Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2013, published 103rd ILC session (2014)

Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138) - Yemen (Ratification: 2000)

Article 1 of the Convention and Part V of the report form. National policy designed to ensure the effective abolition of child labour and practical application of the Convention. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that according to the findings of the National Child Labour Survey carried out in 2010 by the Central Statistical Organization (CSO) in collaboration with ILO–IPEC, 21 per cent of children between the ages of 5 and 17 were employed (11 per cent of 5–11 year-olds; 28.5 per cent of 12–14 year-olds and 39.1 per cent of 15–17 year-olds). The majority of working children were unpaid family workers (58.2 per cent) followed by 56.1 per cent working in the agricultural sector and 29 per cent working in the private household.

The Committee notes the information provided by the Government in its fourth periodic report to the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) of 23 October 2012 (2012 report to the CRC) that the Government has been focusing on projects related to education, health, social affairs and youth with an emphasis on vital projects for children, including the National Poverty Reduction Strategy (2003–15) and the National Strategy for Children and Youth (2006–15) (CRC/C/YEM/4, paragraph 23). It also notes from the Government’s report to the CRC that it is in the process of drafting a national action plan to combat child labour in cooperation with the ILO and the Centre for Lebanese Studies. While noting the measures taken by the Government, the Committee expresses its concern at the large number of children working below the minimum age for admission to employment or work. The Committee therefore strongly encourages the Government to intensify its efforts to ensure the progressive elimination of child labour. In this regard, the Committee expresses the firm hope that the national action plan to combat child labour will be developed and implemented in the very near future. The Committee further requests the Government to provide information on the manner in which the Convention is applied in practice, including extracts from the reports of inspection services and information on the number of inspections aimed, in whole or in part, at addressing child labour, as well as on the number and nature of violations detected involving children.

Article 2(1) and (2). Minimum age for admission to employment or work. The Committee previously noted the contradiction between Ministerial Order No. 56 of 2004 and the Yemeni Child Rights Law of 2002, which established different minimum ages for admission to employment.

The Committee notes with satisfaction that according to section 5 of Ministerial Order No. 11 of 2013, which repeals Ministerial Order No. 56, the minimum age for admission to employment, which is free of any hazards, may not be lower than the age of completion of compulsory education and may not be lesser than 14 years in any case, which is the age specified by the Government upon ratification of the Convention.

Article 2(3). Compulsory education. The Committee previously noted the findings of the 2010 Child Labour Survey which indicated that the school attendance rate for 6–14-year-old children (ages for compulsory schooling) stood at 73.6 per cent. It also noted the information from the UNESCO Education for All Monitoring Report 2011 that, in 2008, Yemen had the most children out of school in the region, more than 1 million.

The Committee notes the Government’s information in its 2012 report to the CRC that it has adopted a number of policies and measures designed to expand basic education and enhance its effectiveness through the National Strategy for Basic Education (2003–15), the National Strategy for the Development of Secondary Education, the Strategy for Girls’ Education and the Yemen Strategic Vision 2015. The Committee notes however that according to the UNESCO Institute for Statistics, in 2011, the net enrolment rates (NER) in primary education was 76 per cent (82 per cent for boys and 69 per cent for girls) while the NER at the secondary school level was 40 per cent (48 per cent for boys and 31 per cent for girls). While taking due note of the efforts made by the Government, the Committee expresses its deep concern at the low enrolment rates at the primary and secondary levels as well as at the high drop-out rates. Considering that compulsory education is one of the most effective means of combating child labour, the Committee urges the Government to intensify its efforts to increase the school enrolment and attendance rates at the primary and secondary levels and to reduce school drop-out rates. It requests the Government to provide information on the progress made in this regard and on the results achieved.

Article 6. Minimum age for admission to apprenticeship. The Committee previously noted that the Labour Code does not contain a minimum age for apprenticeships, and recalled that by virtue of Article 6 of the Convention, a young person must be at least 14 years of age to undertake an apprenticeship. Noting that Ministerial Order No. 11 also does not contain any provisions related to apprenticeship, the Committee once again requests the Government to take the necessary measures to adopt provisions establishing the minimum age for apprenticeship in conformity with Article 6 of the Convention. It requests the Government to provide information on any developments in this regard in its next report.

The Committee is raising other points in a request addressed directly to the Government.