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

Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182) - Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) (Ratification: 2005)

Article 7(2) of the Convention. Effective and time-bound measures. Clause (d). Children at special risk. 1. Street children. In its previous comments, the Committee encouraged the Government to pursue its efforts to protect street children from the worst forms of child labour by adopting effective and coherent measures and subsequently evaluating their impact. It requested the Government to provide information on the number of children removed from the streets, rehabilitated and socially integrated in the context of the various programmes and plans of action that had been adopted.

The Committee notes, from the Government’s report, the “Children’s and Young People’s Lives” prevention project, carried out by the national system of guidance for the comprehensive protection of children and young persons. Its objective is to ensure the protection of the rights of the most vulnerable or socially excluded children. It offers training and vocational guidance activities, and educational services to ensure children's school attendance, health services and recreational services, such as the integration of these children into cultural, sports or ecological groups. Of a total of 7,180 beneficiaries, 598 children and young persons participated in the project in 2018.

The Committee also takes note of the Government's nationwide household protection programme (“Gran Misión Hogares de la Patria”), launched in 2014, through which 6 million children benefit from basic food and direct income distributed to their families, with a view to strengthening the economic power of those families, thus preventing the engagement of children in work. The Government emphasizes that this programme strengthens public policies for the comprehensive protection of families against social inequalities, and reinforces support measures for children, particularly through education (support for school fees and the strengthening of the quality of education), care services (the establishment of comprehensive diagnostic healthcare centres, through the “Barrio Adentro” programme), food provision, and through cultural activities.

Noting the measures taken by the Government, the Committee once again encourages it to pursue its efforts to protect street children from the worst forms of child labour. It once again requests the Government to provide information on the number of children removed from the streets, rehabilitated and socially integrated in the context of the various programmes and plans of action that have been adopted. To the extent possible, this information should be disaggregated by gender and age.

2. Indigenous and Afro-Venezuelan children. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child remained concerned at the persistent challenges for indigenous and Afro-Venezuelan children in accessing quality education. It encouraged the Government to pursue its efforts to protect these children from the worst forms of child labour; and requested it to provide information on the results achieved in the context of the various projects of the National Committee on the Rights of Children and Young Persons (IDENNA).

The Committee notes the Government’s indication in its report that its difficult relations with various countries at the international level makes access to food supplies and medicines challenging, and increases the vulnerability of the indigenous populations.

The Committee notes that IDENNA continues to contribute to the Schipia Wachoini Communal Comprehensive Protection Centre (CCPI), as part of a protection programme for indigenous children in vulnerable situations. However, the Committee highlights the lack of information on the impact of the measures taken by the Government, and the absence of data on the situation of indigenous and Afro-Venezuelan children. Recalling once again that indigenous and Afro-Venezuelan children are often victims of various forms of exploitation and are at risk of becoming involved in the worst forms of child labour, the Committee once again encourages the Government to pursue its efforts to protect these children from the worst forms of child labour. It also requests the Government to provide detailed information on the results achieved in the context of the various IDENNA programmes.

Article 8. International cooperation. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that the Government had not supplied information on the measures taken as part of its collaboration with the MERCOSUR Human Rights Public Policies Institute (IPPDH) to develop the “International humanitarian cooperation project for migrants, stateless persons, refugees and victims of trafficking” (PCHI). The Committee requested the Government to provide information on the impact of measures taken to combat the trafficking and sexual exploitation of children.

The Committee notes that, according to the Government’s report, the National Office against Organized Crime and the Funding of Terrorism (ONCDOFT) is the body responsible for combating trafficking in persons through the development and implementation of public strategies against organized crime and the funding of terrorism. However, the Committee emphasizes that the Government has not provided information on the trafficking and sexual exploitation of children. The Committee once again requests the Government to provide information on the impact of the measures taken in the context of the PCHI to combat trafficking and sexual exploitation of children. It also requests the Government to provide information on cases of child victims of trafficking who have been repatriated to their countries of origin.