Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2012, published 102nd ILC session (2013)

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 (CMLTE) 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. The Committee also noted that the Regional Child Labour Observatories (ORTEs), created and established by 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 gathered with a view to reporting to the PACTE. The Committee noted that the ORTEs play a vital role in the implementation of the National Plan of Action to Combat Child Labour in Madagascar (PNA). However, the Government indicated that the establishment of the ORTEs was still at its initial stage. The PACTE was, therefore, planning to carry out an analysis on the progress achieved in establishing these structures, following which measures would be taken to intensify their institutional development.

The Committee notes the Government’s indication that, following this analysis, it was found that the ORTEs are facing problems in relation to personnel. There are problems of availability for labour inspectors and controllers, or they are assigned to other functions, which mean that they cannot devote themselves entirely to the ORTEs. The Government adds that, with a view to remedying this situation, the PACTE plans to make requests to those responsible to assign personnel on a permanent basis to the ORTEs so that they can discharge their functions appropriately. Noting that the ORTEs are essential for the implementation of the PNA, the Committee once again urges the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure their establishment and effective operation in the very near future, and to provide information on the progress achieved in this respect. The Committee also once again requests the Government to provide information on the results achieved following the interventions and inspections carried out by labour inspectors assigned to the PACTE and to the ORTEs, including extracts from reports or documents indicating the extent and nature of the violations reported in relation to children and young persons involved in the worst forms of child labour.

Article 6. Programmes of action. National Plan of Action to Combat Child Labour in Madagascar (PNA). The Committee previously noted the Government’s indication that the first phase of the PNA, intended to combat the worst forms of child labour in the rural sector, mining, manufacturing, domestic work and commerce and catering, as well as the commercial sexual exploitation of children, lasted five years and ended in 2009. The PNA is currently in an extension phase (2010–15), which is the extension of the activities initiated during its first phase in terms of staffing, beneficiaries and coverage.

The Committee notes the Government’s indication that four programmes of action are currently being implemented: the AMAV project against child domestic labour; the plan of action to combat the commercial sexual exploitation of children; the plan of action against child labour in vanilla plantations in the Sava region; and the plan of action to combat child labour in mines and stone quarries in the Atsimo Andrefana region, implemented as part of the ILO–IPEC project entitled “Tackle Child Labour through Education in 11 Countries” (the TACKLE project). The Committee once again requests the Government to provide information in its next report on the results achieved as a result of the implementation of the second phase of the PNA, and in the context of the four programmes of action that are currently being implemented, in terms of the number of children prevented from entering or removed from the worst of child labour, and who subsequently benefitted from rehabilitation and social integration.

Article 7(2). Effective and time-bound measures. Clauses (a) and (b). Preventing children from being engaged in the worst forms of child labour and direct assistance for the removal of children from these worst forms of child labour and to ensure their rehabilitation and social integration. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that Madagascar is one of the 11 countries involved in the implementation of the ILO–IPEC TACKLE project, the overall objective of which is to contribute to poverty reduction in the least developed countries by providing equitable access to primary education and skills development for the most underprivileged categories of society. The Committee took due note of the results achieved through the implementation of this project in terms of the number of children who benefited from educational measures that enabled them to avoid being engaged in the worst of child labour and who were removed from such work in 2009–10.

The Committee notes that, according to the information available through ILO–IPEC, three programmes of action have been implemented in Madagascar focusing on the prevention and removal of children from the worst forms of child labour. Certain children have benefited from non-formal education programmes and others have been reintegrated into the formal school system. In this respect, the Committee notes the Government’s indications that in 2010–11 the TACKLE project resulted in the prevention of 1,437 children from being engaged in the worst forms of child labour and the removal of 1,255 children from these worst forms of child labour.

However, the Committee notes the study conducted by UNICEF in February 2012 on exclusion from school and means of inclusion in primary school in Madagascar. According to the study, with over 1 million children not attending school, exclusion from primary school is one of the most important problems in the education system in Madagascar. Each year, hundreds of thousands of children drop-out of primary school and over one quarter of them are ultimately deprived of any educational opportunities. The most recent data from the population census indicate that the net school enrolment rate for children between the ages of 6 and 10 years is 73.4 per cent, meaning that over one quarter of children of primary school age are currently the victims of exclusion from school. Between 2009–10 and 2010–11, over 700,000 children left the system between the first year of primary school (CP1) and the penultimate year of primary school (CM1). When the last year of primary school (CM2) and the first year of secondary school are included, this figure rises to 840,000. Considering that education contributes to preventing the engagement of children in the worst forms of child labour, the Committee firmly requests the Government to intensify its efforts to improve the functioning of the education system in the country. In this respect, it requests the Government to provide information on the time-bound measures adopted as part of the implementation of the TACKLE project and in other contexts to increase the school attendance rate and reduce school drop-out rates, both for primary and secondary school. It also requests the Government to provide information on the results achieved.

Clause (c). Access to free basic education for children removed from the worst forms of child labour. The Committee noted previously 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) are enrolled in school. Children between 15 and 17 years of age have a low enrolment rate, which is under 12 per cent. The school enrolment rate for children between 10 and 14 years, who are still required to attend school, is below 60 per cent. In other words, around 40 per cent of children of school age, but who are engaged in harmful work, are no longer at school or have never been to school. The Committee also expressed concern at the situation of children who are in engaged in harmful work, and particularly the worst forms of such work, and who drop out of school as a result.

The Committee notes the Government’s indications concerning the number of children who were, in practice, removed from the worst forms of child labour in 2010–11 and reintegrated into the school system or into vocational training as a result of the TACKLE project. In total, 2,098 children (including 1,000 girls) were provided with formal education, 345 children (including 182 girls) received non formal education and 245 children (including 182 girls) received vocational training. The Committee requests the Government to continue providing information on the results achieved in the implementation of the programmes of action of the TACKLE project in terms of the number of children who have in practice been removed from the worst forms of child labour and reintegrated into the school system or into pre-vocational or vocational training.

Clause (d). Children at special risk. Child HIV/AIDS orphans. The Committee noted previously that the “Madagascar Action Plan” (MAP) for 2007–12 contains a specific chapter on health, family planning and action to combat HIV/AIDS, with the specific objective of reversing the spread of HIV/AIDS. The Committee noted the Government’s indications that it spares no effort to maximize the success of its campaign against HIV/AIDS through its National Development Strategy and the MAP. However, the Committee noted that, according to the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS 2009) estimates, the number of child HIV/AIDS orphans was reported to have risen to 11,000 children, compared with 3,400 in 2008.

The Committee notes that, according to the UN General Assembly Special Session on HIV/AIDS (UNGASS) activity report on the AIDS response in Madagascar of March 2012, the country recognizes the need to intensify the national response to the AIDS epidemic. For this purpose, a mid term review of the MAP was carried out in 2010 with a view to identifying new orientations for the implementation of the national strategy and to identify national priorities. However, the Committees notes the absence of information on this subject in the Government’s report. Recalling that HIV/AIDS has adverse consequences for orphans, who are at increased risk of being engaged in the worst forms of child labour, the Committee strongly encourages the Government to intensify its efforts to prevent these children from being engaged in the worst forms of child labour. It once again requests the Government to provide information in its next report on the results achieved.

Article 8. International cooperation. Poverty reduction. 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 Government’s indications that the issue of child labour has been integrated into the objectives of the MAP, and that a Decent Work Country Programme (DWCP) was adopted for 2008–12, 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, however, noted with concern the Government’s indication that, in view of the political crisis, the DWCP had not had a significant impact on the elimination of child labour.

The Committee notes the Government’s indication that the political context of the country, which is currently in transition and awaiting future elections, does not allow the implementation of a national poverty reduction plan. 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 once again 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 regard 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 stone quarrying, and child labour in hazardous and unhealthy environments in the rural and urban sectors. The Committee once again requests the Government to provide information on the progress made in this respect and the results achieved.