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

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

Article 5 of the Convention. Monitoring mechanisms. Child labour monitoring system. The Committee previously noted the establishment of the National Steering Committee (NSC) on child labour and of the Child Labour Monitoring System (CLMS). The Committee had noted that the ILO Country Programme 2005–08 supported the review and streamlining of the CLMS’s data collection form and the development of a database, and that a design flaw had prevented the system from being functional but that the Government would engage ILO–IPEC for technical assistance for this problem.

The Committee notes the Government’s information that the CLMS is under development by the Child Labour Unit of the Ministry of Labour. In this regard, it notes that the development of the CLMS is also one of the stated objectives of the National Action Plan (NAP) on Child Labour for Malawi (2010–16), which the NSC has the overall responsibility for implementing. The Committee urges the Government to take measures, in the framework of the NAP on Child Labour, to develop and improve the CLMS system in order to monitor the implementation of the provisions giving effect to the Convention. It also requests the Government to provide information on the implementation of the NAP on Child Labour by the NSC, and on the results achieved.

Article 7(2). Effective and time-bound measures. Clauses (a) and (b). Preventing the engagement of children in the worst forms of child labour and providing assistance for the removal of children from these types of work and for their rehabilitation and social integration. Trafficking of children. The Committee previously noted the information in the Government’s report to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) of 20 October 2008, that the International Organization for Migration, in collaboration with the Government and NGO partners, is implementing a project in the region to prevent trafficking in persons, to protect victims and provide them with rehabilitative assistance, or with return and reintegration options. The Government further indicated in this report that the police service and the Immigration Department has put in place mechanisms for the protection of victims of trafficking, including Child Protection Units which provide support and shelter to victims (CEDAW/C/MWI/6, paragraph 157). The Committee further noted that the Government provided law enforcement, immigration, and social services personnel with basic training in identifying victims of trafficking, and that an inter-ministerial task force on human trafficking, led by the Ministry of Women and Child Development, had begun to draft a national plan of action on trafficking which was not yet complete.

The Committee notes that the Government does not provide information on the progress made with regard to the development of a national plan of action on trafficking and other measures taken to combat the sale and trafficking of children in Malawi. It notes, however, that the outcomes that the NAP for Child Labour aims to achieve include the enforcement of trafficking and migration laws and policies, and the strengthening of the network of agencies dealing with trafficking and migration. It is also indicated in the NAP on Child Labour that child trafficking for labour exploitation within and outside the country is an emerging worst form of child labour, for which reason it will be a prioritized sector of intervention. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the results achieved by the NAP on Child Labour in terms of the number of children who were prevented or withdrawn from sale and trafficking and then rehabilitated. It also requests the Government to take measures to ensure that the drafting of the national plan of action on trafficking is completed in the very near future, and to provide information on the progress made in this regard.

Clause (d). Identifying children at special risk. Children orphaned by HIV/AIDS. The Committee previously noted that one of the objectives of the ILO–IPEC “Country programme to combat child labour in Malawi” was to strengthen community-based safety nets and mechanisms that support HIV/AIDS-affected children, as well as orphans and vulnerable children (OVCs). However, it noted information from UNAIDS according to which there are approximately 560,000 orphans in Malawi due to HIV/AIDS. The Committee also noted the Government’s indication in its UNGASS country report of 31 March 2010 that only 18.5 per cent of OVCs receive support through governmental initiatives, and that 81.5 per cent of OVCs receive no support at all.

The Committee observes that the Government provides no information on measures taken to protect children orphaned by HIV/AIDS from the worst forms of child labour. It notes, however, that the NAP on Child Labour aims to mainstream HIV/AIDS policies into child labour programmes. In this regard, studies will be conducted on the relationship between child labour and HIV/AIDS; special support will be provided to children from HIV/AIDS-affected households through community-based support structures; and care and treatment will be provided to orphaned children aged 14–17 years who work to support their families. The Committee once again recalls that orphans are at an increased risk of being engaged in the worst forms of child labour and therefore urges the Government to redouble its efforts to ensure that children orphaned by HIV/AIDS are prevented from being engaged in the worst forms of child labour. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the impact of the measures taken within the framework of the NAP on Child Labour in this regard.

Street children. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that the Committee on the Rights of the Child, in its concluding observations of 27 March 2009, expressed its concern at the increasing number of children living on the streets and at the Government’s lack of specific policies and programmes to address the situation (CRC/C/MWI/CO/2, paragraph 68).

The Committee notes with regret that the Government provides no information on this issue in its report. It observes, however, that the NAP on Child Labour takes into consideration the problem of child labourers on the streets. Recalling that street children are particularly vulnerable to the worst forms of child labour, the Committee requests the Government to indicate the measures taken within the framework of the NAP on Child Labour to remove these children from the street and provide for their rehabilitation and social reintegration. It requests the Government to provide information on the progress made in this regard.