Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2022, published 111st ILC session (2023)

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

Articles 3(a) and 7(1) of the Convention. Worst forms of child labour and penalties. Sale and trafficking of children. In its previous comments, the Committee welcomed the adoption of the Special Act to combat trafficking in persons, which criminalizes and penalizes the crime of trafficking in boys, girls and young persons for sexual or labour exploitation and establishes measures for prevention and the protection of victims. In response to the request for information on the effect given in practice to the Act, the Committee notes the indication by the Government in its report that: in 2019 a case of trafficking in persons for labour exploitation was prosecuted involving five victims under 18 years of age of Guatemalan nationality, and that four of those charged were convicted. The National Civil Police recorded eight cases of the trafficking of minors in 2018 (three for labour exploitation and five for sexual exploitation) and 19 cases in 2019 (three for labour exploitation and 16 for sexual exploitation); 15 cases were referred to the National Council for Children and Young Persons (in charge of providing assistance to child victims of trafficking) involving boys, girls and young persons who were presumed victims of trafficking; and the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology identified 73 students affected by the crime of trafficking. The Committee also notes the detailed information on action to prevent trafficking in children and young persons, including: (i) training days on trafficking for police responsible for prevention and immigration officials; (ii) awareness-raising talks for students in public and private educational institutions; and (iii) coverage of the crime of trafficking in persons in the education curriculum at all levels, with a view to promoting a culture of denouncing the crime. Health workers have also been trained in the early detection of victims of trafficking, as a result of which 28 presumed cases of trafficking were detected in 2019 involving children and young persons between the ages of 10 and 17 years, which were referred to the Office of the Public Prosecutor for the respective investigations. The Committee notes that, in its concluding observations in 2018, the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child expressed concern at the occurrence of child trafficking in schools (CRC/C/SLV/CO/5-6, paragraph 42). Noting the measures adopted by the Government, the Committee encourages it to continue taking measures to prevent, investigate and punish trafficking of children and young persons for labour and sexual exploitation. It also requests the Government to continue providing updated statistical information on the number of investigations, prosecutions and convictions in cases of trafficking of children and young persons under the Special Act to combat trafficking in 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 the various measures adopted by the Government to facilitate the access to education of boys and girls in a situation of poverty and requested the Government to provide information on their results. In this regard, the Committee notes the Government’s indication that programmes for the provision of school uniforms and materials to children in public educational institutions are continuing and that measures have been taken to improve the infrastructure in educational establishments with a view to creating safe and pedagogically appropriate spaces to bring together students and communities. A total of 727 school infrastructure and furniture projects were carried out in 2018, 1,334 in 2019, 667 in 2020 and 93 between January and April 2021. Moreover, between 2018 and 2020, a total of 1,048,953 children and young persons in initial or middle education benefited from the provision of school meals. The Committee also notes the adoption of various measures to eradicate poverty, including transport vouchers for young persons in the third cycle of the general or technical baccalaureate in any of the forms provided by the Ministry of Education, as well as additional vouchers for young mothers who are still in the education system.

The Committee also notes, according to the 2017 report of the Ministry of Education Observatory of Subsidized Public and Private Educational Establishments in El Salvador, that 44.61 per cent of educational establishments in 2017 were in communities where gangs are present; 38.11 per cent were located in areas where theft and/or burglaries are reported; 34.62 per cent are in areas where drugs are circulating; 27.62 per cent in areas where the carrying of knives and firearms have been identified; and 18.76 per cent in areas where extortion is practiced. It also notes that in its 2018 concluding observations, the Committee on the Rights of the Child emphasizes the overwhelming impact of violence on children’s access to education, with the majority of schools situated in communities where there is a high crime rate and a high number of killings of teachers and students (CRC/C/SLV/CO/5-6, paragraph 42). The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons, in her 2018 report on her visit to El Salvador, also indicates that schools in some localities are no longer considered safe spaces for children, teachers are threatened, gangs operate within and around some school facilities where they recruit children, expose them to gang-related criminal activities, and identify girls as sexual targets for gang members (A/HRC/38/39/Add.1, paragraph 22).

While recognizing that the Government has adopted certain measures to facilitate the access of children and young persons to free basic education, the Committee notes with concern the existence of a climate of violence in certain areas of the country, which could have a negative impact on the access of children and young persons to education. Recognizing the difficult security situation in the country, and considering that education is key in preventing the engagement of children in the worst forms of child labour, the Committee urges the Government to renew its efforts to improve the education system and to continue facilitating access to free basic education for children living in all the regions of the country. The Committee also requests the Government to provide information on the progress achieved in this respect, and on the results of the various educational support programmes for poor children.

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