Solicitud directa (CEACR) - Adopción: 2016, Publicación: 106ª reunión CIT (2017)

Convenio sobre las peores formas de trabajo infantil, 1999 (núm. 182) - Federación de Rusia (Ratificación : 2003)

Article 6 of the Convention. Programmes of action. Government Commission on Minor Affairs and Protection of their Rights. The Committee previously noted the establishment of a Government Commission on Minors’ Affairs and Protection of their Rights, which aimed at improving the situation of abandoned children and to coordinate state activities in the areas of health, education and social and legal protection of children.

The Committee notes the Government’s indication that, the Government Commission, in cooperation with internal affairs agencies and other concerned authorities and institutions in the fields of public health care, education and social security, undertakes measures to counteract adverse circumstances in families with minors and any violation of their rights and legal interests. Interdepartmental services have been established to provide rapid assistance to deprived families and children. Measures are also jointly taken by the internal affairs agencies with representatives of other preventive bodies to detect and forestall violations of minors’ rights, to remove neglected and abandoned children from the streets and to place them in institutions for the care of children at risk. Various preventative and cooperative programmes are also implemented in the constituent entities. In 2015, the internal affairs agencies identified 63,500 neglected and abandoned children in need of state assistance (compared with 68,900 in 2014, 75,900 in 2013, and 84,500 in 2012). Among them, 44,900 children were placed in institutions forming part of the system for preventing juvenile neglect and delinquency (compared with 45,400 in 2014, 49,100 in 2013 and 51,000 in 2012).

Article 7(1). Penalties. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that sections 240, 241 and 242.1 of the Penal Code cover offences related to using or engaging a minor in prostitution and in the production of pornographic material.

The Committee notes the additional relevant information submitted by the Government in 2015 to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) regarding trafficking in persons that in 2014, under section 240, 390 cases were reported, 335 cases were solved, 183 persons were identified as perpetrators and 284 persons were recognized as victims; while under section 241, 635 cases were reported, 450 cases were solved and 780 persons were identified as perpetrators. In the meantime, 996 cases were reported under section 242.1. Moreover, during the first six months in 2015, the numbers of reported cases were 118 under section 240, 357 under section 241 and 1,363 under section 242.1, respectively. The Committee therefore requests the Government to continue providing information on the application in practice of sections 240, 241 and 242.1 of the Penal Code, including the number of investigations, prosecutions, convictions and the penalties applied for the use, procuring or offering of young persons under 18 years of age for prostitution or pornography.

Article 7(2). Effective and time-bound measures. Clauses (a) and (c). Preventing the engagement of children in the worst forms of child labour. Access to free basic education. The Committee previously noted that a study on child labour conducted in St Petersburg within the context of an ILO–IPEC project on street children in the St Petersburg region (2009 study on child labour) revealed that many of the children interviewed dropped out of school because they were working for eight to 12 hours a day. Only 64.4 per cent of children who participated in the study attended school on a regular basis, while 15.9 per cent of children had not attended school for periods ranging from one to three years. The study also indicated that children involved in prostitution or criminal activities attended school even less: only 34.2 per cent of children involved in prostitution attended school regularly, while 43.8 per cent had effectively dropped out since they had not attended school for one year. The Committee further noted that the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) expressed concern about the sizeable numbers of children who do not attend school in the Russian Federation. The CESCR had urged the Government to strengthen its efforts to ensure that no child is deprived of the right to education, in particular in rural areas and among the disadvantaged and marginalized groups.

The Committee notes the absence of information in the Government’s report on this point. Considering that education contributes to preventing the engagement of children in the worst forms of child labour, the Committee once again urges the Government to take the necessary measures to facilitate children’s access to free basic education, especially those from rural areas and from disadvantaged groups. It requests the Government to provide information on measures taken in this regard and on the results achieved, particularly with respect to increasing school enrolment rates and decreasing school drop-out rates. It also urges the Government to take effective and time-bound measures to ensure that children engaged in the worst forms of child labour are withdrawn from these worst forms and reintegrated into the school system.

Clauses (d) and (e). Identifying and reaching out to children at special risk and taking account of the special situation of girls. Street children. The Committee previously noted that the ILO–IPEC study on child labour indicated that the numbers of children involved in prostitution in the region was between 3,000 and 6,000 (95 per cent of them girls). The study also indicated that 25 per cent of children working on the streets are girls who are subjected to the worst forms of child labour, such as hazardous work or prostitution. It also noted that CEDAW expressed its concern at the very limited information and statistics provided about certain groups of women and girls, including girls living on the streets. The Committee further noted that the CESCR expressed its concern about the large number of children who live and work on the streets, in particular in the informal economy where they are vulnerable to abuse, including sexual abuse, and to other forms of exploitation to such an extent that regular school attendance is severely restricted.

The Committee once again notes with regret an absence of information on this point in the Government’s report. Recalling that children living and working on the street are particularly vulnerable to the worst forms of child labour, the Committee once again urges the Government to take the necessary measures to protect these children, particularly girls from the worst forms of child labour. It requests the Government to provide information on specific measures taken in this regard, and on the results achieved in terms of the number of children under 18 years of age who have actually been removed from work on the streets and provided with appropriate services for their rehabilitation and social reintegration, including education and vocational training, where appropriate.