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

Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182) - Côte d'Ivoire (Ratification: 2003)

Articles 3(a) and 7(1) of the Convention. Sale and trafficking of children and penalties. In its previous comments, the Committee requested the Government to provide statistics on the number and nature of violations reported, investigations conducted, prosecutions engaged, convictions handed down and criminal penalties imposed in the context of cases involving child trafficking.

The Committee notes the information provided by the Government in its report that a total of 603 arrests have been made for participation in trafficking activities, exploitation of children and child labour, in respect of 1,857 rescued victims. Moreover, a total of 277 arrests (44 women and 233 men) were made for exploitation of begging, concerning 472 children without fixed abode or begging (162 girls and 310 boys) taken off the street.

However, the Committee notes the absence of statistical information regarding convictions and penalties imposed in cases of child trafficking. In this connection, the Committee recalls that under Article 7(1), each Member shall take all necessary measures to ensure the effective implementation and enforcement of the provisions giving effect to this Convention including the provision and application of penal sanctions or, as appropriate, other sanctions. The Committee once again encourages the Government to redouble its efforts to strengthen the capacity of law enforcement bodies to ensure that all persons who commit child trafficking acts are investigated and prosecuted and that sufficiently effective and dissuasive penalties are imposed. It also requests the Government to communicate updated statistics on the number and nature of violations reported, investigations and prosecutions carried out, convictions handed down and the criminal penalties imposed in cases involving child trafficking.

Articles 3(d) and 7(2)(a) and (b). Hazardous work, preventing children from being engaged in and removing them from the worst forms of child labour. Children in agriculture, in particular the cocoa sector. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government, according to which it is taking the following steps: the adoption of African Standard “1,000 for sustainable cocoa”, defining specific criteria for respecting workers’ rights, and the adoption and implementation of a strategy for sustainable cocoa production, based on three main pillars, including the fight against child labour.

The Committee further notes the Government’s indication that the evaluation of the National Plan of Action to Combat the Worst Forms of Child Labour (PAN-PFTE), the consolidation of data collected by the Child Labour Monitoring and Remediation System (SSRTE), and the drafting of the corresponding report, are being finalized.

The Committee also notes the information published on the ILO web page regarding the joint United Nations programme entitled Ensemble pour agir sur les causes profondes du travail des enfants dans la Nawa (“Taking action together on the deep causes of child labour in the Nawa region”) (ENACTE) 2022–2026, which aims at strengthening the protection of children facing the risks linked to the worst forms of child labour in the region. The programme supports implementation of the PAN-PFTE, as well as the National Strategy for sustainable cocoa production in Côte d’Ivoire and mobilizes the regional coordination mechanism through the committees of the observation and monitoring system for child labour in Côte d’Ivoire (SOSTECI).

Moreover, the Committee notes the information contained in the report of the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences (A/HRC/57/46/Add.2, June 2024, paragraphs 13 and 17), according to which progress was achieved in the prevention and repression of child labour in the cocoa sector, in particular the adoption of the National Strategy for Sustainable Cocoa Farming in 2022, which covers all actors of the sector and aims to eliminate the worst forms of child labour by 2025. In this regard, the Rapporteur indicates that 500 billion CFA francs have been allocated for these measures. The Committee requests the Government to continue to take measures within the framework of the PAN-PFTE to remove children from hazardous work in cocoa farming, rehabilitate them and socially integrate them. In this regard, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken in the context of the National Strategy for Sustainable Cocoa farming and of the ENACTE project 2022–2026. Finally, the Committee requests the Government to take the necessary measures to make available up-to-date SSRTE statistical data on the number of children engaged in this worst form of child labour, if possible disaggregated by age and sex.

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