Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2023, published 112nd ILC session (2024)

Minimum Age (Underground Work) Convention, 1965 (No. 123) - Uganda (Ratification: 1967)

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The Committee recalls that the ratification of the Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138) by a State party to Convention No. 123, ipso jure, involves the immediate denunciation of the latter if the State accepts the obligations of Convention No. 138 and either, in accordance with Article 2 of that Convention, specifies a minimum age of not less than the age specified in pursuance of Convention No. 123, namely 16 years, or specifies that such an age applies to employment underground in mines by virtue of Article 3 of Convention No. 138 (Article 10 of Convention No. 138).

The Committee further recalls that Uganda ratified Convention No.138 on 25 March 2003 and specified a minimum age for admission to work or employment of 14 years, which is lower than the age specified for Convention No. 123 (16 years). It further recalls that the Government has not specified that Article 3 of Convention No. 138 applies to underground work. Consequently, the ratification of Convention No. 138 by Uganda has not resulted in the automatic denunciation of Convention No. 123.

Noting that the national legislation in Uganda prohibits underground work and work in mines by young persons under 18 years of age (under the Employment of Children Regulations No. 17, 2012), the Committee accordingly draws the Government’s attention to the fact that a formal declaration specifying that Article 3 of Convention No. 138 applies to underground work would result in the denunciation with immediate effect of Convention No. 123. In this regard, the Committee draws the Government’s attention to the decision of the Governing Body, at its 349th Session, October–November 2023, approving the recommendations of the Standards Review Mechanism Tripartite Working Group (SRM TWG), which acknowledges the outdated classification of Convention No. 123 and recommends the effective implementation of Convention No. 138 in Member States in which Convention No. 123 is in force. In view of the above, the Committee encourages the Government to consider the possibility of issuing a declaration indicating that Article 3 of Convention No. 138 applies to underground work, thereby resulting in the immediate denunciation of Convention No. 123.