Cas individuel (CAS) - Discussion : 2022, Publication : 110ème session CIT (2022)

Convention (n° 182) sur les pires formes de travail des enfants, 1999 - Iles Salomon (Ratification: 2012)

Discussion by the Committee

The Chairperson – The first case this morning concerns the implementation of the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182), by the Solomon Islands. I must inform the Committee that the Government of the Solomon Islands is accredited to the Conference but has not registered with our Committee. Therefore, the case is going to be discussed in the absence of the Government, but the representative of the Solomon Islands has sent a written communication to this Committee. I am going to ask the representative of the Secretary-General to share with the members of the Committee the contents of that communication.

Representative of the Secretary-General – We received a message from the Chief Labour Officer of the Ministry of Commerce, Industry, Labour and Immigration of the Solomon Islands an hour ago and I am going to read it out to you because it is addressed to the entire Committee.

“Dear Colleagues,

I regret to inform the Committee that the Government of Solomon Islands is unable to take the floor before the Committee today, as we were interrupted by long holidays in the past couple of days and that affected our preparation for this important session.

However, we have noted the comments made by the Committee of Experts and we are happy to provide the information needed by the Committee in our next reporting schedule.

We hope that the Committee takes note of our interest to appear and understands our situation.

Thank you very much for your understanding in this matter.”

Employer members – This case involves the application of a fundamental Convention in the Solomon Islands. I emphasize that this is the first time that the Committee is discussing the application of this Convention, which was ratified by the Solomon Islands in 2012. The Committee of Experts has made an observation and a direct request on the application of this Convention.

We regret that the Government is not participating in this discussion; it is undoubtedly very important for the work of this Committee to hear the observations of the governments regarding the application of the Conventions, and we regret that this is due to public holidays. However, we appreciate the fact that information has been provided clarifying some issues related to the application of the Convention.

The observations of the Committee of Experts outline very serious issues regarding the inadequate implementation of the Convention in the Solomon Islands. Let me summarize them in two points. First, in relation to Article 3(a), which prohibits “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 conflict”. The Committee of Experts noted that the Immigration Act (Act No. 3 of 2012) criminalizes trafficking of children under 18 years of age and provides for sanctions of fines or imprisonment.

In this regard, the Government stated in its report that the Solomon Islands Immigration Division reported three cases of child trafficking during the period covering January to March 2020 and these cases resulted in acquittals. Similarly, the Government reported that there is evidence of the sale and trafficking of children, especially girls, by their parents to foreign workers. These facts have also been reported and noted with great concern by the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child.

In a study on the Solomon Islands published in 2019, the International Organization for Migration also emphasized the high number of reported cases of sexual exploitation and trafficking of children in communities near logging camps. It is for this reason that the Employers support the requests already made by the Committee of Experts for the Government to adopt all the necessary and urgent measures to identify, prosecute and punish those guilty of committing crimes, such as the sale or trafficking of children. In the same vein, we request that the Government provide detailed information on the number of investigations being carried out and the procedural stages of these investigations.

Second, the Committee’s observations relate to the use, recruitment or offer of children for prostitution. We welcome the information presented by the Government on the amendment made to the Penal Code to protect all children under 18 years of age from prostitution in accordance with the comments already made by the Committee of Experts.

Section 141(2) of the Penal Code (Amendment) (Sexual Offences) Act of 2016 provides that a person who recruits or attempts to recruit another person to provide commercial sexual services, whether in the Solomon Islands or elsewhere, is liable to a prison sentence of up to 20 years if the victim is under the age of 15 years, and a sentence of up to 15 years in other cases. This amendment to the criminal law is in accordance with the provisions of the Convention, which we welcome.

Therefore, the Employer members encourage the Government to continue working with the most representative workers’ and employers’ organizations and international development cooperation organizations to prevent the use and recruitment of children for prostitution.

The Employer members also encourage the Government to continue to implement as a matter of priority awareness-raising and community-sensitization measures related to child labour, as well as capacity-building for labour inspectors, the criminal justice system, social workers and the private sector.

On the other hand, taking into account the role of education in the prevention of the worst forms of child labour, the Employer members suggest that the Government intensify its efforts to facilitate access to free basic education for all children, in order to increase school enrolment rates and reduce school drop-out rates.

I conclude by saying that it would have been of the utmost importance to hear from the Government, and we look forward to hearing the comments of the Worker members.

Worker members – The Worker members deeply deplore the absence of the Government for the discussion of its case. We recall the importance of the Committee’s mandate, which is to provide a tripartite forum for dialogue on outstanding issues relating to the application of ratified international labour Conventions. A refusal by a government to participate in the work of the Committee is a significant obstacle to the attainment of the core objectives of the ILO.

On the substance of the case, we note that this is the first time that the Committee has had the opportunity to examine the application of the Convention in the Solomon Islands. We note that the Solomon Islands ratified the Convention in 2012 and that after sending its first report on the application of the Convention in 2015, the Government failed to send regular reports until 2021. In this respect, the Worker members wish to recall the fundamental nature of the dialogue that must be established between the Member States and the ILO, particularly through scrupulous respect for the reporting obligations linked to the standards.

With regard to the steps taken by the Government to combat the worst forms of child labour, including the sale and trafficking of children for the purpose of sexual exploitation, the Worker members take note of the adoption in 2016 of the Penal Code (Amendment) (Sexual Offences) Act which, in conjunction with Immigration Act No. 3 of 2012, aligns the national legislation with the Convention, as per the recommendations of the Committee of Experts.

The trafficking of persons under 18 years of age, whether internal or transnational, is now criminalized and sanctioned with a prison term. The use, procurement or offering of boys and girls under the age of 18 for the purpose of prostitution or for the production of pornography or pornographic performances is also criminally sanctioned under the Penal Code (Amendment) (Sexual Offences) Act.

While we take note of these positive developments in the legal sphere, we note with concern that, in practice there is consistent evidence of the sale and trafficking of children, particularly girls, by their parents to foreign workers. Investigations have revealed that children are being used as nightclub, motel and casino workers in Honiara, the capital city, as well as on foreign and local commercial fishing vessels and are being offered to clients for sexual services as part of their employment. Moreover, most logging camps in the country are sites to which children are domestically trafficked for sexual exploitation. Studies carried out by non-governmental organizations estimate that each camp has around 6 to 12 girls aged between 11 and 16 years old for these purposes. The sexual exploitation of these girls is often condoned as foreign logging workers provide financial aid to the girls’ families.

In this regard, we note that operations of child labour monitoring are entrusted to the Royal Solomon Islands Police Force, the labour inspectors and the Transnational Crime Unit, while a National Central Bureau of the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) was established in the capital in 2017 to support the domestic law enforcement agencies.

However, we regret the lack of information on the activities of prevention, inspection, investigation and prosecution carried out. As regards investigations carried out and penalties imposed, we note from the Committee of Experts’ observation that the three cases of trafficking in children reported in the period from January to March 2020 ended in acquittals.

The Worker members recall that Article 1 of the Convention requires that measures be adopted to ensure not only the prohibition of the worst forms of child labour in law, but also their elimination in practice. Monitoring mechanisms are essential for the effective translation of the relevant legislation into practice and, to echo the Committee of Experts’ call in the 2012 General Survey on the fundamental Conventions, measures should be adopted to bring cases of the worst forms of child labour to the attention of the judicial and administrative authorities, and to encourage these authorities to apply the penalties provided in law.

Therefore, we call on the Government to strengthen the capacity of the law enforcement officials and labour inspection systems responsible for combating the worst forms of child labour. This includes ensuring that sufficient human and material resources are allocated to these institutions for the performance of this mandate and that cooperation between them is promoted and facilitated.

The Worker members welcome the efforts deployed by the Government to increase the school enrolment, attendance and completion rates in primary and junior secondary education, in particular through its Education Strategic Framework 2016–30. Nevertheless, we note that UN supervisory bodies have expressed concern at the disparities in access to and the quality of education between urban and remote areas. The Worker members emphasize the importance of ensuring access to free basic education to prevent the engagement of children in the worst forms of child labour and to contribute to the rehabilitation and social integration of children removed from these worst forms.

The Worker members take note of the persisting gaps in the legislation, including the absence of a provision in the national penal legislation prohibiting the use, procuring or offering of a child under 18 years for the production and trafficking of drugs; and the absence of a list of types of hazardous work prohibited for children under the age of 18 years.

On this second aspect, we note that the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child in its 2018 observations requested the Government to take the measures necessary to ensure that no child under 18 years of age engaged in hazardous labour, including in the agriculture, logging, tourism and fishing industries. We also note that the Government is in the process of developing such a list, with the technical support of the ILO. We call on the Government to adopt, without delay, penal legislation prohibiting the use, procuring or offering of a child under 18 years for the production and trafficking of drugs and to finalize, in consultation with the social partners, the list of types of hazardous work prohibited for children under 18 years of age.

Finally, we strongly encourage the Government to step up its efforts to collect and analyse statistical data on the worst forms of child labour, including their nature, extent and trends, the number of children protected, the nature of the offences reported, investigations, prosecutions, convictions and penalties imposed.

Worker member, Solomon Islands – The Committee of Experts has rightly raised the issue of the worst forms of child labour happening in the Solomon Islands. The issues of human trafficking and the commercial sexual exploitation of children in the Solomon Islands are a confirmed fact with reported cases.

Unfortunately, we only have four reported cases so far. All these cases happened in the logging sector. It can also be assumed that this might be happening in all other sectors in the Solomon Islands but it remains unreported.

In relation to the cases reported, one case went before the magistrate, but has not been pursued further. We have cases in which logging companies paid compensation to parents of abused children and we have reported cases which ended up with the lawyers, but so far no prosecution has been conducted and we also have reported cases that have been taken up by the police to deal with under the Penal Code, but no positive outcome has been achieved so far.

Now, these are cases that are known by the workers’ union, the union of which I am the President, because we represent private sector workers in the Solomon Islands, and our members throughout the country have been reporting this to us and we have raised them with not only the police, but relevant authorities. Unfortunately, none of these cases have been prosecuted, and perpetrators have not been convicted or punished. None of these cases ended up in the High Court. Currently, the Immigration Act as well as the Penal Code are relevant to the issue, and I hope that work can be done immediately to review them.

The next relevant legislation is the Family Protection Act. The Family Protection Act, which is quite general, deals with domestic violence and sexual offences. The Immigration Act, which specifically deals with human trafficking, is very vague and makes it difficult to prove the elements of the crime. As a result, the prosecutor, as happened in one reported case, had to revert to the Penal Code for the relevant provision but only for sexual charges such as under-age sex, defilement and rape of under-age persons.

In conclusion, based on our findings and observations, we see that the Government is not serious enough or committed to focusing on improving in these areas. There is no specific legislation in place relating to child protection when there should be. There is a lack of monitoring and policing mechanisms in place. Only incidents in the logging sector have been reported but this could also be happening across other sectors.

There is also a lack of awareness; 80 to 90 per cent of the population lack understanding of the laws of the Solomon Islands and their rights under those laws. As a result, there may be a lot of cases left unreported.

As regards our recommendations, there is an urgent need to review the current relevant legislation. There is also a need to formulate specific legislation to protect children. And there is also a need to establish a monitoring council to report directly to the Labour Advisory Board on issues in this particular area.

Carrying out awareness programmes by stakeholders is also a necessity. We have discussed those matters with members of the judiciary and they see and share the same view as us.

Government member, France – I have the honour of speaking on behalf of the European Union (EU) and its Member States. The candidate country Albania and the European Free Trade Association country Norway, Member of the European Economic Area, align themselves with this statement.

The EU and its Member States are committed to the promotion, protection, respect and fulfilment of human rights, including labour rights and the fight against child labour, in particular in its worst forms.

We actively promote the universal ratification and implementation of fundamental international labour standards, including the implementation of the Convention. We support the ILO in its indispensable role to develop, promote and supervise the application of ratified international labour standards and of fundamental Conventions in particular.

As stated in the recently adopted Durban Call to Action, the universally ratified Convention requires action from ILO Member States to eliminate as a matter of urgency the worst forms of child labour. We recall the importance of scaling up efforts in this regard and underline our strong commitment thereto.

As signatories to the Cotonou Agreement, the EU and the Solomon Islands have engaged in a comprehensive, balanced and deep political dialogue, covering human rights, labour rights and the fight against child labour, as a precondition for sustainable development, economic growth and poverty reduction. The EU and the Solomon Islands also cooperate through the Economic Partnership Agreement applied since May 2020, which commits the parties to supporting social rights. The Solomon Islands are also a beneficiary of the EU’s “Everything but Arms” scheme for least developed countries.

We recall our great concern over the reports of the sale and trafficking of children, particularly of girls, by their parents to foreign workers, mainly in communities near logging camps, for the purpose of sex.

While these serious violations of the Convention persist and should be addressed, we welcome the 2016 amendments to the Penal Code regarding sexual offences, which was amended to protect all children (boys and girls) under the age of 18 years from prostitution, in line with the Committee’s previous comments, and establish harsher prison sentences for persons engaging in internal trafficking of persons when the victim is a child.

With these legal amendments now in place, we reiterate the Committee’s call to take the necessary measures to ensure that thorough investigations and prosecutions are carried out, and that sufficiently dissuasive penalties are imposed in practice in order to eliminate these worst forms of child labour.

We note with great concern that, despite various reports on the widespread persistence of the trafficking and sale of children for the purpose of prostitution and sexual abuse, the Government indicates in its report that the Solomon Islands Immigration Division has reported only three cases of trafficking of children for the period from January to March 2020, all of which ended in acquittals.

We urge the Government to continue to provide information on the application in practice of the relevant sections of the Penal Code and the Immigration Act (Act No. 3 of 2012), in particular on the number of investigations, prosecutions, nature of the offences, convictions and sanctions imposed on the offenders, including information on the number of acquittals.

The EU and its Member States are fully committed to working alongside the Solomon Islands. We will continue our engagement for the children in the country. We look forward to continuing joint efforts with the Government and the ILO to bring this practice of child abuse to an end, particularly by effectively implementing the available legislation.

Employer member, Argentina – The employers of Argentina thank the previous speakers for their perspectives on the case and regret the Government’s absence from the session.

We have received the information regarding the implementation of section 77 of the Immigration Act (Act No. 3 of 2012). However, we regret that while the Government stated in its report on the Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138), that there is evidence of the sale and trafficking of children by their parents to foreigners, the Government did not provide on that occasion information on convictions or sentences imposed under the above-mentioned regulation or under section 145 of the Penal Code on sexual offences.

Accordingly, we reiterate the request that the Government take the necessary measures to ensure that thorough investigations and prosecutions are carried out, and that sufficiently dissuasive sanctions are applied to persons engaged in the sale or trafficking of children, and that the results of these prosecutions are reported.

Secondly, in relation to the recruitment or offering of children for prostitution, we also welcome the reform of the Penal Code to protect all children under the age of 18 years from prostitution, provided that the recruitment or attempted recruitment occurs in the Solomon Islands regardless of the place of exploitation.

In conclusion, while encouraging the Government to continue to provide detailed information on the application in practice of the amended legislation, we would like to highlight the importance of coordinating complementary actions aimed at addressing the socio-cultural conditions, risk factors and structural issues that contribute to the occurrence and consequences of child labour in general and the worst forms of child labour in particular.

In order to design policies that efficiently coordinate the available resources and promote the economic development of the region and the creation of productive and quality employment for the country’s adults, we reiterate the request of the Employer members and encourage the Government to work to empower the social partners and actively involve them in the design of public policies, taking advantage of the ILO’s technical assistance to design effective strategies to eradicate the worst forms of child labour in the country.

Worker member, Australia – Traffickers subject children of the Solomon Islands to sex trafficking and forced labour, particularly near foreign logging camps, on commercial fishing vessels and at hotels and entertainment establishments.

The Immigration Act 2012, together with the Penal Code, criminalizes child sex trafficking and labour trafficking. Section 77 of the Immigration Act addresses offences related to the trafficking of children and provides for penalties of a fine or imprisonment for a term not exceeding ten years, or both.

The Committee of Experts’ report notes that the Solomon Islands Immigration Division only reported three cases of trafficking in children in the period from January to March 2020, which ended in acquittals. This stands in contrast to the concluding observations of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child in 2018, which express serious concern about the sale of children to foreign workers in the natural resources sector, and an International Organization for Migration case study from 2019, which highlights the high number of reported cases of sexual exploitation and trafficking involving children in communities near logging camps.

This gap between the number of cases and the lack of convictions indicates a number of issues that the Government must address in order to uphold their obligations under the Convention.

First, section 77 of the Immigration Act is too vague, and the penalties do not match the severity of the crime. A fine in lieu of imprisonment is not commensurate with the penalties prescribed for other serious offences. The Government should ensure that penalties are sufficiently dissuasive and reflect the seriousness of the crime.

Second, there is a lack of monitoring and enforcement. We note the direct request from the Committee of Experts to provide information on the activities of the police force, the Transnational Crime Unit and other bodies responsible for monitoring the crimes related to child trafficking, including measures to strengthen their capacities.

There is no monitoring mechanism in place, and the Government has not initiated or conducted any anti-trafficking training for law enforcement. The Government should implement measures including additional resources, commitment, coordination, training and awareness, to enable government agencies to investigate and prosecute child trafficking and should establish a monitoring council that reports to the Labour Advisory Board.

Recalling Article 7 of the Convention, we call on the Government to implement effective and time-bound measures to eliminate the worst forms of child labour, including child sex trafficking. This should include thorough investigations and prosecutions against persons who engage in the sale and trafficking of children; ensuring access to basic free education; and ensuring that sufficiently dissuasive penalties that reflect the severity of the crime are imposed in practice.

Government member, Switzerland – We regret that the Government is not present. The eradication of the worst forms of child labour, to which the Convention contributes, is a universally applicable principle for all children under the age of 18 years and is one of the most important objectives of the ILO. Switzerland attaches great importance to this fundamental Convention.

We therefore welcome the fact that, through the amendment of the Penal Code in 2016, the Government has closed significant legal loopholes to protect all children, girls and boys, under the age of 18 years from prostitution. Through the amendment of the Penal Code, the Government has made efforts to implement international labour standards and respect the supervisory system and the recommendations of the Committee of Experts.

Switzerland encourages the Government to continue to make every effort, both in legislation and above all in practice, to combat child labour, trafficking and the sexual exploitation of children. The fight against child prostitution must be as intense as possible, for all countries. This fight requires, in addition to the appropriate legal framework, investigations, prosecutions and dissuasive sanctions. Finally, we encourage the Government to continue to intensify its efforts and to also address the root causes that lead parents to sell their children to foreign workers.

Worker member, Canada – The Workers of the Philippines support this statement. With the passing of the Penal Code (Amendment) (Sexual Offences) Act 2016, the Government has aligned its national legislation with international standards in terms of protecting children from exploitation and prostitution and from being trafficked for sexual purposes. However, important omissions persist within the legislation that may leave children vulnerable to being sexually exploited. For instance, although current legislation contains comprehensive coverage of child trafficking offences, both within and outside of the country, there is no stand-alone provision that explicitly prohibits the sale of children.

The Committee of Experts has noted the absence of a provision in the national penal legislation prohibiting the use, procuring or offering of a child under 18 years for the production and trafficking of drugs. Human trafficking in the Solomon Islands is most common in the logging camps, where children are domestically trafficked for labour and sexual purposes. A Save the Children report estimated that each camp had as many as 12 children aged from 11 to 16 years old. These children often became “house girls”, which is synonymous with wives. The sexual exploitation of these girls is often condoned as foreign logging workers provide financial payment to families suffering the hardships of poverty.

The United States Department of State’s 2021 Trafficking in Persons Report noted specifically that the Solomon Islands Labour Division did not conduct systematic monitoring and inspection activities at logging operation sites during the term covered by the report. Inspections are critical to the identification, investigation and prosecution of cases of forced labour and sexual exploitation of children within the logging industry.

The Government should also conduct a nationwide assessment on all manifestations of the sexual exploitation of children to develop evidence-based policies and strategies. It must also advance on developing a list of types of hazardous work prohibited for children under the age of 18 years. Hazardous or exploitative labour as defined in the Child and Family Welfare Act 2016 includes any work that is inappropriate for the child’s age or is hazardous to the child’s physical or mental health or impairs the child’s education and moral development.

These steps will help provide needed protections to combat forced child labour and the sexual exploitation associated with this industry.

Employer members – We have listened attentively and taken note of the remarks of all those who have taken the floor. I would especially like to thank the Workers and Employers for their contributions.

We would like to emphasize that in order to achieve target 8.7 of the Sustainable Development Goals – to eliminate child labour in all its forms by 2025 – it is necessary for all governments, employers’ and workers’ organizations, and the ILO itself to work in a coordinated manner through strengthened social dialogue.

Recently, at the 5th Global Conference on the Elimination of Child Labour held in Durban, South Africa, it was noted that the COVID-19 pandemic, armed conflicts, and humanitarian and environmental crises threaten to reverse the progress made in combating child labour.

The Durban Call to Action includes commitments in six different areas. First, to make productive employment and decent work a reality for adults and young people above the minimum working age, accelerating multi-stakeholder efforts to eliminate child labour and prioritizing the worst forms of child labour; second, to end child labour in all sectors; third, to strengthen the prevention and elimination of child labour including its worst forms, forced labour, modern slavery and human trafficking, and protect survivors through policy and programmatic responses; fourth, to realize children’s right to education and ensure universal access to free, compulsory, quality, equitable and inclusive education and training; fifth, to achieve universal access to financially sustainable social protection; and sixth, to increase funding and international cooperation for the elimination of child labour and forced labour.

This is why the Employer members are making an “urgent call” to focus all efforts on the prevention and elimination of child labour with special emphasis on the eradication of the worst forms of child labour.

Given that the ILO has significant capacity for programme development in countries where child labour exists, we encourage the Government to urgently request technical assistance from the ILO to build the capacity of the tripartite constituents. In addition, there is a need to focus on the implementation of effective strategies to eradicate the worst forms of child labour, following timely and effective consultation with the social partners. We further call on the international community to mobilize to achieve the eradication of child labour in the Solomon Islands.

Finally, we strongly encourage the Government to make an immediate and urgent commitment to provide solutions in law and practice that will address this scourge.

It is necessary to establish investigative and judicial bodies to identify and convict the culprits. Strategies must be put in place to provide training to communities and families, to protect children, and to raise awareness of this major problem among all of the country’s inhabitants.

It is necessary to ensure greater dissemination of the mechanisms available to address this scourge. It is also necessary to strengthen the educational system so that the children of the Solomon Islands have the opportunity to study; and development must also be guaranteed in an environment conducive to the generation of sustainable enterprises that generate quality jobs for the parents and relatives of children.

Worker members – We express once again our deep regret that the Government declined to participate in the work of the Committee and recall that a refusal by a government to participate in the work of the Committee is a significant obstacle to the attainment of the core objectives of the ILO.

We take note of the steps taken by the Government to bring its national legislation into conformity with the Convention, in line with the recommendations of the Committee of Experts. We encourage the Government to continue its efforts and adopt penal legislation prohibiting the use, procuring or offering of a child under 18 years for the production and trafficking of drugs. We also encourage the Government to adopt, without delay and in consultation with the social partners, a list of types of hazardous work prohibited for children under the age of 18 years.

Despite these positive legislative developments, we remain concerned by the persistence of the worst forms of child labour, including the sale and trafficking of children, particularly of girls, for sexual exploitation purposes. We urge the Government to take concrete measures to prevent, prohibit and eliminate these worst forms of child labour, including:

- by strengthening the capacity of law enforcement agencies and the labour inspectorate;

- by promoting their effective cooperation;

- by ensuring that cases of the worst forms of child labour are duly investigated, prosecuted and sanctioned; and

- by ensuring access to free basic education to all children in primary and secondary education, particularly among children from poor and disadvantaged families as well as children living in remote areas.

We also encourage the Government to adopt specific legislation on child protection and to conduct awareness-raising activities to disseminate information to the public on the identification of the worst forms of child labour and on ways to report cases to the authorities.

Finally, we encourage the Government to step up its efforts to collect and analyse statistical data on the worst forms of child labour, including their nature, extent and trends, the number of children protected, the nature of offences reported, investigations, prosecutions, convictions and penalties imposed.

We invite the Government to avail itself of the technical assistance of the ILO.

Conclusions of the Committee

The Committee expressed its deep regret that the Government declined to participate in its work and recalled that a refusal by a government to participate in the work of the Committee, despite being accredited to the International Labour Conference, is a significant obstacle to the attainment of the core objectives of the ILO.

In those circumstances and as provided for in paragraph 34 of document D.1 concerning the working methods adopted by the Committee, the Committee discussed the substance of the case in the absence of the Government.

The Committee took positive note of the steps taken by the Government to bring its national legislation into conformity with the Convention. Despite these positive legislative developments, the Committee expressed its deep concern about the persistence of the worst forms of child labour, including the sale and trafficking of children, particularly of girls, for sexual exploitation purposes.

Taking into account the discussion, the Committee urges the Government, in consultation with the social partners, to:

- adopt legislation prohibiting the use, procuring or offering of a child under 18 years of age for the production and/or trafficking of drugs, without delay;

- adopt, in consultation with the social partners, a list of types of hazardous work prohibited for children under the age of 18, without delay;

- strengthen the capacity of law enforcement agencies and the labour inspectorate to address the worst forms of child labour and to promote their effective cooperation;

- ensure that cases of the worst forms of child labour are duly investigated, prosecuted and sanctioned;

- ensure access to free basic education to all children, particularly children from poor and disadvantaged families as well as children living in remote areas;

- collect and analyse statistical data on the situations of the worst forms of child labour, including the nature and extent of such situations, the number of children involved, reintegration procedures, the nature of offences reported, the number of offences investigated, prosecuted and the penalties imposed.

The Committee urges the Government to avail itself of the technical assistance of the ILO.

The Committee requests the Government to submit a report to the Committee of Experts by 1 September 2022 with information on the application of the Convention in law and practice, in consultation with the social partners.