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

Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182) - Samoa (Ratification: 2008)

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Article 3 of the Convention. Worst forms of child labour. Clause (c). Use, procuring or offering of a child for illicit activities, in particular for the production and trafficking of drugs. The Committee notes the Government’s indication, in its report, that the Ministry of Police is reviewing the possibility of introducing a specific offence relating to the use, procuring or offering of a child for the production and trafficking of drugs. The Committee requests the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that the Crimes Amendment Bill, 2020, also include provisions towards the prohibition of the use, procuring or offering of children under 18 years of age for illicit activities, including the production and trafficking of drugs, and to provide information on any progress made in this regard.

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. The Committee takes note of the detailed list of measures undertaken by the Ministry of Education, Sports and Culture between 2019 and 2022 with the aim of facilitating the access of all children to free basic education, including various awareness raising programmes conducted by the Ministry. The Committee also duly notes the statistical data provided by the Government which highlight that, in 2022: (1) the net enrolment rate at the primary level was 105 per cent (103 per cent for boys and 108 per cent for girls); and (2) the net enrolment rate for the secondary level was 81 per cent (71 per cent for boys and 92 per cent for girls). The Government explains that the net enrolment rate at the primary level is above 100 per cent because children above 12 years of age are still attending primary level education. The Committee further notes with interest that the drop-out rates in the final year of primary school have decreased, going from 5.1 per cent in 2018 to 2.6 per cent in 2022. The Committee encourages the Government to pursue its efforts to ensure that all children have access to free basic education, at both the primary and lower secondary levels, and to continue providing information on the measures taken in this regard and the results achieved.