Demande directe (CEACR) - adoptée 2025, publiée 114ème session CIT (2026)

Convention (n° 182) sur les pires formes de travail des enfants, 1999 - Honduras (Ratification: 2001)

The Committee notes the observations of the Honduran National Business Council (COHEP), received on 29 August 2025. The Committee requests the Government to send its comments in this regard.

Articles 3(d) and 4(1) of the Convention. Hazardous work and determination of types of hazardous work. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government in its report, according to which the Ministry of Labour and Social Security convened the Technical Council for the Elimination of Child Labour of the National Technical Commission for the Elimination of Child Labour (CONETI) in order to update the national list of hazardous work, including agricultural activities that could affect adolescents and minors. The Government indicates that this review included contributions from workers, employers, civil society organizations and the ILO.

The Committee also notes the observations of COHEP, which state that CONETI has convened the Technical Council five times in 2025 to review the proposed amendment to section 8 of the Regulations on child labour, aimed at defining the tasks that minors under the age of 18 cannot perform because they are considered dangerous due to their nature or conditions. COHEP adds that both the amendment of section 8 of the Regulations on child labour and the update of the national list of hazardous work are still pending submission and final approval by CONETI. The Committee requests the Government to continue providing information on the adoption and implementation of the amendment to section 8 of the Regulations on child labour and the update of the national list of hazardous work, and to provide a copy of the updated legislation once it has been approved.

Article 7(2). Effective and time-bound measures. Clause (d). Children at special risk. Children orphaned or vulnerable due to HIV/AIDS. The Committee notes that, according to data from the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, in 2024, the number of children orphaned due to AIDS had decreased to 11,000, compared to 19,000 in 2022. Recalling that children orphaned due to HIV/AIDS are at special risk of being engaged in the worst forms of child labour, the Committeeonce again requests the Government to provide information on the specific measures taken to protect children orphaned due to HIV/AIDS and the results achieved in terms of the number of children orphaned due to HIV/AIDS who have been removed from the worst forms of child labour and rehabilitated and socially integrated, particularly through education.

Children in street situations. The Committee notes the observations made by COHEP, which indicate that, in collaboration with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Residential Institutions for Alternative Care (IRCA) were opened, providing national coverage for alternative care for children. The Committee requests once again the Government to provide information on measures taken to protect children in street situations against the worst forms of child labour, including the implementation of the special protection system. The Committee also requests the Government to provide information on the number of children removed from the streets who have benefited from rehabilitation and social integration measures, including those provided by Residential Institutions for Alternative Care (IRCA).

Children vulnerable to climate change. The Committee notes that, according to the UNICEF Annual Report 2024, the humanitarian situation in the country has been severely affected and children especially impacted, as Honduras is one of the countries that is most vulnerable to the effects of climate change. The Committee also notes the statement made by the Special Rapporteur of the Human Rights Council on the promotion and protection of human rights in the context of climate change at the end of his visit to Honduras in 2023, who noted that climate change is adversely affecting human rights in Honduras, including the right to education.

The Committee observes that climate change may increase the risk of child labour and its worst forms due, among other factors, to the negative effects of extreme weather events, climate-induced displacement and migration, and heat stress linked to global warming. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the time-bound measures taken to protect children from the worst forms of child labour resulting from the effects of climate change.

Article 8. International and regional cooperation. Commercial sexual exploitation and organized trafficking for that purpose. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government that, in 2025, a total of 1,394 minors were repatriated to their country of origin, of whom 653 were boys and 741 were girls. The Committee also notes that on 4 June 2025, the Inter-institutional Cooperation Agreement was concluded between the Ministry of Children, Adolescents and Families (SENAF) and the Inter-institutional Commission against Commercial Sexual Exploitation and Trafficking in Persons (CICEST) with a view to training SENAF public servants and municipal councils on the issue of commercial sexual exploitation and trafficking in persons.

The Committee duly notes the detailed information in the CICEST 2023 Report on international and regional cooperation efforts to eliminate the worst forms of child labour, including the implementation of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime MENTHOR programme, which specializes in training and mentoring on trafficking in persons for representatives of the judiciary and is expected to be extended to local committees. The Committee requests the Government to continue providing information on international and regional cooperation measures taken to combat the worst forms of child labour.

Action to combat poverty. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government, referring to the creation of the Solidarity Network for the gradual improvement of living conditions and access to social protection for families living in poverty and extreme poverty.

The Committee notes the observations of COHEP, indicating that, pursuant to Executive Decree No. PCM-05-2022, the powers of the Ministry of Development and Social Inclusion were transferred to the Ministry of Social Development, which is responsible for social policies aimed at groups in situations of poverty, extreme poverty and vulnerability, and five main strategies were developed.

COHEP states that, according to data from the National Institute of Statistics, the poverty rate fell from 73.6 per cent in 2021 to 62.9 per cent in 2024. However, it warns that poverty has not been eradicated, but rather transformed, as part of the population has moved from extreme poverty to relative poverty.

The Committee notes the concluding observations of the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child, which states that it remains deeply concerned about the increasing number of poor households and geographical disparities (26 February 2025, CRC/C/HND/CO/6-7, para. 37). While noting the programmes implemented by the Government to reduce poverty in the country, the Committee requests the Government to continuetaking the necessary measures to achieve an effective reduction in poverty among children at risk of being engaged in the worst forms of child labour, and to provide information on the results achieved in this respect.