Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2019, published 109th ILC session (2021)

Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182) - Yemen (Ratification: 2000)

The Committee notes the complexity of the situation prevailing on the ground and the presence of armed groups and armed conflict in the country.

The Committee notes the observations of the International Organisation of Employers (IOE), and the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) received on 29 August and 1 September 2019, respectively. It also notes the Government’s report and the detailed discussion which took place at the 108th Session of the Conference Committee on the Application of Standards in June 2019, concerning the application by Yemen of the Convention.

Follow-up to the conclusions of the Committee on the Application of Standards (International Labour Conference, 108th Session, June 2019)

Article 3(a) of the Convention. All forms of slavery or practices similar to slavery. Compulsory recruitment of children for armed conflict. In its previous comments, the Committee noted the Government’s information that in 2012, a Presidential Decree prohibiting the recruitment of children in the armed forces was adopted. It also noted the Government’s statement that the action plan to put an end to the recruitment and use of children by the armed forces, which was concluded in 2014 with the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, was hindered due to the worsening of the armed conflict since 2015. The Committee further noted from the UNICEF report entitled Falling through Cracks: The Children of Yemen, March 2017 that at least 1,572 boys were recruited and used in the conflict, 1,546 children were killed and 2,458 children were maimed. Moreover, the Report of the Ministry of Human Rights, 2018, reported an increasing number of conscripted children, about 15,000, by the Houthi militias and their methods of mobilizing these children to fight on front lines. According to the report, children recruited by this group were forced to use psychotropic substances and drugs and had been used to penetrate the Saudi borders. They were also trained to use heavy weapons, to lay landmines and explosives and were used as human shields. The Committee deeply deplored the use of children in armed conflict and strongly urged the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure the full and immediate demobilization of all children and to put a stop, in practice, to the forced recruitment of children under 18 years of age into armed forces and groups.

The Committee notes the observations of the IOE that the situation of children in Yemen is of concern, due to the involvement and recruitment of children in armed conflict. The Committee also notes that the ITUC, in its observations, states that due to the intensification of the conflict in 2015, the action plan developed in 2014 and the 2012 Presidential Decree banning child recruitment in armed conflict remain moot.

The Committee notes that the Conference Committee, in its conclusions, urged the Government to implement the action plan of 2014 to end the recruitment of children by armed forces.

The Committee notes the Government’s information in its report that it is in the process of concluding an agreement with the ILO Regional Office for Arab States in Beirut to implement a two-year project designed to prevent the recruitment and exploitation of children in armed conflict. This project will target 300 children in the three governorates of Sanaa, Lahij and Hajjah. The Committee notes, however, from the Report of the UN Secretary-General on Children and Armed Conflict, June 2019 (A/73/907-S/2019/509) that in 2018, the United Nations verified the recruitment and use of 370 children with the majority recruitment attributed to Houthis (170) and Yemeni Government forces (111). Of the total number, at least 50 per cent of the children were below 15 years and 37 per cent of them were used in active combat. For the first time the United Nations verified the recruitment and use of 16 girls between the ages of 15 and 17 by the Houthis. It also notes that the Secretary-General expressed concern at the violations against children committed by the armed groups, particularly the persistently high levels of recruitment and use, maiming and killing and denial of humanitarian access to children. The Committee further notes from the Report of the Secretary-General that a road map was endorsed by the Government in 2018 to expedite the implementation of the 2014 action plan to end and prevent the recruitment and use of children and to call for the immediate release of all children from its ranks. While noting some of the measures taken by the Government, the Committee must express its deep concern at the continued use and recruitment of children by armed groups and forces and at the current situation of children affected by armed conflict in Yemen, especially as it entails other violations of the rights of the child, such as abductions, murders and sexual violence. While acknowledging the complexity of the situation prevailing on the ground and the presence of armed groups and armed conflict in the country, the Committee once again strongly urges the Government to continue to take measures, using all available means, to ensure the full and immediate demobilization of all children and to put a stop, in practice, to the forced recruitment of children under 18 years of age into armed forces and groups, including through the effective implementation of the national action plan to put an end to the recruitment and use of children in armed conflict, 2014. It also urges the Government to take immediate and effective measures to ensure that thorough investigations and prosecutions of all persons who recruit children under 18 years of age for use in armed conflict are carried out, and that sufficiently effective and dissuasive penalties are imposed in practice. It requests the Government to provide information on the number of investigations conducted, prosecutions brought and convictions handed down against such persons.

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. In its previous comments, the Committee noted from the UNESCO Institute for Statistics, that the net school enrolment rates in Yemen was low with 76 per cent (82 per cent boys and 69 per cent girls) in primary education and 40 per cent (48 per cent boys and 31 per cent girls) in secondary education. It also noted from the UNICEF Yemen Situation report that according to the findings of the Out-of-School Children Survey conducted by UNICEF in Al Dhale governorate, 78 per cent of the 4,553 children who dropped out of school were girls. The Committee accordingly urged the Government to intensify its efforts to improve the functioning of the education system in the country and to facilitate access to free basic education for all children, especially girls, by increasing the school enrolment rates at the primary and secondary levels and by decreasing their drop-out rates.

The Committee notes the observations made by the IOE that the widespread conflict and the risk of attacks on schools as well as the recruitment or abduction of children for combat purposes all play a significant role in separating children from their right to a basic education free from interference or harm. The Committee notes that the Conference Committee, in its conclusions, urged the Government to take all necessary measures to ensure equal access to free basic education for all children of school age.

The Committee notes the Government’s reference to various sector-based strategies formulated to develop education in order to meet its obligations under the 2000 Dakar Framework for Action of Education for All and Millennium Development Goals. The Committee notes, however, that except for the Strategic Vision 2025, all the strategies indicated have been outdated. The Government also states that measures to implement strategies to develop education are under way. The Committee notes the Government’s statement in its report under the Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138), that as a result of the various measures taken by the Government, the school enrolment rates at primary and secondary level have increased substantially. Moreover, measures have been taken to repair damaged schools in liberated areas and to provide the necessary means to ensure continuity of education. In this regard, the Committee notes from the UNICEF Humanitarian Situation Report of Yemen that during the first half of 2019, UNICEF’s Education Programme have supported the construction of 97 semi-permanent classrooms in 33 schools which provide alternative learning opportunities to 18,159 internally displaced children; completed the rehabilitation of 13 affected schools; provided 21,891 new student desks in 500 schools; and provided school bags and other essential materials to 15,251 children to support and encourage access and reduce economic barriers to schooling. However, the Committee notes from the UNICEF report of March 2018, that since the escalation of conflict in 2015, more than 2,500 schools are out of use with two thirds damaged by attacks, 27 per cent closed and 7 per cent used for military purposes or as shelters for displaced people. Furthermore, the Committee notes the Government’s admission that many problems prevent the Government from carrying out its educational development policies, such as the population dispersal, the difficult economic and social circumstances, the prevalence of certain customs and traditions, including the early marriage of girls, high levels of vulnerability, poverty and the ongoing war in the country. The Committee notes from the UNICEF report of March 2019 that out of seven million school-aged children, over two million children are already out of school. While noting the measures taken by the Government, the Committee must once again express its deep concern at the large number of children who are deprived of access to education because of the climate of insecurity prevailing in the country. Considering that education is key in preventing children from being engaged in the worst forms of child labour, the Committee once again urges the Government to intensify its efforts to improve the functioning of the education system in the country and to facilitate access to free basic education for all children, especially girls, by increasing the school enrolment and attendance rates at the primary and secondary levels and by decreasing their drop-out rates. It requests the Government to continue to provide information on the measures taken in this regard and on the results achieved.

Clauses (a) and (b). Preventing the engagement of children in the worst forms of child labour, removing them from such work and ensuring their rehabilitation and social integration. 1. Children in armed conflict. In its previous comments, the Committee noted from the Report of the Ministry of Human Rights, 2018, that workshops and civil society campaigns on the rehabilitation of children withdrawn from armed conflict were carried out and rehabilitation centres were opened for such children. Hundreds of children recruited by militias were released and provided with medical care. This report further indicated that the Government of Yemen, in cooperation with the Arab Coalition and the International Committee of the Red Cross and UNICEF, received 89 children who were recruited by the Houthi militia and deployed along the borders, out of which 39 children were rehabilitated and returned to their families. The Committee urged the Government to continue to take effective and time-bound measures to ensure that children removed from armed groups and forces receive adequate assistance for their rehabilitation and social integration.

The Committee notes that in its conclusions, the Conference Committee urged the Government to provide information and statistics on the number of children engaged in armed conflict, the number of those liberated and provided with rehabilitation and reintegration services.

The Committee notes the Government’s information that at present there are no data and information on the number of children released from military camps and rehabilitated and reintegrated in the community. However, the Government indicates that a database on affected children and the services provided to them will be launched in cooperation with UNICEF. The Committee expresses the firm hope that the Government will take the necessary measures, without delay, to ensure the establishment of the database relating to the number of children withdrawn from armed conflict, rehabilitated and reintegrated to the community. It requests the Government to provide information on any progress made in this regard as well as on the information on the number of children who have been withdrawn and rehabilitated. The Committee further requests the Government to provide information on the effective and time-bound measures taken to remove children from armed groups and forces and to provide adequate assistance for their rehabilitation and social integration, including reintegration into the school system, vocational training, or alternative learning opportunities wherever possible and appropriate.

2. Abandoned and street children. The Committee notes that the Government representative of Yemen, during the discussion at the Conference Committee, stated that the country faces several challenges and one of those being the increasing number of abandoned children and children begging. The Committee urges the Government to take effective and time-bound measures to protect abandoned children and child beggars from being engaged in the worst forms of child labour and to provide them with the appropriate assistance and services for their rehabilitation and reintegration. It requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken in this regard and on the results achieved.

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