Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2025, published 114th ILC session (2026)

Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182) - Guyana (Ratification: 2001)

Article 3 of the Convention. Worst forms of child labour. Clause (a). All forms of slavery or practices similar to slavery. Sale and trafficking of children. The Committee notes with interest the Government’s information on the adoption of the Combating of Trafficking in Persons Act 2023, which repealed the 2005 Combating Trafficking in Persons Act.

The Committee also notes that 407 victims of trafficking were identified in 2023, compared with 327 in 2022, and 281 potential victims were screened in the commercial sex sector, compared with 305 in 2022. Of the identified victims, seven girls were exploited in sex trafficking and ten boys in labour trafficking. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the application in practice of the Combating Trafficking of Persons Act of 2023, in particular on the number of investigations, prosecutions, convictions, and penalties imposed for offences relating to the trafficking of children for commercial sexual exploitation and labour exploitation.

Article 6. Programmes of action to eliminate the worst forms of child labour. Trafficking of children. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that the National Plan of Action for the Prevention and Response to Trafficking in Persons (TIP) continued to be implemented, focusing on coordination, awareness-raising, and frontline capacity. It also notes the implementation of training and capacity-building activities, including specialized training for law enforcement officers, childcare and probation officers, labour inspectors, and other stakeholders.

The Committee notes from the Government’s information that the Ministry of Labour conducted sensitization visits to 40 schools, community sessions with indigenous leaders, and youth-focused outreach through sports and competitions, for the prevention and involvement of child labour and trafficking. It also notes that the TIP Unit is in the process of finalizing a new plan of action. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the measures adopted and the results achieved in the context of the National Plan of Action for the Prevention and Response to Trafficking in Persons to eliminate the trafficking of children under the age of 18 years. It also requests the Government to provide information on any progress in the adoption and implementation of the new National Plan of Action, particularly with regard to the elimination of trafficking in children.

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 notes the Government’s indication that it has sustained and expanded the Because We Care Cash Grant programme, which now provides GYD 50,000 per student and a GYD 5,000 school uniform voucher, benefiting over 205,000 students in both public and private schools. The Committee also notes the continuation of the Hinterland Community-Based School Feeding Programme, which supports school attendance, academic performance, and nutrition in remote Indigenous communities. It further notes the Government’s information in relation to significant investments in hinterland regions, including the construction of 18 new secondary schools. The Government adds that Guyana is on track to achieve 100 per cent secondary school enrolment by 2025, with 26 secondary schools already under construction. The Committee requests the Government to pursue its efforts to ensure access to free basic education for all children including Amerindian children, and to provide information on the results achieved, including the number of children who have benefited from these measures. The Committee also requests the Government to continue to provide information on the measures taken and the results achieved to increase school enrolment and reduce school drop-out rates at both primary and lower secondary levels.

Clause (b). Direct assistance for the removal of children from the worst forms of child labour, and for their rehabilitation and social integration. Trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that the Childcare and Protection Agency (CPA), in collaboration with the Counter-Trafficking in Persons (C-TIP) Unit, continued to deliver comprehensive care to child victims, including psychological support, trauma-focused counselling, and access to education and skills training through State Child Care Facilities. It also notes the opening of a new care home for child migrants and trafficking victims, which provides a child-sensitive space. The Committee further notes that three previously established Government care centres remain functional and are managed by the CPA to serve children in extremely vulnerable situations.

The Committee notes the Government’s indication that child protection referrals are supported by cross-agency collaboration through the National Steering Committee on Child Labour, the Ministerial Task Force on Trafficking in Persons, and the Multi-Agency Coordinating Committee addressing the influx of Venezuelan migrants, thereby facilitating a cohesive and timely response to child protection needs.

The Committee further notes that efforts are ongoing to advance a study assessing the problem of commercial sexual exploitation of children in Guyana, and that an update will be provided once available. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the impact and results of the measures taken to provide direct assistance for the removal of child victims of trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation and to ensure their rehabilitation and social integration, including the number of children removed, rehabilitated, and socially integrated. The Committee expresses its hope that the study to assess the problem of commercial sexual exploitation of children in Guyana will be finalized in the near future and requests the Government to provide information on its results once available.