Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2017, published 107th ILC session (2018)

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

Articles 3(a) and 7(1) of the Convention. Worst forms of child labour and penalties. Sale and trafficking of children. The Committee previously took note of the Prevention and Suppression of Human Trafficking Act No. 3 of 2012 (Trafficking Act) which provides that the trafficking of children under 18 years for labour and sexual exploitation is punishable by rigorous imprisonment of not less than five years and with a fine of 50,000 takas (approximately US$603). The Committee noted that the Trafficking Act provides for the establishment of an Anti-Human Trafficking Offence Tribunal at the district level wherein the offences under this Act shall be tried.

The Committee notes the Government’s information in its report that to effectively implement the Trafficking Act, it has formulated three rules in 2017: the Prevention and Suppression of Human Trafficking Rule; the Human Trafficking Suppression Authority Rule; and the Human Trafficking Fund Rule. The Committee also notes the Government’s indication that, as of July 2017, there were 2,663 human trafficking cases pending trial and 540 cases under investigation. While the Committee observes that the Government does not provide statistics related to the number of penalties imposed on persons found guilty of child trafficking specifically, it notes that, according to the 2016 UNODC Global Report on Trafficking in Persons, 232 child victims of trafficking were identified by the police between May 2014 and April 2015.

However, in the list of issues of 14 February 2017 in relation to the initial report of Bangladesh under article 40 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the Human Rights Committee pointed out that there seem to be numerous acquittals in human trafficking cases for the number of prosecutions (indeed the Government indicates that in 820 cases filed against traffickers, only 15 persons were convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment in 2014 and 2015) (CCPR/C/BGD/1/Add.1, item 12). The Committee urges the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that, in practice, thorough investigations and robust prosecutions are carried out for persons who engage in the trafficking of children, and that sufficiently effective and dissuasive sanctions are imposed. In this regard, the Committee once again requests the Government to provide information on the number of investigations, prosecutions, convictions and penal sanctions applied by the Anti-Human Trafficking Offence Tribunal for the offence of trafficking in persons under 18 years of age, in accordance with the provisions of the Trafficking Act.

Article 5. Monitoring mechanisms. Labour inspection. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that the Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments (DIFE) had been expanded by recruiting an additional 262 inspectors, thereby having a total staff of 575 inspectors in 2014.

The Committee notes the Government’s information that, as of 2016, a total of 95 cases have been filed by the DIFE against employers having employed children in violation of section 34(1) of the Bangladesh Labour Act 2006 (as amended in 2013), which prohibits the employment of a child under 14 years of age. The Committee notes that, in its report under the Labour Inspection Convention, 1947 (No. 81), the Government provides detailed information on the measures taken to strengthen the capacity of the labour inspectors of the DIFE, including the organization of several training programmes, seminars and workshops. The Government also indicates that the DIFE inspects the ready-made garment (RMG) sector and maintains a database of 4,808 RMG factories, which includes basic information of workers employed in the factories. The Committee further notes that, in its replies to the list of issues of 14 February 2017 in relation to the initial report of Bangladesh under article 40 of the ICCPR (CCPR/C/BGD/1/Add.1, item 14), the Government indicates that the officials of the DIFE also regularly inspect shrimp and dried fish industries, the construction sector, brick factories and tanneries.

The Committee notes, however, that according to the National Child Labour Survey conducted in 2013 and published in 2015, 1.28 million children aged 5 to 17 were found to be engaged in hazardous work. The Survey reveals that hazardous child labour, which is defined as working in one of the types of work listed as hazardous by law or working more than 42 hours per week, is most often found in manufacturing (39 per cent); agriculture, forestry and fishing (21.6 per cent); wholesale and retail (10.8 per cent); construction (9.1 per cent); and transportation and storage (6.5 per cent). The Survey also reveals that children as young as 6 years of age can be found in hazardous work: 32,808 children aged 6–11 were found to be working in hazardous conditions in manufacturing, agriculture, construction, wholesale, and other service activities.

Considering the significantly high number of children working in hazardous conditions, the Committee expresses its concern at the low number of cases detected by the labour inspectors of the DIFE, and at the fact that those cases do not include children under the age of 18 found in hazardous work. Referring to its 2012 General Survey on the fundamental Conventions (paragraph 632), the Committee recalls that strengthening the capacity of labour inspectors to detect children engaged in hazardous work is essential, particularly in countries where children are, in practice, engaged in hazardous work but no such cases (or only a small number of cases) have been detected by the labour inspectorate. The Committee therefore requests the Government to continue taking measures to strengthen the capacity and improve the ability of labour inspectors of the DIFE to detect all children under the age of 18 engaged in hazardous work, and to provide information on the progress achieved in this regard. In addition, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on the inspections carried out and on the number and nature of violations detected by both the DIFE, and other units of labour inspection, involving children under 18 years of age in all sectors where the worst forms of child labour exist.

Article 7(2). Effective and time-bound measures. Clause (a). Preventing the engagement of children in the worst forms of child labour. Access to free basic education. The Committee previously took due note of the measures taken by the Government, including the adoption of the National Education Policy 2010 in order to ensure compulsory primary education up to grade eight with scope for vocational education as well as to ensure enrolment and retention of students in primary and secondary education.

The Committee notes the Government’s information according to which, in order to reach the goals of ensuring inclusive and quality education for all, and of achieving a 100 per cent net enrolment rate for both primary and secondary education, to which the Government subscribed by adopting the Sustainable Development Goals and the Seventh Five Year Plan (2016–20), it is continuing its efforts by undertaking different policies and activities. Among these are the nationalization (shifting to State control) of 26,193 private primary schools, the provision of free primary education, the distribution of free textbooks at primary and secondary levels, and the construction of various infrastructure essential for education. The Committee notes the Government’s information that the net enrolment rate in primary education rose from 94.8 per cent in 2010 to 97.94 per cent in 2016 (97.10 per cent for boys and 98.82 per cent for girls).

However, the Committee notes with concern that, while the drop-out rate at the secondary level dropped from 55.31 per cent in 2010 to 38.47 per cent in 2016, enrolment at the secondary level has significantly decreased, going down from 72.95 per cent in 2010 to 54.50 per cent in 2016. In addition, the Committee observes that, in its concluding observations of 30 October 2015, the Committee on the Rights of the Child, while welcoming the adoption of the National Education Policy, expresses concern about the limited implementation of the policy due to the lack of adequate resources; the quality of education not being up to national standards; and the persistent drop-out rates due to fees and other costs, such as for books and uniforms; to violence and harassment on the way to and from and at school; and to the lack of sanitation facilities that are separate for girls and boys (CRC/C/BDG/CO/5, para. 66). In addition, while commending the State party for achieving gender parity in primary and secondary education, the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, in its concluding observations of 25 November 2016, notes with concern that the number of girls in school drops by half between the primary and secondary levels of education owing, among other things, to child marriage, sexual harassment, the low value placed on girls’ education, poverty and the long distances to schools in rural and marginalized communities (CEDAW/C/BGD/CO/8, para. 28(a)). Considering that education is one of the most effective means of preventing the engagement of children in the worst forms of child labour, the Committee strongly encourages the Government to strengthen its efforts to provide access to free basic education for all children, with a particular attention to girls, thereby ensuring enrolment and retention of students both in primary and secondary education. The Committee also requests the Government to continue providing updated statistical data on school enrolment and drop-out rates, disaggregated by age and gender.

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