5 of the Convention. Monitoring mechanisms. Division for the Prevention, Abolition and Monitoring of Child Labour (PACTE). In its previous comments the Committee noted the Government’s indication that the PACTE is the technical secretariat of the National Council to Combat Child Labour (CNLTE) and that, in this capacity, its mandate is to coordinate, communicate, train, engage in research and development, administer, finance, follow up and evaluate all activities in the context of the elimination of child labour. Furthermore, the Committee noted that the Regional Child Labour Observatories (ORTEs), established by the adoption of Order No. 13-520 of 17 August 2007, are the regional bodies of the PACTE and have general responsibility for coordinating, monitoring and evaluating all activities relating to the elimination of child labour at the regional level, identifying activities to promote its elimination, and compiling and analysing the data that have been gathered with a view to reporting to the PACTE. The Committee also noted that the PACTE would ensure the dissemination of a new system of observation and follow-up for child labour and its worst forms in the ORTEs.

The Committee notes that, according to the Government, the ORTEs play a vital role in the implementation of the National Action Plan to Combat Child Labour (PNA). However, the Government indicates that the setting up of the ORTEs is still in its initial stage, although this should normally have been completed by now. The PACTE is therefore planning to carry out an analysis on the effectiveness of establishing these structures, and measures to step up institutional development will be taken on the basis of the findings of this analysis. Noting that the ORTEs are vital to the implementation of the PNA, the Committee urges the Government to take the necessary measures to set them up as soon as possible. The Committee also asks the Government to provide information on the findings reported following the interventions and inspections conducted by the labour inspectors assigned to the PACTE and to the ORTEs, by providing, in particular, extracts of reports or documents indicating the extent and nature of violations detected with regard to children and young persons involved in the worst forms of labour.

Article 6. Programmes of action. National Action Plan to Combat Child Labour in Madagascar. The Committee notes that, according to the Government, the first phase of the PNA, designed to combat the worst forms of child labour in the rural sector, mining industries, manufacturing, domestic work, and the sector of commerce and catering, as well as to put an end to the sexual exploitation of children for commercial purposes, lasted six years and ended in 2009. The PNA in operation at present is in its extension phase (2010–15), i.e. it is extending the activities instigated during the first phase in terms of staffing, beneficiaries and coverage. The Committee requests the Government to provide information, in its next report, on the results obtained following the implementation of the second phase of the PNA in terms of the number of children prevented or withdrawn from the worst forms of child labour, and who subsequently benefited from rehabilitation and social integration.

Article 7(2). Effective and time-bound measures. Clause (a). Preventing the engagement of children in the worst forms of labour. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that Madagascar was one of the 11 countries involved in the implementation of the ILO–IPEC project entitled “Tackle child labour through education in 11 countries” (TACKLE project), the overall objective of which is to contribute towards poverty reduction in the least developed countries by providing equitable access to basic education and skills development to the most disadvantaged section of society.

The Committee takes due note that, according to the Government, 1,437 children benefited from educational measures that enabled them to avoid being engaged in the worst forms of child labour during the 2009–10 period, under the TACKLE project. The Committee notes that two new action programmes were implemented under the TACKLE project in 2010. Consequently, 660 children should be prevented from engaging in dangerous work in the rural area in the Marovoay district, and 400 children should be prevented from dangerous work in the region of Vakinankaratra, thanks to various formal and informal educational measures. The Committee encourages the Government to continue its efforts to prevent children under 18 years of age from engaging in the worst forms of child labour. It requests the Government to continue providing information on the results achieved through the implementation of the action programmes under the ILO–IPEC TACKLE project.

Clause (b). Removing children from the worst forms of child labour and ensuring their rehabilitation and social integration. Pursuant to its previous comments, the Committee notes with interest the Government’s information that, under the TACKLE project, 1,205 children were withdrawn from work in 2009–10 in the rural sectors, citrus-growing sector, domestic work, mines and quarries, and from sexual exploitation for commercial purposes.

Clause (c). Access to free basic education for children withdrawn from the worst forms of child labour. The Committee had noted that, according to the National Survey on Child Labour (ENTE) of 2007, conducted by the National Statistical Institute in collaboration with ILO–IPEC–SIMPOC, in general approximately one out of two children engaged in harmful work (47 per cent) was enrolled in education. Children between 15 and 17 years register a low enrolment rate, less than 12 per cent. The enrolment rate for children aged 10 to 14 years and who should still be enrolled in school is below 60 per cent. In other words, approximately 40 per cent of children who are of school age but who are compelled to engage in harmful work are no longer in school – or have never been. Their number is estimated to be approximately 355,000 children. Moreover, children who are not compelled to engage in harmful work account for an overall enrolment rate of 71 per cent, which is widely superior to that of children performing harmful work. The Committee had also expressed its concern at the situation of children who are found engaged in harmful work, particularly its worst forms, and drop out from school as a result.

The Committee notes that, according to the Government, 2,098 children (of which 1,000 girls) received a formal education, 345 children (of which 182 girls) received a non-formal education and 249 children (of which 182 girls) received vocational training under the TACKLE project. Furthermore, the Committee notes that, within the framework of two new action programmes in 2010 under the TACKLE project, 340 children should be withdrawn from dangerous work in the rural area in the district of Marovoay and 500 children should be withdrawn from dangerous work in various sectors, such as domestic work, agriculture, animal husbandry or the informal sector, in the region of Vakinankaratra. All these children should subsequently be reinstated in the school system or benefit from vocational training or an apprenticeship. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the results obtained in the implementation of the action programmes under the TACKLE project in terms of the number of children engaged in the worst forms of child labour who have been effectively withdrawn from these worst forms of labour and reintegrated into the school system or in pre-vocational or vocational training.

Clause (d). Children at special risk. Child orphans of HIV/AIDS. The Committee previously noted that, according to the October 2008 report of UNAIDS on Madagascar, carried out in cooperation with WHO and UNICEF, the number of child orphans of HIV/AIDS aged between 0 and 17 years was now estimated to be 3,400. The Committee observed that the “Madagascar Action Plan” (MAP) for 2007–12 contained a specific chapter entitled “Health, family planning and the fight against HIV/AIDS”, with the specific objective of reversing the spread of HIV/AIDS.

The Committee notes the Government’s information that it is sparing no efforts to maximize the success of its campaign against HIV/AIDS through its national development strategy and the MAP. However, the Committee notes that, according to the 2009 estimates of UNAIDS, the number of orphans of HIV/AIDS had allegedly risen to about 11,000 children. Recalling that HIV/AIDS has adverse consequences for orphans because they run an increased risk of being engaged in the worst forms of child labour, the Committee strongly encourages the Government to continue its efforts to prevent these children from engaging in the worst forms of child labour. It requests the Government to provide information on the results achieved.

Article 8. International cooperation. In its previous comments, the Committee noted the adoption of the MAP, which is aimed at effective poverty reduction and a tangible improvement in the living standards of the population of Madagascar. The Committee noted the information in the Government’s report, according to which the issue of child labour had been integrated within the objectives of the MAP, under commitment No. 8, challenge No. 4, and under the category “Improvement of support to the poor and vulnerable”. The Committee also noted that a Decent Work Country Programme (DWCP) had been adopted for 2008–10, with a view to promoting access to employment for vulnerable groups by reinforcing their employability and improving the dynamic of the sectors that generate employment.

The Committee notes with concern that, according to the Government, the DWCP has not, given the political crisis, had a significant impact on the elimination of child labour. Noting that poverty reduction programmes contribute towards breaking the cycle of poverty, the Committee requests the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that the MAP and the DWCP are implemented in such a way as to step up the elimination of the worst forms of child labour, particularly with respect to the four priority groups for intervention, namely the commercial sexual exploitation of children and related activities, child domestic labour, child labour in mining and quarrying, and child labour in hazardous and unhealthy environments in the rural and urban sectors. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the results obtained.