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Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138) - Afghanistan (RATIFICATION: 2010)

The Committee notes the Government’s first report.

Article 2(1), (4) and (5) of the Convention. Minimum age for admission to employment or work. In ratifying the Convention, Afghanistan specified a minimum age of 14 years for admission to employment or work within its territory, pursuant to Article 2(4) of the Convention. The Committee notes that according to section 13 of the Labour Law, no person under the age of 18 years shall be employed while a child of 15 years may be employed in light industries. The Committee observes that there appears to be various minimum ages for admission to employment or work under the national legislation, which are higher than the minimum age of 14 years specified upon ratification. The Committee draws the Government’s attention to Article 2(5) of the Convention, according to which each Member which has specified a minimum age of 14 years shall include in its reports on the application of this Convention submitted under article 22 of the Constitution of the International Labour Organisation a statement that: its reason for doing so subsists; or it renounces its right to avail itself of the provisions in question as from a stated date. The Committee requests that the Government provide information on whether its reasons for specifying a minimum age of 14 years subsist.

Article 2(3). Age of completion of compulsory education. The Committee notes that sections 4 and 17 of the Education Law of 2008 provide for free and compulsory education up to intermediate level which constitutes a duration of nine years starting from the first grade to the completion of the ninth grade. According to section 5 of the Education Law, children from the age of six shall be enrolled in the intermediate level. The Committee observes that compulsory education which starts at the age of six shall be completed at the age of 14 years which is in line with the minimum age for admission to work or employment specified by Afghanistan.

However, the Committee notes that according to the Afghanistan Living Conditions Survey (ALCS), the net attendance ratio for primary education declined from 57 per cent in 2011–12 to 55 per cent in 2013–14. This suggests that an estimated 2.3 million primary school age children miss out on education. The large majority of these are from the rural areas. Noting that a large number of children under the age of 14 years are out of school, the Committee requests that the Government take the necessary measures to effectively implement compulsory education, especially in the rural areas, as stipulated under sections 4 and 5 of the Education Act. It also requests that the Government take the necessary measures to decrease drop-out rates at the primary level with a view to preventing children under 14 years of age from being engaged in child labour.

Article 3(1) and (2). Hazardous work and determination of types of hazardous work. The Committee notes that section 13(2) and (4) of the Labour Law prohibits the employment of children under the age of 18 years in work injurious to their health and development. Sections 121 and 122 of the Labour Law further prohibit night work and overtime work by young persons under the age of 18 years.

With regard to the determination of hazardous work, the Committee notes the Government’s indication that the Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs, Martyrs and Disabled (MoLSAMD) and the Ministry of Public Health have jointly adopted a regulation, pursuant to section 120 of the Labour Law, prescribing a list of 244 physically arduous and harmful occupations prohibited to women and children, out of which 31 occupations are identified as worst forms of child labour that are prohibited to children under the age of 18 years. The Committee also notes that in 2014, the MoLSAMD adopted a list of 29 prohibited jobs for children under 18 years which include: (a) mining; (b) working in the iron furnace, garbage collection and recycling, slaughterhouses, production of narcotic drugs, in workshops with dangerous chemicals, painting metal and wood, processing and mixing acid and battery charging, grinding salt and packing, and in garment factories; (c) working with ovens in bakeries and ovens in brick kilns, heavy machinery, fluid gas, insecticides; (d) working as porters, tractor drivers, in public transport; (e) working at heights; (f) working for more than four hours per day in carpet producing; and (g) using children for bonded labour and begging. The Committee requests that the Government provide information on the application in practice of the two regulations containing the list of hazardous types of work prohibited to children under the age of 18 years, including statistics on the number and nature of violations reported and penalties imposed.

Article 6. Vocational training and apprenticeship. The Committee notes that according to section 13(2) of the Labour Law, a person who has reached 14 years of age may be employed as a trainee. Section 16 of the Labour Law requires that the training contracts of persons under the age of 18 years shall be signed by their legal representative and copies of which shall be given to the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs. Moreover, according to section 78 of the Labour Law, the duration of job training shall not exceed two years and the hours and conditions of such training shall be determined by the relevant administration of the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs.

Article 8. Artistic performances. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that in practice, children under the minimum age participate in artistic performances for a limited number of hours. However, there is no information with regard to the provisions under the national legislation which allow exceptions to the prohibition of employment or work for such purposes as participation in artistic performances. The Committee therefore requests that the Government provide information on the measures taken or envisaged to establish a system of providing individual permits for participation of children in artistic performances as well as to regulate such performances, pursuant to Article 8 of the Convention.

Article 9(1). Penalties and Labour Inspectorate. The Committee observes that the Labour Law does not establish any penalties for the violations of its provisions, including by the employment of children and young persons. It notes that according to section 146 of the Labour Law, monitoring and compliance with labour laws, protection and safety measures, arduous work and jobs that are harmful to health, working hours and conditions, and wages are exercised by the Labour Monitoring and Guidance Authority of the MoLSAMD. The Committee requests that the Government provide information on the functioning of the Labour Monitoring and Guidance Authority in monitoring the compliance with the child labour provisions, including in the informal economy. The Committee also requests that the Government provide information on the number of inspections carried out as well as the number of violations detected with regard to the employment of children and young persons and penalties imposed. The Committee finally requests that the Government provide information on any other legislation that establishes penalties for the offences related to the employment of children.

Article 9(3). Keeping of registers. The Committee notes that according to section 16 of the Labour Law, a copy of the employment contract of persons under the age of 18 years shall be kept by the employer and another copy shall be provided to the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs. However, the Committee observes that the conditions/contents of the employment contract, as laid down by section 15 of the Labour Law, does not require the name and age of the employee. The Committee also notes the Government’s information that the MoLSAMD has developed a recruitment and work condition procedure with a view to preventing the illegal employment of children and young persons and which requires the proper and detailed registration of the employment of children and young persons in permissible occupations. The Committee requests that the Government indicate whether the requirements for registration of employment under the recruitment and work condition procedure include the requirement to register the age or date of birth of young persons under the age of 18 years.