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

Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182) - Aruba

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 notes the Government’s indication that no cases involving the use, procurement, or offering of a child for illicit activities were identified during the reporting period, and that accordingly, no prosecutions, convictions, or penalties were imposed. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the application in practice of section 49(1)(b) of the Penal Code, specifically on the number of prosecutions, convictions, and penalties imposed in relation to the use or procurement of children for drug-related offences.

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 all undocumented children are allowed to access the education system in Aruba. The Government also indicates that several civil society organizations provide educational support to vulnerable groups, including undocumented Venezuelan children, such as Fundacion Venearuba Solidaria and La Casa del Venezolano, and Sina Merdia. The Committee requests the Government to continue its efforts to facilitate access for disadvantaged children, including refugee and migrant children, to free, quality, basic education. It also requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken and on the results achieved in this regard, including the measures involving e-learning and digitalized platforms to facilitate access to free basic education of disadvantaged children, including refugee and migrant children.

Clause (d). Identifying and reaching out to children at special risk. Refugee, migrant and unaccompanied children. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that no cases involving refugee, migrant, or unaccompanied children subjected to the worst forms of child labour were identified during the reporting period.

The Committee notes, from the Government’s report under the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29), that the Coordination Centre for Human Trafficking and Smuggling (CMMA), in cooperation with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), developed a Spanish, Dutch and English-language Quick Reference Card (QRF) to support the identification of possible victims of human trafficking among Venezuelan migrants and refugees, and that this tool has been disseminated through non-governmental organizations (NGOs). in its report under Convention No. 29, the Government also indicates that studies were conducted in 2021 and 2023, analysing smuggling and trafficking networks between the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and Aruba and examining the possible link between the guarantee system and human trafficking, and that an action plan has been prepared to address gaps in the guarantee procedures. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the effective and time-bound measures taken or envisaged to ensure that refugee, migrant and unaccompanied children are protected from the worst forms of child labour. It also requests the Government to provide information on: (i) the number of child victims of human trafficking identified through the QRF tool and the assistance provided to them, disaggregated by age and gender; (2) the results of the studies conducted in 2021 and 2023 insofar as they concern refugee, migrant or unaccompanied children; and (3) whether the action plan prepared to address gaps in guarantor procedures includes specific measures for the protection of these children from the worst forms of child labour.

Application of the Convention in practice. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that no cases concerning the worst forms of child labour were reported during the reporting period and that, consequently, no statistical data are available on this matter. The Committee requests the Government to provide any available information on the nature, extent, and trends of the worst forms of child labour.