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

Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182) - Suriname (Ratification: 2006)

Articles 3(d) and 7(1) of the Convention. Worst forms of child labour, penalties and labour inspection. Child labour in informal mining. For a number of years, the Committee has been observing the increased prevalence of child labour in small-scale gold mining. In this regard, it requested the Government to take measures to strengthen the capacities of the labour inspection to identify and address situations of hazardous child labour in that sector. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that there have been no official reports made to the labour inspection concerning children from the age of 16 years working in hazardous work. The Government also recognizes that gaps exist within the operation of bodies in charge of enforcement laws on child labour. The Committee notes from the Government’s report under the Labour Inspection Convention, 1947 (No. 81), that the Labour Inspectorate is hampered by a lack of transportation facilities, so that it cannot carry out sufficient field work.

The Committee further notes that, according to a 2023 report of the Department against Transnational Organized Crime of the Organization of American States concerning mining in Suriname, cases have been documented of hazardous child labour that often accompany illicit mining, which takes place in the interior of the country (OAS DTCO, On the trail of illicit gold proceeds, Suriname, 2023). It also notes that, within the framework of the ILO Decent Work Country Programme (DWCP) for Suriname 2023–2026, technical training and tools are to be developed and implemented to support the labour inspectorate’s interventions in high risk sectors, including gold mining.

The Committee requests the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that no child is engaged in hazardous work in mining, including by strengthening the capacities of the labour inspectorate to conduct visits in regions where informal mining is prevalent. In this regard, it requests the Government to provide detailed information on the number of visits carried out by the Labour Inspectorate in mining undertakings, including in the informal economy, as well as information of the violations detected, and penalties applied.

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 that, according to information of the Ministry of Education which is reflected in a press release of UNICEF of 1 February 2024, between 2019 and 2021, there was a decline of about 2,000 children enrolled in primary education, going from 88,071 to 79,827. The out-of-school primary education rate increased to a high of 15.7 per cent in 2021 compared to 6.1 per cent in 2019. Lower secondary also saw an increase of out-of-school children of 48.7 per cent in 2021. Moreover, evidence shows greater losses among students in the lowest socioeconomic levels and marginalized communities, such as Suriname’s interiors, with extended school closures due to emergency hazards such as flooding and droughts. The Committee regrets the lack of information in the Government’s report on measures taken to facilitate access to free basic education by all children, as a means to prevent their engagement in the worst forms of child labour.

The Committee recalls that education is key in preventing children from falling into the worst forms of child labour. Therefore, it strongly urges the Government to take all necessary measures to ensure that children have access to free basic education, including in remote areas. In this regard, the Committee also requests the Government to take measures to improve school retention and completion rates at both primary and lower secondary education levels. Lastly, the Committee requests the Government to provide updated statistical information on the school enrolment, attendance, and completion rates at both primary and lower secondary levels.

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