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

Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182) - Sao Tome and Principe (Ratification: 2005)

Articles 3(a) and (b) and 7(1) of the Convention. Worst forms of child labour and penalties. All forms of slavery or practices similar to slavery. Sale and trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation of children. The Committee notes the Government’s indication, in its report, that there have not been any reports of cases of trafficking of children under section 160(1) and (3) of the Criminal Code. The Government concedes that this does not guarantee an absence of cases, but rather that no cases have been brought to the attention of the authorities.

The Committee notes, from the concluding observations of the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), that the Government conducted awareness-raising campaigns on trafficking and at-risk situations for trafficking, including in rural and remote areas. However, the CEDAW expressed concern about: (1) the little awareness of the incidence of trafficking in women and children, including girls, for purposes of sex tourism, and that, accordingly, the prevention of trafficking and identification of risk factors, victims and perpetrators are not sufficiently prioritized; (2) the lack of a coordination body and of a national action plan to combat trafficking; (3) the lack of training for members of the judiciary and law enforcement officials on the implementation of anti-trafficking legislation, including the early identification of victims of trafficking and their referral to appropriate services; (4) the fact that extreme poverty drives families in rural areas to send their children, including girls, to live with wealthy relatives so that they can gain access to quality education in exchange for light domestic duties, which often gives rise to labour and/or sexual exploitation; (5) the existing risk of children, including girls, becoming victims of commercial sexual exploitation and the worst forms of child labour; and (6) the lack of any data-collection system on trafficking (CEDAW/C/STP/CO/1-5, 31 May 2023, paragraph 30).

The Committee further notes the concerns expressed by the United Nations Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families (CMW), in its concluding observations: (1) that the State party is a country of origin, destination and transit for trafficking in persons; (2) about the scale of human trafficking, particularly for exploitation in prostitution and agriculture; (3) about the exploitation of women and girls, who are forced to resort to prostitution as a survival strategy, and the harmful effect that increased tourism is likely to have on the scale of prostitution; and (4) about the lack of information on the number of investigations, prosecutions and convictions for trafficking in persons and exploitation through prostitution, as well as on any prevention and protection mechanisms, including rehabilitation programmes, that have been set up for victims (CMW/C/STP/CO/1, 21 December 2023, paragraph 50). The Committee urges the Government to take all necessary measures to strengthen the capacities of law enforcement bodies to ensure the identification, investigation and prosecution of persons who engage in the trafficking or commercial sexual exploitation of children, through the provision of financial, human or any other necessary resources. It also requests the Government to provide information on the results achieved, including by providing statistics on the number of investigations, prosecutions, convictions and penalties imposed related to the sale and trafficking and the commercial sexual exploitation of children under the age of 18 years.

Article 6. Programmes of action. The Committee notes the adoption, in 2019, of a list of the worst forms of child labour, appended to the Labour Code as its Annex IV. However, the Committee notes that the Government does not provide information on the measures taken to implement or update the previously mentioned National Action Plan against child labour and the National Child Protection Policy and the corresponding action plan (2016–2018). The Committee encourages the Government to take the necessary measures to adopt and implement programmes of action to eliminate, as a priority, the worst forms of child labour, in consultation with workers’ and employers’ organizations and taking into account the views of other concerned groups. It requests the Government to provide information on any progress made in this regard.

Article 7(2). Effective and time-bound measures. Clauses (b) and (d). Providing the necessary and appropriate assistance for the removal of children from the worst forms of child labour and for their rehabilitation and social integration. Identifying and reaching out to children at special risk. Children in street situations. The Committee notes with interest that Annex IV of the Labour Code considers as a worst form of child labour work performed “on the streets and other public spaces (street commerce, tourist guides, transport of people or animals, among others)”. The Committee further notes the Government’s indication that: (1) the Ministry of Health, Labour and Social Affairs, is responsible for providing assistance to abandoned children; and (2) the Children’s Home Project sometimes works with young children (aged 1 to 7 years) in order to keep them off the streets and prevent them from becoming victims of child or forced labour.

The Committee also notes, from the concluding observations of the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC), the concerns about: (1) the lack of data on the number of children deprived of parental care and the causes thereof; (2) the absence of a foster care system; and (3) the insufficient information on the children in street situations (CRC/C/STP/CO/5-6, 23 June 2023, paragraphs 32 and 51). While taking note of the measures taken by the Government, the Committee requests the Government to continue to take the necessary measures to protect children in street situations from the worst forms of child labour, and to provide for their rehabilitation and social integration. It requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken in this regard and the results achieved, particularly in terms of the number of children removed from the streets and who have benefited from rehabilitation and social integration.

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