Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2010, published 100th ILC session (2011)

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

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 had previously noted that the Penal Code does not seem to prohibit the use, procuring or offering of a child under 18 years of age for the production and trafficking of drugs. The Committee noted that the Government referred to the Young Workers’ Act (998/1993) and the Decree on Young Workers (508/1986). However, the Committee noted that these laws do not appear to prohibit the use, procuring or offering of a child for the production and trafficking of drugs, but rather refer to the prohibition of hazardous work. The Committee had also noted the Government’s statement that, under Finnish law, persons under 18 years of age are not legally permitted to perform any work that the Convention deems to be one of the worst forms of child labour. In this regard, the Committee notes that section 1 “Narcotics Offence” of Chapter 50 of the Penal Code on “Narcotics Offences” punishes a person who unlawfully: (1) produces or attempts to produce a narcotic substance; (2) imports or attempts to import or exports or transports it or has it transported; (3) sells, supplies, conveys or otherwise distributes a narcotic substance; (4) possesses or attempts to obtain a narcotic substance. Section 2, “Aggravated Narcotics Offence”, of the same Chapter imposes a stronger penalty if, in the narcotics offence: (5) the narcotic substance is distributed to minors. However, the Committee observes that the abovementioned provisions do not explicitly prohibit the use, procuring or offering of a child for the production and trafficking of drugs, but rather refer solely to the prohibition of distributing narcotics to minors. The Committee reminds the Government that, by virtue of Article 3(c) of the Convention, the use, procuring or offering of a child for the production and trafficking of drugs constitutes one of the worst forms of child labour and that, by virtue of Article 1, it is obliged to take immediate measures to prohibit this worst form of child labour. The Committee therefore requests the Government to take the necessary measures to specifically prohibit the use, procuring or offering of a child under 18 years for the production and trafficking of drugs. If such a provision already exists, the Committee requests the Government to indicate the legislative provisions under Finnish law which apply in this regard.

Article 6. Programmes of action to eliminate, as a priority, the worst forms of child labour. Trafficking. The Committee previously noted the Government’s indication that, in August 2005, it adopted a National Plan of Action Against Human Trafficking (NPA) aimed at: preventing human trafficking more efficiently; protecting and assisting the victims of human trafficking; ensuring that those guilty of human trafficking are charged; and combating organized crime. The Committee noted in the Government’s report that the NPA calls for victims of trafficking to be granted a residence permit. The NPA also brought forth a statutory system to assist victims of human trafficking by amending the Act on the Integration of Immigrants and Reception of Asylum Seekers (493/1999). This statutory system is coordinated by two state-run reception centres, one of which concentrates on minors. The Committee further noted that, in June 2008, the Government adopted a Revised Plan of Action Against Trafficking in Human Beings (Revised NPA), which represents an update and further specifications of the measures described in the NPA, based on experiences from the implementation of the NPA. The Revised NPA pays particular attention to identifying a victim as a victim. The Committee also noted that the Ombudsperson for Minorities, acting as an independent authority, has been appointed the National Rapporteur on Action Against Human Trafficking (the Rapporteur).

The Committee notes from the Government’s report that concrete measures of the revised NPA include clarifying the definition of trafficking in human beings and similar offences, so that the authorities, organizations and prosecutors concerned apply the same interpretations of the content of trafficking in human beings and the types of offences relevant to this. The Committee also notes from the Government’s information that the Ombudsman for Minorities published a report stating that examining an asylum application, while keeping the best interests of unaccompanied minors who enter the country as asylum seekers, is problematic. The Ombudsman suggests that, until further examination, children should not be returned to Italy, Greece, Malta or Spain and the equal, predictive and appropriate nature of services must be examined within the system. The Committee requests the Government to continue providing information on the concrete measures taken to implement the Revised NPA, its impact on combating child trafficking and on the results achieved.

Article 7(2). Effective and time-bound measures. Clause (b). Direct assistance for the removal of children from the worst forms of child labour and for their rehabilitation and social integration. National plan of action against human trafficking. In its previous comments, the Committee requested the Government to provide information on the impact of the NPA in providing direct assistance to child victims of trafficking and to indicate the number of children withdrawn and rehabilitated pursuant to this national plan. The Committee noted that, through the NPA, victims who are minors have been identified in different circumstances (mostly in transit situations but none in child labour). The Committee notes the information in the Government’s report that, since its inception and up until mid-December 2009, a total of 48 people have been included in the system for victim assistance, of whom 12 were minors. The Oulu reception centre, specialized in assisting minors, began operating unofficially as early as 2005, at which time the border guard referred four minors to the reception centre, from where they later disappeared. In both 2006 and 2007, three new victims were included in the system. In 2008, another three victims were taken in, one of whom had already been in the system earlier. No minors were included in the system for victim assistance in 2009. The Committee further notes from the Rapporteur’s latest report that some of the minors were included in the assistance system even before actual victimization in human trafficking had taken place. In these situations, the minors were in transit to another country when the authorities apprehended them in Finland on suspicion that they might become victims of human trafficking in the destination country. In these cases, the border guard has initiated criminal investigations of (aggravated) facilitation of illegal entry. The Committee notes that the Rapporteur welcomes this approach. The Committee duly notes this preventive action in the removal of children from the worst forms of child labour. The Committee also notes the information in the 2010 report on human trafficking in Finland, available on the Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees website (www.unhcr.org) (Trafficking Report) that the Finnish Government has sustained victim assistance efforts and continues to provide direct shelter, trafficking-specific rehabilitative assistance and medical care to adult and child victims. The Committee further notes from the Trafficking Report that victims of trafficking wishing to stay longer than six months were eligible to apply for an extended residence permit or asylum as an alternative to deportation. The Committee finally notes that, in the last year, seven victims were granted permanent residence permits.

Clause (d). Identify and reach out to children at risk. The Committee previously noted that, since 2000, the Government has supported the ILO’s project entitled “Street children in St Petersburg: from exploitation to education” (St Petersburg project). The Committee noted that the project resulted in approximately 330 children receiving various types of assistance. The Committee notes the information in the Government’s report, that according to Finland’s Consulate General in St Petersburg, there are no statistics available on street children, so the exact number of street children in St Petersburg is unknown. Nevertheless, the Consulate estimates that, between 2000 and 2009, the number of street children has decreased by 5,000, but that, with the economic recession, the number began to rise in 2008. However, due to an improvement in the economic situation, the number of street children is believed to be in decline.

Parts III and V of the report form. Court decisions and application of the Convention in practice. The Committee notes from the information in the Government’s report that there have not been any new court decisions relating to the application of the Convention.  The Committee also notes in the Government's report that there is no indication that the worst forms of child labour, as referred to in the Convention, are present in Finland. The Committee notes from the information in the Trafficking Report that, in 2009, police reported conducting 59 human trafficking investigations. Also in 2009, authorities prosecuted at least five people for sex trafficking offences, compared with nine in 2008 and two persons were prosecuted for labour trafficking in 2009, down from nine in 2008. Since 2006, sentences have ranged from one-and-a-half to five-and-a-half years of imprisonment and there have been no reports of suspended sentences. Finally, the Committee also notes from the Trafficking Report that there were no prosecutions since 2009 for persons suspected of child sex tourism offences.