Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2024, published 113rd ILC session (2025)

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

Articles 3(a), 5 and 7(1) of the Convention. Trafficking of children, monitoring mechanisms and penalties. The Committee notes that the Government has provided a copy of South Africa’s response to the prioritized recommendations of the United States Department of State’s Trafficking in Persons Reports (Government’s TIP Report) for 2022 and 2023. The Committee notes from the TIP Report 2022 that: (1) the Departments of Social Development (DSDs) undertook a “Disrupting Harm” Study, in which it was recommended that a coordinating structure be established to respond to the situation of online child recruitment for trafficking purposes; (2) on 9 September 2022, an intersectoral committee meeting was held to establish said coordinating structure; (3) in 2022, the DSDs, the Department of Home Affairs and the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) provided numerous trainings on child trafficking and cybercrime of children to various stakeholders, including officials, the police force, prosecutors and social workers; (4) the DSDs, in the implementation of the “365 Days child protection programme of action” focused, for the month of October 2022 on Child Trafficking and online safety of children including issues of child trafficking; and (5) 22 Home Affairs officials were arrested for crimes such as bribery and extortion, but no information is provided on efforts to investigate, prosecute and convict officials complicit in trafficking of children.

The Committee also notes, from the Government’s TIP Report 2023, that: (1) the Prevention and Combating of Trafficking in Persons National Policy Framework (NPF) was revised and approved in 2023, but no information is provided on its implementation; (2) the South African Police Service (SAPS) developed a National Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) containing Guidelines for the identification of victims of trafficking and outlining the assistance they should be afforded; (3) the SOP also contains a list of indicators (developed by the UNODC) to assist role-players with the identification of suspected victims of trafficking; (4) the DSDs developed a Safety Risk Assessment Tool during 2022–23, which was used to identify children that were trafficked and contains forms that need to be completed which assists in the determination of categories of child abuse, neglect or exploitation (child trafficking, child labour, commercial sexual exploitation and cybercrime of children); (5) there are five ongoing cases of official complicity in trafficking crimes; and (6) in 2022, five girls were identified as victims of trafficking for sexual exploitation, nine children (gender not specified) were identified as victims of trafficking for sexual and labour exploitation and nine other children (gender not specified) were identified as victims of trafficking for begging. While it takes note of the actions taken to identify child victims of trafficking, the Committee notes with regret that, once again, the Government has not provided any information on the application in practice of the Prevention and Combating of Trafficking in Persons Act (PCTP Act) and the Children’s Act in relation to the convictions and penalties applied for the offences of trafficking in children. The Committee does note, from the Government’s report under the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29), that some data is provided for convictions for trafficking sexual or labour exploitation, but that the age of the victims is not specified. The Committee therefore once again requests the Government to provide information on the application of the PCTP Act and of the Children’s Act in practice, in particular statistics on the number and nature of offences reported, investigations, prosecutions, convictions and penal sanctions imposed with regard to the trafficking of children under 18 years, including of complicit officials. It also requests the Government to continue to provide information on the activities carried out by the DSDs, the coordinating structure for the response to children recruited online for trafficking purposes and the South African Police Service to prevent and combat trafficking of children under 18 years of age, as well as on the results achieved. Finally, the Committee requests the Government to provide a copy of the revised NPF and information on its implementation, with regard to the measures taken to prevent and combat child trafficking.

Articles 6 and 7(2)(b). Programmes of action to eliminate the worst forms of child labour and effective and time-bound measures to provide the necessary and appropriate direct assistance for the removal of children from the worst forms of child labour and for their rehabilitation and social integration. Trafficking in children. From the Government’s TIP Report 2022, the Committee notes that the Child and Youth Care centres accommodate child victims of trafficking. In its TIP Report 2023, the Government indicates that: (1) in January 2023, a request was received from Zimbabwe, through Interpol, that a Zimbabwean minor female was suspected to be a victim of trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation. An operation was conducted and the minor female was extracted and is currently in a place of safety pending further interviews with social workers and law enforcement officers; (2) the SOP provides for the immediate removal of the victim from the area of trauma/exploitation, medical assistance, protection, interview of the victim, gathering of evidence, assessment of quantum of damages as well as reintegration and repatriation; (3) the DSDs developed Directives on the manner in which victims of trafficking: (a) must be pro-actively identified, interviewed and assessed, with particular attention to the vulnerability of children; and (b) must be referred to social, health care and psychological services; and (4) in 2022, 18 child victims of trafficking were addressed to NGOs or Government shelters.

The Committee further notes, from the Government’s report under the Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138) the indication that the DSDs are responsible for the repatriation of children back to their countries, though no statistics of the numbers repatriated are available. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on: (i) the measures taken to provide the necessary and appropriate direct assistance for the removal of children from trafficking and for their rehabilitation and social integration; and (ii) the impact of such measures, in terms of the number of children who were prevented or withdrawn from trafficking and then rehabilitated and socially integrated, including the types of services provided to them to this end. The Committee further requests the Government to indicate if the revised NPF continues to consider the identification and comprehensive assistance of child victims as an important objective, and if so, to provide information on its implementation and results.