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

Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182) - Egypt (Ratification: 2002)

Articles 3(a), 6 and 7(1) of the Convention. Sale and trafficking of children, programmes of action and penalties. The Committee previously noted that the Government adopted and implemented the National Plan of Action against Human Trafficking 2011–13 (NAP-HT), with the aim of preventing human trafficking, protecting and assisting the victims of trafficking, ensuring effective penalties for traffickers and promoting and facilitating national and international cooperation in order to meet these objectives. It noted that the National Coordinating Committee planned to continue its anti-trafficking activities within the framework of the second NAP-HT (2013–15), including the establishment of a unit to combat trafficking in children (TIC unit) within the National Council for Children and Motherhood (NCCM). The Committee also noted the various measures taken to train law enforcement officials on how to deal with victims and aimed at strengthening the capacity of police officers both as first responders as well as investigators of cases of trafficking in persons. The Committee noted, however, that the 2011 Research Project to Study Trafficking Patterns in Egyptian Society conducted by the National Centre for Social and Criminological Research (NCSCR study report) identified the most prevailing forms of trafficking in persons in Egypt as the trafficking of children for labour and sexual exploitation and the trafficking of street children for sexual exploitation and begging.

The Committee notes the Government’s information in its report that it implemented the NAP-HT (2013–15) in collaboration with several bodies led by the National Coordinating Committee against Human Trafficking, the Ministry of the Interior, the Office of the Public Prosecutor, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Social Solidarity, the Ministry of Health and Population, UN bodies, and the International Organization for Migration (IOM). It notes that a third NAP HT for the years 2016–21 was adopted, which aims to maintain referral mechanisms, train law enforcement officials and combat the trafficking of street children.

However, while noting these measures, the Committee notes that the Government does not provide information on the number of investigations and prosecutions in cases of child trafficking for labour or sexual exploitation. The Committee therefore requests the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure the thorough investigation and robust prosecution of perpetrators of child trafficking for labour or sexual exploitation, and to provide information on the penalties applied. It also requests the Government to continue providing information on the impact of the measures taken within the framework of the NAP-HT 2016–21.

Article 3(b). Use, procuring or offering of a child for prostitution. The Committee previously noted that while the Government’s report provided information on the penalties for persons who violate the right of a child to protection against commercial sexual exploitation pursuant to section 291 of the Penal Code (as amended), this section does not address the issue of the criminal liability of the child victim of this offence. It noted that section 94 of the 2008 Child Law provides that the age of criminal responsibility starts at 7 years. The Committee noted that although section 111 of the Child Law prohibits handing down criminal sentences amounting to the death sentence, life imprisonment or hard labour to children under 18 years of age, it provides that children over 15 years of age are liable to confinement in jail for not less than three months or to the measures stated in section 101. In this regard, it noted the Government’s reference to section 101 of the Child Law, which states that a child under the age of 15 years who has committed a crime shall be subjected to the following sanctions: reprimand; being institutionalized; following a course of training and rehabilitation; carrying out specific duties; judicial testing; performing work for the public interest which is not hazardous; and placement at one of the specialized hospitals or at social welfare institutions. Moreover, the Committee observed that the Committee on the Rights of the Child, in its concluding observations under the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography of July 2011, noted with particular concern that children over 15 years of age who enter prostitution on their own free will are held responsible under domestic legislation which criminalizes prostitution (CRC/C/OPSC/EGY/CO/1, paragraph 35).

The Committee notes the Government’s indication that the protection of the rights of child victims and witnesses is ensured through the UN Guidelines on the Protection of Child Victims of Trafficking, which aim to provide remedies to child victims of crimes, and include the right of child victims to be treated as victims and not as criminals. However, the Committee notes that the Government reiterates that the provisions of the Child Law and of the Penal Code protect children, although these provisions have previously been deemed by the Committee to be insufficient to protect children who are used, procured or offered for the purpose of prostitution, as they allow for child victims of prostitution who are over 15 years of age to be held criminally responsible. The Committee reminds the Government that Article 3(b) of the Convention prohibits the procuring, offering of use of a child for prostitution, and that the child’s consent does not preclude it from the prohibition (see General Survey on the fundamental Conventions, 2012, paragraphs 508–509). Therefore, children 15 to 18 years of age who enter prostitution “on their own free will” are still victims of commercial sexual exploitation. The Committee once again urges the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that all child victims of prostitution who are under the age of 18 years are treated as victims rather than offenders. To this end, the Committee urges the Government to amend section 111 of the Child Law to ensure that children under 18 years of age who are victims of prostitution are not criminalized and/or imprisoned.

Clause (d). Identifying and reaching out to children at special risk. Children in street situations. The Committee previously noted that there were some 1 million children in street situations in Egypt. It noted that, according to the NCSCR study report, at least 20 per cent of street children, most of whom were in the age group of 6–11 years, were victims of trafficking who were exploited by a third party for sexual purposes and for begging. Almost 40 per cent of street children did not commence formal education, while 60 per cent acquired minimum education through primary and preparatory education.

The Committee notes the Government’s information pertaining to the measures taken to protect children under 18 years of age from trafficking, commercial sexual exploitation and begging, including the development and implementation of preventive activities aimed at reducing child trafficking in Egypt, the strengthening of the capacity of officials at the relevant Ministries, government bodies and NGOs that work with children exposed to danger, and the collaboration with civil society organizations and regional and international organizations. However, the Government does not provide information on the impact that the measures taken thus far have had on reducing the phenomenon of children in street situations in Egypt. Recalling that children in street situations are particularly exposed to the worst forms of child labour, the Committee encourages the Government to strengthen its efforts to ensure that children under 18 years of age living and working on the streets are protected from the worst forms of child labour, particularly trafficking, commercial sexual exploitation and begging. The Committee once again requests the Government to provide information on the impact of the measures taken, including the number of children who have been removed from the streets, provided with assistance and socially integrated into education or vocational training.

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