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

Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182) - Peru (Ratification: 2002)

Previous observation and previous direct request

The Committee notes the observations of the Autonomous Workers’ Confederation of Peru (CATP), received on 1 September 2023. It requests the Government to provide its comments in this respect.

Articles 3(a) and (b), 5, 7(1) and 7(2)(a) and (b) of the Convention. Worst forms of child labour,, penalties, programmes of action and effective and time-bound measures to prevent the engagement of children in the worst forms of child labour, to remove them from these forms of child labour and to ensure their rehabilitation and social integration. Sale, trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation of children. The Committee notes the Government’s information, in its report, that Supreme Decree No. 008-2022-MINCETUR amends the Regulations of Act No. 28868 to introduce higher fines for tourist establishments (hotels and restaurants) and travel agencies who fail to take appropriate actions to prevent and report cases of children being subjected to commercial sexual exploitation and trafficking. The Committee also notes the Government’s indication that the National Policy Against Trafficking in Persons and its forms of exploitation up to 2030 was approved by Supreme Decree No. 009-2021-IN and seeks to guide the Government’s actions at all three levels (national, regional and municipal) in the development of interventions against trafficking in persons.

The Committee notes, from the Analysis Report No. 5 of the Public Ministry “The response of the Public Ministry to human trafficking”, published in collaboration with the ILO, that between 2015 and 2021, 375 child victims of trafficking were identified, most of them aged between 13 and 17 years (317 children), with a higher proportion of girls than boys (227 girls and 141 boys). The Committee notes that this report sets out the modalities of recruitment of the victims (parents, seduction, job offer), how the victims were detained (locked-up, physical and psychological violence, retention of identification papers), as well as the locations of exploitation (bars, public streets, night clubs, factories). The Committee further notes the Government’s indication that the Office of Rationalization and Statistics of the Public Ministry, in 2022, registered 40 cases of sexual exploitation of a child, 43 cases of benefitting from the sexual exploitation of a child, 17 cases of management of the sexual exploitation of a child, 13 cases of use of a child for commercial sexual exploitation, 7 cases of promotion of sexual exploitation of a child, and 146 cases of child pornography. The Committee takes note of the list of judicial cases relating to trafficking in persons and commercial sexual exploitation, which includes information about the convictions handed down and the penalties imposed, but it notes that this information is not disaggregated by the age of the victims.

The Government indicates that the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism (MINCETUR), intervenes in the field of prevention of sexual exploitation of children and adolescents in tourism, and that, in collaboration with regional entities, it organizes awareness-raising events on the issue and encourages the subscription of the Code of Conduct for the prevention of sexual exploitation of children among tourism service providers. The Government also reports that, in 2021, four preventive actions on trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation were undertaken and benefitted 251 persons. In 2022, 235 preventive actions were undertaken, in the form of talks and workshops on trafficking in persons, reaching 6,000 persons. In 2023, 14 preventive actions were undertaken, benefiting 350 persons.

With regard to the rehabilitation of child victims of trafficking, the Government indicates that, in 2022, Special Protection Units elaborated and approved 21 individual work plans with a component of reintegration of a child or adolescent victim of trafficking. The Government adds that the Protection and Assistance Programme for Victims and Witnesses of the Public Ministry, in addition to providing support for prosecutorial work, also provides a number of services to victims of trafficking, including meals, clothing, medical services and accommodation. In the framework of this programme, between 2019 and 2022, 3,154 victims of trafficking were provided with assistance, including 1,442 children.

With regard to its previous comments, the Committee notes the Government’s indication that the National Comprehensive Programme for Family Wellbeing (INABIF) has six residential reception centres specifically designed for the reception of children and adolescent victims of trafficking. The Government indicates that, currently 74 minors are residing in these Centres and receiving comprehensive care services. These Centres welcomed a total of 280 underaged child victims of trafficking in 2021, and 206 child victims in 2022. The Committee further notes the Government’s indication that the National Aurora Programme, through the Women’s Emergency Centres (CEM), attended to 68 victims of trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation in 2021, including 41 children, and 102 victims, including 81 child victims in 2022. The Committee notes that the CATP, in its observations, indicates that the preventive actions of the Aurora programme are limited because of its limited budget and that, for 2024, the Aurora Programme’s budget was reduced by 40 per cent. The CATP further observes that the efforts deployed by the Government are insufficient to address the issue of trafficking in the country and that there is a general lack of awareness of the various national policies by the population. The Committee further notes, from the concluding observations of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), that the country continues to be a country of origin, transit and destination for trafficking in persons, in particular women and girls, for the purposes of sexual exploitation, including online and sex tourism (CEDAW/C/PER/CO/9, 1 March 2022, paragraph 27). The Committee requests the Government to pursue its efforts to prevent the trafficking of children and their commercial sexual exploitation. It requests the Government to continue to take effective and time-bound measures to this end, including within the framework of the National Policy Against Trafficking in Persons and its forms of exploitation up to 2030, and to provide information on the impact of such measures. The Committee further requests the Government to continue providing information on: (i) the number of investigations, prosecutions and convictions relating specifically to the offences of child trafficking and the commercial sexual exploitation of children; and (ii) the measures taken, including within the framework of the Protection and Assistance Programme for Victims and Witnesses of the Public Ministry and the Residential Reception Centres of the INABIF, to provide the necessary and appropriate direct assistance to free children and young persons who are victims of trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation, with an indication of the number of children who were removed, rehabilitated and socially integrated.

Articles 3(d) and 7(2)(a) and (b). Hazardous types of work and effective and time-bound measures to prevent the engagement of children in the worst forms of child labour, to remove them from these forms of child labour, and to ensure their rehabilitation and social integration. Child labour in artisanal mines. The Committee notes that, under section 58 of the Code of Children and Young Persons, adopted in 2022, it is prohibited to employ adolescents (defined as a person aged 12 to 17 years) in underground work, in activities that involve carrying heavy loads or toxic substances. The Committee further notes with interest the Government’s indication that Supreme Decree No. 009-2022-MIMP sets out a list of hazardous work and activities prohibited to children under the age of 18 years in which the engagement of minors in mining activities (including underground work and quarries) is prohibited. The Government adds that this includes artisanal mining.

The Committee notes the Government’s information that, following labour inspections in mines and quarries, the National Supervisory Authority of Labour Inspection (SUNAFIL) detected four cases of child labour in 2021 and two cases in 2022. The Committee notes however that no information is provided on the follow-up to these cases and whether they lead to prosecutions, convictions and penalties. The Committee also notes with concern that, once again, the Government has not provided information on the measures taken in practice to remove children from this worst form of child labour and ensure their rehabilitation and social integration. It further notes that the United Nations Human Rights Committee on the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (CCPR), in its concluding observations, requested the Government to redouble its efforts to eradicate child labour, particularly in extractive industry and illegal mining (CCPR/C/PER/CO/6, 5 April 2023, para. 41). The Committee requests the Government to take effective and time-bound measures to prevent children under 18 years of age from engaging in hazardous work in artisanal mines and to ensure the removal, rehabilitation and social integration of those already engaged in such work. It requests the Government to provide information on the results achieved, including by indicating: (i) the impact of any preventive measures taken or envisaged; and (ii) the number of children and young persons who have been removed, rehabilitated and socially integrated. The Committee further requests the Government to continue to provide information on the application in practice of Supreme Decree No. 009-2022-MIMP, by indicating the number of reported violations with regard to the engagement of children under the age of 18 years in the mining and quarrying sector, and to include information on whether the violations detected led to prosecutions, convictions and penalties.

Article 7(2). Effective and time-bound measures. Clause (d). Identifying children at special risk. Indigenous children. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that the National Programme on Action Platforms for Social Inclusion (PAIS) has been articulating intersectoral and interinstitutional interventions directed towards indigenous communities, and that a number of actions were directly targeted towards children aged below 14 years, such as online reading services, health services and language interpretation services. The Government also states that it does not have information on the implementation of the previously mentioned National Plan for Intercultural Bilingual Education: A vision for 2021, but that it will provide such information once it is available. The Committee notes, from the UNICEF Peru Country Office Annual Report of 2022, that because of the COVID-19 pandemic, students of indigenous origins have seen their language gap increase. The Committee also notes that the CCPR, in its concluding observations, expressed concern over the vulnerability of indigenous persons and Afro-Peruvians and the persistent structural discrimination directed against them, particularly women and girls, in the areas of education and employment (CCPR/C/PER/CO/6, 5 April 2023, para. 16). The Committee further notes, from the ILO publication of 2023 “Issue Paper on child labour and education exclusion among indigenous children”, that in 2020: (1) 2 per cent of children aged 14 years were engaged in hazardous work, compared to 4 per cent of indigenous children of the same age; and (2) 17.5 per cent of indigenous children aged 14 years were out of school. The Committee also notes that the Issue Paper refers to the widespread sexual exploitation of indigenous girls in mining areas. Recalling that children of indigenous communities are at particular risk of becoming engaged in the worst forms of child labour, the Committee requests the Government to step up its efforts and to continue taking measures, particularly in the field of education, to protect them from the worst forms of child labour. It requests the Government to provide: (i) information on the impact of the measures taken, including in the framework of the National Plan for Intercultural Bilingual Education: A vision for 2021; and (ii) updated statistical data on the engagement of indigenous children in child labour and its worst forms.

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