Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2020, published 109th ILC session (2021)

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

Article 7(2) of the Convention. Effective and time-bound measures. Clause (a). Preventing the engagement of children in the worst forms of child labour. Access to free basic education. Following its previous comments on access of children to education, the Committee notes the Government’s reference to a number of measures to decrease the dropout rates and reduce the number of out-of-school children, including: (i) the strengthening of the existing rehabilitation programmes to support children aimed at preventing dropouts; (ii) the discussion of alternative routes for out-of school students, such as with the Seychelles Institute of Distance and Open Learning; and (iii) several measures to enhance the offer and quality of the vocational training provided. The Committee also notes that the 2017 report submitted by the Government to the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) refers to a reduction in dropouts due to the implementation of the Vocational Education and Training Programme “phase 1” for students with academic difficulties, which combines school and vocational training in the last two years of secondary education (CRC/C/SYC/5-6, paragraph 154). That report also refers to the creation of the position of attendance officer in 2015 to ensure that absent students are brought back to school (paragraph 155), and the gradual enrolment of girls in vocational education centres, including those centres teaching traditionally male-dominated professions (paragraph 156). The Committee also notes from the statistics provided on the website of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) that in 2018, the net enrolment rate of children in primary education was 92.21 per cent and that this rate in secondary education was 80.06 per cent. Taking due note of the measures taken by the Government, and recalling that education is key to preventing the engagement of children in the worst forms of child labour, the Committee requests the Government to continue to take measures aimed at increasing the school enrolment and attendance rates and reducing the dropout rates and number of out-of-school children. The Committee further requests the Government to provide information on the enrolment of girls in the vocational education centres, indicating the number of girls enrolled and their age.

Clause (b). Direct assistance for the removal of children from the worst forms of child labour and for their rehabilitation and social integration. Child trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation. In its previous comments, the Committee referred to a number of measures for the rehabilitation of victims of trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation including: (i) the collaboration between ministries and other child protection actors for early identification of children at risk of sexual exploitation; (ii) the launching of a Standards Operating and Referral Mechanism for guidance in identifying and prosecuting perpetrators applying a victim-centred approach; and (iii) the provision of psychosocial support for victims of sexual exploitation.

The Committee notes the Government’s indication, in response to its request, that no victims of commercial sexual exploitation were identified. The Committee notes that section 10(6) of the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons Act provides for the provision of shelters for victims of trafficking (clause b) and the provision of care and the placement in a safe and secure place if the victim of trafficking is a child (clause a). In this respect, the Committee notes the Government’s indication that the provision of appropriate shelters for victims of trafficking in persons is still in the discussion stage, and that child victims are to be taken into care, especially if abuse is happening in the home of the child. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the measures taken for the identification, rehabilitation and reintegration of child victims of trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation, including the placement of children into care. It also requests the Government to provide information on the number of child victims who have been effectively rehabilitated and socially integrated. The Committee further requests the Government to indicate any measures taken aimed at enhancing the capacity of public officials, including the police, prosecutors and the judiciary, to identify and combat commercial sexual exploitation of children.