Cas individuel (CAS) - Discussion : 2017, Publication : 106ème session CIT (2017)

Convention (n° 182) sur les pires formes de travail des enfants, 1999 - Libye (Ratification: 2000)



A Government representative noted that Libya, since its independence in December 1951, had adopted many laws and regulations prohibiting and criminalizing child labour. Libya was applying the provisions of the Convention including through the application of the following laws: the Vagrant Young Persons Act (Law No. 5 of 1955); the Penal Code (Law No. 48 of 1956); the Law on the situation of minors (No. 17 of 1992); the Child Protection Law (No. 5 of 1997); Decision No. 100 of 1998 of the Council of Ministers, which relates to the establishment of the Higher Committee for Childhood Protection; and the Labour Relations Law No. 12 of 2010. Under section 27 of the Labour Relations Law No. 12 of 2010, it was not permitted for any person under 18 years of age to perform any type of work, unless work was performed for educational purposes or as part of apprenticeship or vocational training, from a minimum age of 16 years and on the condition that the health, safety and morals of the young person were safeguarded. Article 5 of that Law defined a young person as any natural person who had reached the age of 16 years but had not yet reached the age of 18 years. Section 10 of the Child Protection Law (No. 5 of 1997), also prohibited the employment of children in any work unless it was for the purpose of an apprenticeship, and based on the wish of the child. With respect to the worst forms of child labour, as set out in Article 3 of the Convention which included all forms of slavery or practices similar to slavery such as the sale and trafficking of children, debt bondage and serfdom, and forced or compulsory labour, including forced or compulsory recruitment of children for use in armed conflicts or other worst forms, as set out in clauses of Article 3. He mentioned that they were all prohibited in Libya and punishable by virtue of sections 406–416 of the Penal Code.

With regard to the reports of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on the situation of human rights in Libya, dated 12 January 2015 and 15 February 2016, which contained information on the forcible recruitment of children and their use in armed conflict by armed groups that had pledged loyalty to the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the speaker drew attention to the fact that Libya had been facing its worst political crisis and escalation of violence since 2011. The legitimate Government of Libya, represented by the Presidency Council of the Government of National Accord had captured the last ISIL position in Sirte on 6 December 2016 and had officially announced on 17 December 2016 the liberation of the city of Sirte, which had been under ISIL control for more than a year and a half. The latest report by the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), issued on 4 April 2017, stated that “local authorities had begun some rehabilitation work in Sirte as internally displaced people started to return to parts of the city” and that “a post-conflict stabilization plan for Sirte was developed under the supervision of the Presidency Council” (S/2017/283, paragraph 25). Furthermore, it should be noted that the head of UNSMIL and the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General in Libya, Mr Martin Kobler, had stated in his most recent address to the Security Council on 7 June 2017 that “Daésh, while still a threat, was a shadow of what it had been just one year ago”. ISIL’s practices against children during its rule over Sirte, including the forcible recruitment of children into their military operations, the prohibition of children from enrolment in school, and the forcing of girls to wear the veil, was brought to an end after the victory over ISIL in Sirte, and children had returned to their studies. In view of the horrendous acts perpetrated by the groups operating outside the law, and in particular the terrorist organization ISIL, the Libyan State had expected to be supported in its efforts against terrorism instead of being called before the Conference Committee. In spite of its modest military capabilities and the arms embargo imposed on it by the Security Council, Libya had managed to defeat ISIL and to dislodge it from the towns of Darna, Sabratha and finally Sirte.

Noting that education was a fundamental human right, he stressed that every citizen had a right to education in Libya, and that education was divided into three levels, with a mandatory elementary schooling of nine years, secondary school and vocational training, in addition to university education; all of which were free of charge in all parts of Libya. With regard to the Committee’s comments concerning the decrease in the number of pupils in elementary education from 1,056,565 in 2009–10 to 952,636 in 2010–11, it should be noted that such a decrease was not due to insufficient school enrolment, but due to the ratio of students entering the elementary level to the number of students completing the secondary level of education. For example, the number of elementary school students had increased once again in the school year 2011–12 to a total of 1,003,865. According to a press release by the Ministry of Education issued in August 2015, the average annual number of pupils in Libya in the period 2011–15 had reached 1,024,945. In spite of the exceptionally difficult situation of the educational sector in Libya during that period, most elementary and secondary schools had been opened. Where schools had been destroyed or located in conflict areas or occupied by internally displaced persons, other facilities had been found in some of those regions to enable students to continue their studies. In the current school year 2016–17, all schools had opened their doors at the scheduled date, with the exception of a few damaged schools in Sirte and Benghazi, which had opened upon confirmation that they had been cleared from any remaining damage caused by military operations. Thus, it had become possible for all elementary and secondary school students to take their final examinations for the school year 2016–17 at the end of May 2017, with the examinations for the completion of the elementary level scheduled to commence on 2 July 2017, and for the secondary level on 16 July 2017. Overall, 137,947 students (boys and girls) would take their exams for the completion of both the elementary or secondary levels in 2017. The Presidency Council of the Government of National Accord had given special importance to human rights issues, including the rights of children, women and persons with special needs, as well as the rights to education, health and development, among other rights that respected the religious and cultural identity of the Libyan people. Importance was also given to ensuring the rights of women, as equal partners to men, since they represented the other half of society. To that end, the Presidency Council had taken an important step in issuing a decree on the establishment of a unit for the empowerment of women, with a view to strengthening their role and their participation in the efforts aimed at building the State. Finally, he noted that Libya was not among the States which were listed in the annexes to the reports of the UN Secretary-General on children and armed conflict. He emphasized the importance of continued support from the international community to the efforts of the Presidency Council of the Government of National Accord to build the institutions of the State, and strengthen its authority throughout the entire territory, as well as support for its policies and measures to enable the armed forces and police to play their role in an exemplary manner, and to conduct an effective programme for demobilization, disarmament and reintegration, while ensuring respect for human rights and human dignity, and moving the country forward on the path to development.

The Worker members stated that the 2017 report of the Committee of Experts drew attention to two main issues: the compulsory recruitment of children for armed conflict and access to free basic education. They recalled that Libya continued to suffer from armed conflict and that, according to the UN Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights, proliferation of armed groups had led to serious violations and abuses of human rights, including, abduction, torture and killings of civilians and children, as well as forced recruitment and use of children by groups pledging allegiance to the Islamic State in Iraq and Levant (ISIL). Some examples of such practices were provided. The 2017 Human Rights Watch (HRW) country report on Libya highlighted that ongoing insecurity had led to the collapse of the criminal justice system that would otherwise punish perpetrators of child labour – courts either remained shut or operated at a reduced level and areas under ISIL control were subjected to their own interpretation of Sharia law. Refugee and internally displaced children were particularly vulnerable to the worst forms of child labour. The 2017 UNICEF study entitled “A Deadly Journey for Children” found that women and children had paid smugglers under “pay-as-you-go” schemes, leaving many of them in debt and vulnerable to abuse, abduction and trafficking, and children whose parents had not paid enough were held for ransom. ISIL was also paying the smugglers’ fees in an attempt to attract and recruit unaccompanied child refugees, thus highlighting their potential vulnerability to radicalization. To underline the issues at stake, they recalled in detail the conclusions of the Committee of Experts made under Articles 1 and 3 of the Convention. With regard to access to free basic education, the conclusions of the Committee of Experts made under Article 7(2) of the Convention were recalled and the situation in Libya was outlined, as documented by the UN in January 2015, by HRW in November 2016 and by the UN Secretary-General in his 2016 Annual Report on children and armed conflict. According to those sources, explosive remnants of war had remained a major hazard for children; schools in Tripoli, Benghazi, Gandoufa and other places had been extensively damaged or destroyed by indiscriminate shelling; others had been closed and converted into makeshift shelters for internally displaced persons; and some had been used by armed groups for launching attacks, particularly in the Warshafana areas and Nafusa mountains, or as a detention facility by the Darna Mujahideen Shura Council; girls had been attacked and harassed by armed groups on their way to school in Tripoli; in certain areas controlled by Ansar al-Sharia, parents were afraid to send girls to school out of fear of abductions; and in Sirte and other areas controlled by groups pledging allegiance to ISIL, girls were not allowed to attend schools or permitted to do so only if wearing a full face veil; and even where schools remained standing and operating, parents refrained from sending children to school out of fear of injury during attacks. As a result, children’s access to education had been severely limited and compromised by the conflict in Libya. In conclusion, the Worker members urged the Government to prioritize the rights of children and take practical measures to ensure that the prohibitions in law had real effect. What was needed was an effective programme to eliminate the worst forms of child labour, as well as immediate and comprehensive action, taking into account the importance of free basic education, the need to remove children from the worst forms of child labour, and to provide for their rehabilitation and social integration.

The Employer members emphasized that, in approximately 17 countries around the world, tens of millions of boys and girls were involved in fighting the wars of adults. Some were used as soldiers and took part directly in hostilities, while others were assigned to more logistical functions, or were subjected to sexual abuse. Those children were abducted, recruited against their will or enlisted of their own will for various reasons, without knowing the consequences. They reiterated that Convention No. 182 defined the forced or compulsory recruitment of children for use in armed conflict as one of the worst forms of child labour. It was also a violation of human rights and a war crime. The Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict prohibited any recruitment, whether compulsory or voluntary, of persons under 18 years of age by armed forces or armed groups. The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court also defined a war crime as giving rise to individual liability, the conscription or enlistment of children under the age of 15 years into the armed forces or using them to participate actively in hostilities. The situation in Libya was serious and complex. The position of children affected by armed conflict in the country was deplorable. Libya was subject to a state of war, faced with the worst of political crises and an escalation of violence, which even included the bombing of hospitals and schools. Such devastating events happened in the absence of the rule of law, when there were no valid counterparts and it could be said that various governments and a state of war or guerrilla war coexisted within the same territory. The rule of law, a fundamental aspect which should never be lost, and a single and effective government, would be the beginning of any solution that could be found to the chaos prevailing in Libya. It was clear from the report of the Committee of Experts that the recruitment of children for the purpose of war, which was a calamity for the child’s present and future, including compulsory religious and military training, which involved watching videos of decapitations, as well as being abused sexually, was undertaken by the ISIL, or warlike armed groups. In a state of war it was also difficult, for the State as such, to change such disastrous conduct without the situation of war first coming to an end and control being re-established over its territory. If it could not control the warlike groups, it would not be able to control effectively their flagrant violations of the Convention, and would not be in a position to offer security to children through education. The situation would be different if it was the Government of Libya that was engaged in such types of conduct that were in violation of the rights of children, but that did not come out of the report of the Committee of Experts. The international community as a whole needed to be aware of the extreme gravity of the situation in Libya and the harm that was being caused to all of its citizens, but particularly, and more seriously, to children. Although they recognized the complexity of the situation on the ground and the presence of armed groups and armed conflict in the country, the Employer members backed the call made by the Committee of Experts, and strongly urged the Government, despite the difficulties outlined above, to adopt on the most urgent possible basis: (1) measures to guarantee the full and immediate demobilization of all children and to halt in practice the forced recruitment of children under 18 years old by armed groups; and (2) immediate and effective measures to ensure that the thorough investigation and robust prosecution of all persons who recruited children under 18 years of age for use in armed conflict, and to impose in practice sufficiently effective and dissuasive penalties. The Employer members called on the Government to adopt effective measures as soon as possible to provide for the social and educational rehabilitation and integration of children, and to provide information on the measures taken for that purpose and the results achieved. In view of the complexity of the situation in Libya, and taking the opportunity of the tripartite discussion in the present Committee, the Employer members issued an urgent call to the international community for collaboration to bring an end to the armed conflict, and therefore to eliminate all types of child labour, including its worst forms, in practice as soon as possible. In its report, the Committee of Experts also asked whether legislation existed establishing criminal penalties for drug trafficking, the production or use of indecent materials, and whether the list of hazardous types of work had been reviewed. It would be important to improve the legislation so that it specifically covered these matters, rather than the generic regulation that currently existed. The Employer members indicated that it was important for the rule of law to be re-established soon and for the international community and the ILO to make greater efforts to assist in this institutional recovery, which would undoubtedly help to mitigate the scourge faced by the country, and the daily suffering of its children.

The Worker member of Libya noted that in the period since 2011 terrorism and extremism had spread, and many military officers, journalists and civil society activists had been attacked or assassinated. ISIL and Al-Qaida had entered Libya, and different armed groups and militias had pledged allegiance to them. They had not been defeated yet and remained in a position to recruit children among their ranks. Those children were then moved to camps in Turkey, near the Syrian border, where the worst forms of child labour were occurring, as indicated in the comments of the Committee of Experts, and as defined in Article 3(d) of the Convention. In Syria, they were trained for combat with the financial support of those States that supported and exported terrorism. At the same time, the Libyan armed forces became organized and trained their soldiers. With due regard to the laws in compliance with the Convention, they began to fight terrorism in Benghazi and Darna and liberated many towns and villages from the hands of the terrorists, giving people back their lives and returning children to their schools. However, there were major problems of displacement with many vagrant children dreaming of returning to their homes. This was the reason for decreasing numbers of enrolment in primary schools and the deterioration of education since 2011. Numerous children were living in camps, with thousands displaced in Benghazi and Tripoli, and many of them dispersed in other cities. As had been mentioned in the report of the Committee of Experts, the Government must take efforts to adopt preventive measures to ensure access to basic education and prohibit the recruitment of children by armed militias. The lack of education was one of the major problems faced by children, such as in the town of Tawarga. Children were deprived of education in their early years. After a long period of time, they had been given the means to study in the towns and camps in which they had sought refuge. However, their situation and inappropriate environment had a profound effect on their psyche. Some of them were unable to attend school. They desperately needed to be psychologically rehabilitated. Their conditions pushed them to migrate to Europe on death boats. Moreover, there was another problem which had resulted in the decrease of the number of students, in particular the forcible displacement of about 20,000 families outside of Libya since 2011, with some of them living in poor and difficult conditions. Expressing her full support for the recommendations of the Committee of Experts, she urged the Libyan Government to take measures against child labour, including measures for the safe return of the displaced to their homes in a defined period, including to the town of Tawarga, without retaliation and guaranteeing protection. The same had to be ensured for refugees who had been displaced from Libya since 2011. The aim of such measures was to ensure that all children who had been deprived of education and their most basic rights could enjoy education and a life in dignity. The Government should also prosecute all terrorists and armed groups and militias that forcibly recruited children under the age of 18 and impose severe and dissuasive penal sanctions.

The Employer member of South Africa recalled the need to continue helping Libya to resolve the current problem through international organizations, and stated that the Government of Libya must ensure that full free basic education, rehabilitation and reintegration of all children within the territories that it currently controlled took place. It was urgent to bear in mind that the very future of Libya depended on such rehabilitation.

The Worker member of Italy supported the position expressed by the Worker member of Libya and added some comments. The line between slavery, human trafficking and smuggling was very slender and child refugees were particularly vulnerable to child labour in this process of exploitation. Many of the refugee children arriving in Italy had been formerly recruited into armed groups or subjected to forced labour in Libya, which had had a profound impact on their lives and future. Moreover, internally displaced and refugee children in Libya were particularly vulnerable to radicalization by groups such as ISIL who targeted them in schools and elsewhere. The problem of child labour, especially recruitment into armed militias, needed to be addressed at source. There was a need for the Libyan Government to take urgent and time-bound measures to commit sufficient resources to protect children and provide parents with the confidence that their children would be safe and secure in attending public, universal and free schools, which was an extremely urgent priority. Violence and human rights abuses were at the origin of the problems of child labour, and the Government of Libya had its own responsibility to address its role in ending it, as well as in the management of state detention centres for refugees and the internally displaced. She stated that the Italian trade unions had first supported the draft and then welcomed the law adopted last April, which properly addressed the legislative gaps found in the field of protection and integration of unaccompanied minors who come to Italy, such as the equal treatment with minors having Italian citizenship in section 1 and the non-refoulement of minors in any case in section 3. However, the point was to ensure the protection of children when they were in Libya, where there was a role for the international community as well. The Government of Libya needed to do more in practice to take immediate and effective measures to prevent the recruitment process as a matter of urgency and to restore its criminal justice system in order to prosecute the perpetrators of child labour. It must also ensure that child refugees or internally displaced children had access to an education, and received rehabilitation and social integration so that they had some prospects of a brighter future in Italy or in Libya.

The Government member of Egypt took note of the Government representative’s statement concerning the relevant laws and regulations on the worst forms of child labour and related sanctions. The Government of Libya was facing a war against terrorism, which had begun to bear fruit by eliminating terrorist organizations, as mentioned in the UN report referred to by the Government’s representative. The Government had made its efforts to counter terrorism and eliminate exactions against children. The Government was thus encouraged to pursue its efforts in that area and to avail itself of the technical assistance of the ILO in that regard, in order to ensure full compliance with Convention No. 182 and other ILO Conventions in general.

The Worker member of Spain underscored the importance of access to basic education as a key preventive measure against child labour and the recruitment of children into armed forces by non-state military actors in Libya. As established in the Preamble to Convention No. 182, child labour was largely caused by poverty and the long-term solution lay in sustained economic growth leading to social progress, in particular poverty alleviation and universal education. Child labour could be avoided in Libya and in any other country. It was possible to prevent child labour and education was a key aspect in what should be a multisectoral approach to eliminate this practice. The situation was complicated and political divisions were rife in the country. Non-state actors prevailed and the United Nations recognized one of the three Ministries of Education. The Government of Libya should nevertheless step up efforts to adopt time-bound measures to prevent children’s participation in hazardous labour and to eliminate child labour in general. The 2017 report of the Committee of Experts and the aforementioned UNICEF study condemned the living conditions of children and the vulnerable situation of young people forced to live in militia-run detention centres, which were no more than forced labour camps. Hundreds of thousands of young people were deprived of their basic human rights, forced into prostitution, and subject to extreme physical and psychological violence. In Sirte, for example, an estimated 10,420 returnee children (8,300 of primary school age; 2,120 of secondary school age) urgently needed education and psycho-social support. Furthermore, data obtained by UNICEF through the head of the Sirte regional education office in December 2016 showed that of the 101 schools in the city, which held 35,400 pupils (18,995 girls and 16,405 boys), 39 had been partially destroyed and two completely destroyed. According to the second principle of the Declaration of the Rights of the Child, “the child shall enjoy special protection, and shall be given opportunities and facilities, by law and by other means, to enable him/her to develop physically, mentally, morally, spiritually and socially in a healthy and normal manner and in conditions of freedom and dignity”. In order to give effect to and strengthen the application of the fundamental principles of the Convention, the Government of Libya must guarantee basic education in the areas of the country most in need, especially those affected by the conflict and those hardest to access, as well as to populations that had been entirely displaced or had received a considerable number of internally displaced persons and refugees. The Government of Libya was therefore called upon to fulfil its obligations under Article 7(2)(a) and (c) of the Convention by taking effective time-bound measures to ensure access to free basic education and, wherever possible, appropriate vocational training, for all children removed from the worst forms of child labour.

The Government member of Zimbabwe noted the submissions of the Government of Libya and urged the Committee to note and appreciate the efforts made by the Government of Libya under the current circumstances. Collective action was necessary in the fight against child labour, and the tripartite constituents in Libya should prioritize social dialogue and collaborate towards the elimination of child labour. Zimbabwe appreciated the show of commitment demonstrated by the Government of Libya, and called on the ILO to offer technical assistance to Libya in that regard.

The Government member of Algeria pointed out that the spirit of the ILO fundamental and governance Conventions was embodied in the legislative and regulatory system in Libya, under which the public authorities applied laws and regulations in organizing and managing their essential services. The Government had made efforts to protect children and prevent child labour by combating all forms of child labour in the country’s particular economic and security conditions. In doing so, the Government protected children from intolerance and terrorism. The international community should help, encourage and support Libya in overcoming its crisis.

The Government representative indicated that the Government of Libya sought to stabilize the country. It was well known that the Libyan dictatorship had caused problems in the country for a long time, which, with ILO and international support, would be overcome. The report of the Committee of Experts was about terrorist groups and not the State of Libya. ISIL was using children for acts of terrorism and warfare. Migration flows through the country had also generated difficulties. Most migrants came from sub-Saharan Africa. While the Government had negotiated with the European Union with a view to resolving the crisis, hundreds of thousands of migrants remained homeless as they waited to migrate to Europe. As for education, it was not exactly as stated in the report, which referred to situations before 2011. Since then, primary schools had been progressing in stages and the current basic education system had been progressively restored. He stated that the economy of Libya had declined owing to the fluctuation of oil prices and problems in the oil regions, and caused financial problems in the country. The Government would address the subsequent problems in the education sector, in particular since it affected all families. He hoped that the Committee’s conclusions would serve to support Libya and that the country would receive ILO technical assistance.

The Employer members took note of the statements made by the speakers and emphasized that everyone agreed that Libya was in a state of conflict and that the situation was complex. The Government had reported on actions taken in order to, among other things, improve education and increase the number of children in school. There were no magic solutions and waving a magic wand would not help. The adoption of legislation was not sufficient to resolve the situation either. The Employers’ group called on the international community, the workers, the employers and the ILO to work together towards a solution to guarantee the demobilization of children in guerrilla groups, and their social and educational rehabilitation and integration.

The Worker members acknowledged the difficulties faced by Libya in complying with its international obligations in the context of an ongoing armed conflict but highlighted the need to take immediate and effective measures to secure the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labour as a matter of urgency. While it was the primary responsibility of the Government, the international community should provide the necessary assistance, resulting in a form of joint responsibility. Although the Government claimed to have the legal provisions in place to address the problems identified by the Committee of Experts, it should also show the political will to commit adequate material resources to eliminate child labour in practice. To that effect, the Government was expected to recommit to its obligations to achieve the implementation of the Convention in practice and, in particular, to:

– take measures as a matter of urgency to ensure the full and immediate demobilization of all children and to put a stop, in practice, to the forced recruitment of children under 18 years of age;

– take immediate and effective measures to ensure that thorough investigations and robust prosecutions of all persons forcibly recruiting children under 18 years of age for use in armed conflict were carried out, and that sufficiently effective and dissuasive penalties were imposed in practice;

– take effective and time-bound measures to provide for the rehabilitation and social integration of children, and to provide information on the measures taken in that regard and on the results achieved; and

– take effective and time-bound measures to improve the functioning of the education system in the country, and to facilitate access to free basic education for all children, particularly girls, children in areas affected by armed conflict, and internally displaced children.

In conclusion, the worker members reiterated that action by the Government was needed as a matter of urgency, and the international community was called on to provide the necessary assistance in that regard.

Conclusions

The Committee took note of the information provided by the Government representative and the discussion that followed.

While acknowledging the complexity of the situation prevailing on the ground and the presence of armed conflict, the Committee deeply deplored the current situation where children are forcibly required by armed groups pledging allegiance to the Islamic State in Iraq and Levant (ISIL) to undergo military and religious training. Furthermore, the Committee deeply deplored the situation of children, especially girls, who are deprived of education due to the situation in the country where although mandatory and free education exists in the country, many schools were closed, damaged and used as military or detention facilities which prohibits children from attending them.

Taking into account the discussion of the case, the Committee urged the Government of Libya, with the technical assistance of the ILO, to:

- take measures as a matter of urgency to ensure the full and immediate demobilization of all children and to put a stop, in practice, to the forced recruitment of children under 18 years of age into armed groups;

- take immediate and effective measures to ensure that thorough investigations and prosecutions of all persons who forcibly recruit children for use in armed conflict are carried out and that sufficiently effective and dissuasive penalties are imposed in law and in practice;

- take effective and time-bound measures to provide for their rehabilitation and social integration and to provide information on the measures taken in this regard and on the results achieved.

The Committee called on the ILO, the international community and employers’ and workers’ organizations to collaborate with the goal of eliminating all forms of child labour, including the worst forms of child labour without delay.