Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2015, published 105th ILC session (2016)

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

Article 3 of the Convention. Worst forms of child labour. Clauses (a) and (d). Forced or compulsory labour and hazardous work. Child domestic labour. In its previous comments, the Committee noted the statement by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) that child domestic labour, performed under conditions of servitude, is common practice in the country, with parents selling their children, sometimes as young as six years of age, to work as domestic servants. The ITUC also previously indicated that some 50,000 children, mainly girls, were employed in domestic work in the city of Casablanca. The Committee noted that section 10 of the Labour Code prohibits forced labour and that section 467-2 of the Penal Code prohibits the forced labour of children under 15 years of age. It further noted that a Bill concerning domestic work had been adopted in June 2011 but with the entry into office of the new Government the validation process had been delayed, with the Bill withdrawn from Parliament and resubmitted to the Council of the Government in 2012 for in-depth examination. The Bill sets the minimum age for admission to this type of employment at 15 years, lays down conditions of work and establishes supervisory measures and penalties, which may include imprisonment for persons employing children under 15 years of age. The Committee further noted that a specific list determining hazardous types of work prohibited in the domestic work sector would be drawn up and adopted in conjunction with the future Act concerning the conditions of employment and work of domestic workers. Furthermore, the Committee noted that an initial qualitative and quantitative survey of girls under 18 years of age engaged in domestic work had been undertaken in the Greater Casablanca area, according to which nearly 23,000 girls under 18 years of age were working in that area as domestic workers, 59.2 per cent of whom were under 15 years of age. The survey revealed that many of these girls were victims of abuse.

The Committee notes the Government’s information to the effect that the Bill concerning domestic work was adopted by the Chamber of Councillors on 27 January 2015 and is currently before the Chamber of Representatives for adoption. The Government indicates that the minimum age specified in the final version of the Bill is 16 years. The Government also states that the specific list determining hazardous types of work prohibited in the domestic work sector has been drawn up and will be circulated for approval after promulgation of the Bill. It also indicates that this list will be the subject of consultations with the social partners. The Committee also notes the Government’s statement that the annual national labour survey conducted by the High Commission for Planning in 2013 reveals that 86,000 children are involved in child labour, including 6,000 in domestic work. However, the Committee points out that, according to the aforementioned survey, the stated number of children involved in child labour corresponds to the 7–15 age group and does not cover all working children. The Government further indicates that a study on the identification of unacceptable tasks within domestic work was conducted in conjunction with the ILO in 2013–14, the results of which are due during the second half of 2015 and will be sent with the next report. While duly noting the recent progress in the process to adopt the Bill concerning domestic work, the Committee notes with concern that the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC), in its concluding observations of 14 October 2014 (CRC/C/MAR/CO/3-4, paragraph 64), observed that the authorities had not taken sufficient measures to remove girls, some only eight years old, from households where they are employed as domestic workers in precarious conditions. The Committee urges the Government to take the necessary steps to ensure that the abovementioned Bill and the list of hazardous types of work are adopted as a matter of urgency. The Committee also requests the Government to take immediate and effective measures against child domestic labour. Lastly, the Committee requests the Government to supply the results of the survey on domestic work. This information should be disaggregated by sex and age, as far as possible.

Article 3(a). Trafficking of children. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that there was no national legislation relating to the trafficking of children.

The Committee notes the concluding observations of 14 October 2014 of the CRC, according to which the CRC noted with concern that Morocco remains a country of origin, destination and transit for children, primarily from sub-Saharan Africa and south Asia, who are subjected to forced labour, including as domestic workers, and also to trafficking for sexual exploitation and forced begging, two thirds of victims of trafficking being children (CRC/C/MAR/CO/3-4, paragraph 68). The Committee also notes the information contained in the 2015 Study on the trafficking of women and children in Morocco, produced jointly by UN Women, Morocco and the Swiss Confederation, which refers to the existence of forced labour for boys in craft work and agriculture and also trafficking for sexual exploitation in the form of prostitution or pornography (page 97). Lastly, the Committee notes that, according to the report dated 1 April 2014 of the Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children (A/HRC/26/37/Add.3, paragraph 25), a draft amendment to the Penal Code in relation to trafficking was expected to be in effect by 2015. The Committee, therefore, requests the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure the adoption of legislation prohibiting the trafficking of children and to send a copy of the legislation, once it has been adopted. The Committee also requests the Government to supply information on all steps taken to combat the trafficking of children, on the number of child victims of trafficking and the number of prosecutions of perpetrators of child trafficking.

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 removing them from these worst forms, and ensuring their rehabilitation and social integration. Child prostitution and sex tourism. In its previous comments, the Committee expressed concern at the persistence of child prostitution and sex tourism involving young Moroccans and immigrants, particularly boys, despite the amendment to the Penal Code in 2003 making sex tourism a criminal offence. It noted the Government’s indications that the scourge of the sexual exploitation of children remains unseen and unrecognized in Morocco, for which reason the Government is sparing no effort to address it. The Committee also noted that five child protection units (UPEs) have been set up since 2007 in Marrakech, Casablanca, Tangier, Meknès and Essaouira to ensure better medical, psychological and legal assistance for child victims of violence and ill treatment, including child victims of sexual and economic exploitation, and that hundreds of children have benefited.

The Committee notes the Government’s statement that the National Action Plan for Children 2006–15 (PANE) establishes specific measures for protecting children against sexual exploitation. The Government indicates that the mid-term evaluation of PANE in 2011 recorded significant progress, such as the establishment of new public structures for the protection of child victims of sexual violence, including care units in courts and hospitals, support units within the Directorate-General for National Security, the UPEs, guidance and support units in schools, the ONDE telephone helpline and child reception areas in police stations. The Government also indicates that it established an Integrated Public Child Protection Policy in 2013, including with a view to protecting children against sexual exploitation. The Government indicates that in 2010 the operations of the three UPEs in Casablanca, Marrakech and Tangier were hindered by their lack of legal status and that the Ministry of Solidarity, Women, Family and Social Development (MSFFDS) established eight UPEs in Sidi Kacem, Oujda, Tétouan, Agadir, Beni Mellal and Salé, while reviving the UPE in Tangier and giving support to the UPE in Casablanca. The Committee also notes the 2014 Study on sexual violence against children in Morocco produced jointly by the National Human Rights Council, UNICEF and an NGO, according to which commercial sexual exploitation in Morocco persists but is largely undocumented. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that the aforementioned study will provide improved guidance for future action. However, the Committee notes that, according to the study, the UPEs have not received the support they need to be effective (page 70). Lastly, the Committee notes that the CRC, in its concluding observations of 14 October 2014 (CRC/C/MAR/CO/3-4), expressed its concern at the growth in sex tourism (paragraph 40) and at the fact that no budget was allocated for the implementation of PANE, and regretted that the 2011 evaluation of PANE has not been given proper follow-up (paragraph 12), with a consequent failure to respond to the problem of sexual exploitation. While taking due note of the Government’s efforts, the Committee urges the Government to adopt immediate and effective measures to combat the commercial sexual exploitation of children. The Committee also requests the Government to provide information on the implementation of the National Action Plan and the Integrated Public Child Protection Policy in relation to sexual exploitation and also information on the number of children who have been prevented from engaging in prostitution or withdrawn from it via the UPEs.

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