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

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

Article 3 of the Convention. Worst forms of child labour. Clause (b). Use, procuring or offering of a child for prostitution. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that sections 342 and 343 of the Penal Code prohibit and punish the procuring or offering of persons, particularly children, for prostitution.

The Committee notes once again with regret that the Government’s report still does not contain any information on the application of these provisions in practice. The Committee therefore once again requests the Government to take the necessary measures to conduct in-depth investigations and effective prosecutions of persons who engage in the sexual exploitation of children under 18 years of age for commercial purposes. It also once again requests the Government to provide information in its next report on the effect given in practice to sections 342 and 343 of the Penal Code, including, for example, statistics on the number and nature of the infringements reported, the investigations conducted, prosecutions, convictions and penal sanctions applied. To the extent possible, the information provided should be disaggregated by sex and age.

Article 6. Programmes of action. The Committee noted previously that a National Plan of Action (NPA) for children in Algeria had been developed for the period between 2008 and 2015, one component of which concerns child labour. Noting the absence of information on this subject in the Government’s report, the Committee once again requests it to provide information on the impact of the NPA in terms of the elimination of the worst forms of child labour.

Article 7(2). Effective and time-bound measures. Clause (d). Children at special risk. Street children. Further to its previous comments, the Committee notes that, in its concluding observations of 18 July 2012 (CRC/C/DZA/CO/3-4, paragraph 73), the Committee on the Rights of the Child noted with concern that insufficient measures have been taken by Algeria to implement its previous recommendations concerning children in street situations and that Algeria considers the phenomenon as marginal, although no data have been collected since 2008 and thousands of children are reported to live in the streets. The Committee urges the Government to take effective and time-bound measures to protect street children from the worst forms of child labour. It again requests the Government to provide information in its next report on the progress achieved in terms of the number of street children removed from the worst forms of child labour who are subsequently rehabilitated and socially integrated.

Article 8. International cooperation. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that, in the framework of the PNA for children in Algeria, the development of bilateral agreements was envisaged with a view to preventing the trans-border trafficking of children and facilitating cooperation between countries. Noting once again the absence of information in the Government’s report, the Committee again urges the Government to provide information on the progress achieved in the conclusion of bilateral, regional or multilateral agreements and the adoption of cooperation programmes with countries of origin and of transit of child victims of trafficking.

Application of the Convention in practice. With reference to its previous comments, the Committee notes the Government’s indication affirming that Algeria does not experience the phenomenon of the worst forms of child labour. However, it notes that, in its concluding observations of 18 July 2012, the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) noted with concern the limited progress made to establish a national, comprehensive and centralized data collection system covering data on child protection. The CRC expressed concern that data by geographical location, socio-economic status and groups of vulnerable children are completely lacking and the fact that policy-makers often use unreliable national data to assess the situation and to formulate policies to address the problems of children, especially those working in the informal economy (CRC/C/DZA/CO/3-4, paragraph 21). In light of this information, the Committee of Experts expresses concern at the lack of data on the worst forms of child labour in Algeria and urges the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that adequate data are available on the situation of child victims of the worst forms of child labour, and particularly children working on their own account and in the informal economy. In this respect, it again requests the Government to provide information in its next report on the application of the Convention in practice, including statistics and information on the nature, extent and trends of the worst forms of child labour. To the extent possible, the information provided should be disaggregated by age and sex.