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

Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182) - Russian Federation (Ratification: 2003)

Article 7(1) of the Convention. Penalties. The Committee notes the statistical data provided by the Government on the application of several sections of the Penal Code, covering the offenses related to using or engaging a minor in prostitution and in the production of pornographic material. In particular, the Committee notes that under: (i) section 240(3) (involvement of a minor in prostitution), 46 persons were convicted in 2022, 44 in 2021, and 28 in 2020; (ii) section 241(2)(c) (organized prostitution involving a minor), four persons were convicted in 2022, 17 in 2021, and 25 in 2020; (iii) section 241(3) (organised prostitution involving children under the age of 14), no one was convicted in 2022, one person in 2021, and one person in 2020; (iv) section 242(2) (involvement of a minor in the distribution of pornographic materials), five persons were convicted in 2022, three in 2021, and no one in 2020; (v) section 242.1 (production and trafficking of pornographic images of minors), 119 persons were convicted in 2022, 135 in 2021, and 110 in 2020; and (vi) section 242.2 (use of a minor in producing pornographic materials), 24 persons were convicted in 2022, 22 in 2021, and 15 in 2020. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the application in practice of sections 240(3), 241(2)(c) and (3), 242(2), 241.1 and 242.2 of the Penal Code, including the number of investigations, prosecutions, convictions and the penalties applied for the use, procuring or offering of persons under 18 years of age for prostitution or pornography.

Article 7(2). Effective and time-bound measures. Clauses (a) and (c). Preventing the engagement of children in the worst forms of child labour. Access to free basic education. The Committee notes that the State Programme on the Development of Education for 2018-2025 provides measures to improve accessibility, efficiency and quality of education, including primary and secondary education. The Committee further notes that according to the information of the UNESCO Institute for Statistics, the number of out-of-school children and adolescents of primary and lower secondary school age increased from 31,328 in 2021 to 142,630 in 2022. The Committee also notes that in its 2024 concluding observations, the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) expressed serious concern over the difficulties faced by children of migrant workers in accessing school because of a lack of registration in their place of residence, and recommended to ensure that all children, including children of minority groups, children of irregular migrant workers and asylum-seeking children, have access to free and compulsory education up to the age of 18 years without any discrimination (CRC/C/RUS/CO/6-7, 1 March 2024, paragraphs 39(c) and 40(c)). The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken to facilitate access to free basic education for children in vulnerable and marginalized situations, including in the framework of the State Programme on the Development of Education for 2018-2025. It also requests the Government to provide statistical information on school enrolment rates, drop-out rates and completion rates for both primary and lower secondary education, if possible disaggregated by age and gender.

Clauses (d) and (e). Identifying and reaching out to children at special risk and taking account of the special situation of girls. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that according to the Federal Act on Additional Guarantees of Social Support for Orphans and Children Left without Parental Care, as amended in 2022, orphans, children deprived of parental care, and children who have lost one or both parents while studying in basic or secondary education programs will receive full state support until they complete their studies under these programs. The Committee further notes that the Government Order No. 122-r of 23 January 2021, adopting the plan of action to implement the Decade of Childhood until 2027, provides for different measures aiming at the early detection of families with children in difficult life situations and strengthening the provision of accessible and quality assistance. The Committee requests the Government to provide detailed information on the specific measures taken to identify and protect children at special risk, particularly girls, from the worst forms of child labour, and the results achieved.

Article 8. International cooperation and assistance. The Committee notes the absence of information in the Government’s report concerning international cooperation to eliminate child trafficking. The Committee further notes that the Inter-State Programme of Joint Measures to Combat Crime for 2019–23 of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) provides for activities to combat kidnapping and trafficking in persons (No. 2.1.1.10) and prevent, detect and suppress the exploitation of women and children (No. 2.1.1.11). The Committee once again requests the Government to provide concrete information on activities taken and results achieved regarding the elimination of child trafficking within the international cooperation arrangements, including joint actions taken and cases detected.