Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2014, published 104th ILC session (2015)

Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182) - Botswana (Ratification: 2000)

Article 6 of the Convention. Programmes of action to eliminate the worst forms of child labour. Following its previous comments, the Committee notes the Government’s information that within the framework of the Action Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (APEC), several programmes were initiated such as: addressing legislation and policy gaps; drafting the list of types of hazardous work prohibited to children under 18 years; and raising awareness on child labour as well as providing training for stakeholders and implementers. The Committee further notes from a report on Botswana by the ILO–IPEC of June 2012 that, within APEC, a rapid assessment of child labour in the agricultural sector, as well as child labour and HIV/AIDS, have been completed; 200 teachers were trained under the ILO–IPEC project entitled Supporting Children’s Rights through Education, the Arts and the Media (SCREAM) and a total of 1,927 children were withdrawn from commercial sexual exploitation and child labour in the agricultural sector. The Committee requests the Government to pursue its efforts to combat the worst forms of child labour in Botswana. It also requests the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure the effective implementation of APEC, and to provide information on the results achieved, particularly with regard to eliminating the worst forms of child labour.

Article 7(2). Effective and time-bound measures. Clause (c). Access to free basic education. Following its previous comments, the Committee notes the Government’s information that, in Botswana, the seven-year primary education is free while secondary education is highly subsidized, with parents only contributing 5 per cent towards the cost of education. Moreover, children whose families cannot afford this contribution are exempted and are further provided with other educational necessities like uniforms and books. The Committee notes from the Annual Report of the Work of the United Nations in Botswana, 2010–12 (UN Annual Report) that the Ministry of Education and Skills Development (MOESD) together with UNICEF have been working to develop an Out-of-School Education for Children Programme which seeks to secure a new deal for marginalized and out-of-school children. A baseline data on education was collected within this programme which indicated that the proportion of primary aged children not in primary school has not dropped below 10 per cent in the last ten years, thereby indicating a particular challenge in reaching this last 10 per cent of children and securing their access to basic education. The Committee further notes that, according to UNICEF statistics for 2008–12, the net attendance rates in primary education is 85.5 per cent for boys and 88.2 per cent for girls, and in secondary education it is 35.5 per cent for boys and 43.6 per cent for girls. Considering that education contributes to preventing the engagement of children in the worst forms of child labour, the Committee encourages the Government to increase its efforts to facilitate access to free basic education. It requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken in this regard, and the results obtained, particularly with regard to increasing the school enrolment and completion rates and reducing school drop-out rates.

Clause (d). Identifying and reaching out to children at special risk. HIV/AIDS orphans and other vulnerable children (OVCs). In its previous comments, the Committee noted the significant measures taken by the Government for the care and support of HIV/AIDS orphans and OVCs. However, noting that the national prevalence of HIV/AIDS, and the proportion of children being orphaned due to HIV/AIDS, had serious implications for child labour in the country, the Committee requested the Government to redouble its efforts to prevent the engagement of such children in the worst forms of child labour.

The Committee notes the Government’s statement that, in an effort to reach out to orphans and OVCs, the Government maintains a registry to register all orphans as well as children in need of care. By June 2014, a total of 35,236 orphans were registered. These children were provided with food rations and toiletries on a monthly basis, while those who were at school were supported with uniforms and transport facilities to school. Moreover, the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development, along with the MOESD, initiated a special dispensation programme to give orphans and vulnerable children an opportunity to go for tertiary education through government sponsorship even though their academic achievement did not meet the criteria set by the MOESD for government sponsorship. The Committee further notes from the Government’s report that in the year 2013–14, a total of 1,600 orphans and OVCs were enrolled in schools and vocational training, and for the current year the target has been set at 2,500 children. The Committee requests the Government to continue its efforts to ensure that children orphaned by HIV/AIDS and OVCs are prevented from being engaged in the worst forms of child labour. It requests the Government to continue providing information on the measures taken in this regard and on the results achieved.