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

Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182) - Cambodia (Ratification: 2006)

Follow-up to the conclusions of the Committee on the Application of Standards (International Labour Conference, 104th Session, June 2015)

The Committee takes note of the Government’s reports dated 28 May 2015 and 1 September 2015 as well as of the detailed discussion which took place at the 104th Session of the Conference Committee on the Application of Standards in June 2015, concerning the application by Cambodia of the Convention. It also notes the observations of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) received on 1 September 2015.

Articles 3(a), 7(1) and (2)(a) and (b) of the Convention. Sale and trafficking of children and penalties. Effective and time-bound measures for prevention, assistance and removal. The Committee notes that, in its conclusions adopted in June 2015, the Conference Committee urged the Government to effectively enforce anti-trafficking legislation and provide information on the progress made in this regard, including on the number of investigations, prosecutions, convictions and penal sanctions applied. The Committee notes the detailed information provided by the Government on the measures taken to combat trafficking of children. According to this information, in 2014, the National Committee for Counter Trafficking (NCCT) withdrew 67 children below the age of 15 years and 36 young persons between 15 and 18 years of age from trafficking and provided them with rehabilitation and social integration services. In addition, an Action Plan 2014–18 was adopted by the NCCT in early 2015 which aims to contribute to the strengthening of law and policy; enhancing prevention and the criminal justice response to human trafficking; and protecting victims with gender-and-age appropriate support.

The Committee notes the statement of the ITUC that children in Cambodia continue to be exposed to trafficking for sexual and labour exploitation. Cambodian girls and ethnic Vietnamese girls from rural areas are trafficked to work in brothels, massage parlours and salons. Children from Vietnam, many of whom are victims of debt bondage, travel to Cambodia and are forced into commercial sex. Moreover, corruption at all levels of the Cambodian Government continues to severely limit the effective enforcement of the Law on Suppression of Human Trafficking and Sexual Exploitation. While noting the various measures taken by the Government to combat the trafficking of children, the Committee strongly encourages the Government to ensure that the Law on Suppression of Human Trafficking and Sexual Exploitation is effectively applied. In this regard, it urges the Government to take the necessary measures to strengthen the capacity of law enforcement agencies, including through the allocation of financial resources, to combat the sale and trafficking of children under 18 years of age. The Committee also requests the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that all perpetrators of the trafficking of children, including complicit government officials, are subject to thorough investigations and robust prosecutions, and that sufficiently effective and dissuasive penalties are imposed in practice. It further requests the Government to provide information on the number of investigations, prosecutions, convictions and penal sanctions applied in this regard. Finally, it requests the Government to continue to provide information on the number of child victims of trafficking who have been removed from sexual or labour exploitation as well as the number of children who have been rehabilitated and socially integrated, including through the Action Plan 2014–18.

Articles 3(a) and 7(2) (a) and (b). Compulsory labour exacted in drug rehabilitation centres and effective and time bound measures for prevention, assistance and removal. The Committee previously noted from its 2014 observation under the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29), concerning work exacted in drug rehabilitation centres, that the majority of persons in drug rehabilitation centres in Cambodia are not admitted voluntarily; and that there have been reports of persons in drug rehabilitation centres engaged in compulsory labour. In this respect, it noted with concern that according to the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC), in its concluding observations (CRC/C/KHM/CO/2-3, paragraph 38) in 2011, the mistreatment of persons in drug retention centres extended to children.

The Committee notes the Government’s indication that children under the age of 18 years are not allowed in drug rehabilitation centres, but instead are sent to different organizations or orphanages for rehabilitation where they are not subject to any forced labour. The Committee observes that the Conference Committee recommended that the Government investigate and provide verifiable information on the extent to which forced labour, abuse and related practices occur in drug rehabilitation centres.

The Committee notes the statement made by the ITUC that the Government’s claims that no children are detained in drug rehabilitation centres are simply not credible. The ITUC states that evidence indicates that 10 per cent of the detainees in the drug rehabilitation centres are children under 18, many of them are street children who do not use drugs but are instead confined in the centres following “clean the streets” operations. These children are subject to physical and mental abuse and are forced to work, including in the construction sector. The Committee urges the Government to take the necessary measures to put in place safeguards, both in law and in practice, to ensure that children below the age of 18 years detained in drug rehabilitation centres or similar institutions are not subject to forced labour and other related practices. It requests the Government to provide information on the concrete measures taken in this regard, as well as to provide copies of the relevant texts governing children detained in drug rehabilitation centres.

Articles 3(d), 4(1) and 5. Hazardous work in sugar cane farms and the garment and shoe sector and monitoring mechanisms. The Committee notes the allegations made by the ITUC, in its most recent observations, that child labourers in Cambodia are engaged in hazardous work in agriculture, particularly in sugar cane farms, in work such as the handling and spraying of pesticides and herbicides and cutting, tying and carrying heavy bundles of sugar cane. The ITUC further states that children, particularly girls, work long shifts even during the night, often with dangerous machinery in garment and shoe factories. These children, who are underaged, often work with false identity papers in order to enable them to work. In this regard, the Committee notes that, the Conference Committee, in its conclusions adopted in June 2015, urged the Government to increase its efforts on preventing children from being exposed to the worst forms of child labour, including through increased labour inspections in the formal as well as in the informal economy. The Committee urges the Government to take the necessary measures to protect children under 18 years from being employed in hazardous work in the agricultural, garment and footwear sectors. In this regard, it requests the Government to strengthen the capacity and expand the reach of the institutions responsible for the monitoring of child labour in these sectors. It requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken in this regard and on the results achieved.

Article 7(2)(a). Effective and time-bound measures. Preventing the engagement of children in the worst forms of child labour. Access to free basic education. The Committee previously noted the various measures taken by the Government to improve access to all levels of education, including through the National Strategic Development Plan (NSDP, 2014–18) which aims to expand access to early childhood, secondary and post-secondary education as well as non-formal, technical and vocational education. However, it noted that according to the Cambodia Labour Force and Child Labour Survey of 2012, a large portion of the children not attending school were in this situation because they could not afford to do so or could not access a nearby school. It also noted with concern that, according to the 2012 UNICEF statistics, the net attendance rate dropped significantly from primary to secondary school.

The Committee notes the Government’s indication that the national education system is currently undergoing a deep reform by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport (MoEYS) in accordance with the NSDP 2014–18. It also notes that MoEYS has been implementing the third Educational Strategic Plan 2014–18, in which, the number of schools and students have significantly increased. The Government further indicates that according to the annual report 2014–15 of the MoEYS: (i) 31 out of 72 education policies have been implemented; (ii) the enrolment rate at primary school level has increased from 95.3 per cent in 2013–14 to 99.4 per cent in 2014–15; and (iii) the drop-out rate at the primary school level has declined from 10.5 per cent in 2013–14 to 8.3 per cent in 2014–15.

The Committee also notes from the UNESCO report Education for all: Global monitoring report of 2015 that Cambodia has made considerable progress towards achieving gender parity in primary education. However, disparities increase at entry and completion of lower secondary school, indicating significant bottlenecks for girls. Considering that education contributes to preventing the engagement of children in the worst forms of child labour, the Committee strongly encourages the Government to pursue its efforts, within the framework of the NSDP 2014–18, to improve the functioning of the national education system by increasing the enrolment and completion rates and reducing drop-out rates at the secondary level, particularly of girls. It requests the Government to provide information on the concrete measures taken in this regard, and on the results achieved.

The Committee encourages the Government to seek ILO technical assistance in its efforts to combat the worst forms of child labour.

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