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Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138) - Rwanda (RATIFICATION: 1981)

Article 1 of the Convention. National policy on the effective abolition of child labour and application of the Convention in practice. Following its previous comments, the Committee notes the Government’s indication in its report that it is committed to eradicating child labour in the country and that measures have been undertaken in this regard, including:

• –The establishment of Child Labour Steering Committees (CLSCs) from district to village level by Ministerial Guidelines of 17 September 2018, whose responsibilities include conducting awareness-raising campaigns, conducting inspections, and reporting child labour cases and persons who employ children in prohibited forms of work;
• –The establishment of an Integrated Labour Administration System (ILAS), which aims to strengthen the management of labour administration data, including child labour. Through this system, labour inspectors and CLSCs are enabled to report child labour cases through mobile phones.

The Committee further notes, from the replies of Rwanda to the list of issues in relation to its combined fifth and sixth reports to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) of 15 January 2020, that the National Commission of Children (NCC) is implementing a project called “It takes all Rwandans to end child exploitation” in partnership with World Vision Rwanda (CRC/C/RWA/RQ/5-6, paras. 148-150). Part of its objectives is to contribute to increased protection of children from child labour and sexual abuse by 2022, through strengthened prevention measures, enhanced response mechanisms and improved resilience. The Committee requests the Government to continue its efforts to ensure the progressive elimination of child labour in the country, including within the framework of the project to end child exploitation and through the activities of the CLSCs and to provide information on the results achieved. The Committee further requests the Government to provide updated statistical information on children involved in child labour and hazardous work in the country, including the statistics collected by the ILAS.

Article 2(1). Scope of application and labour inspection. Children working in the informal economy. The Committee previously noted in its comments under the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182), that the Law Regulating Labour (2009) did not apply to the informal sector, and therefore children working in this sector did not benefit from the prohibition on child labour contained in this Law. The Committee further noted that the CRC expressed its concern at the high prevalence of child labour in rural areas particularly in the agricultural and domestic sectors, and that despite legal prohibitions, approximately 65,628 children were involved in hazardous work. The Committee noted that despite the measures undertaken to reduce child labour, including in domestic work, many girls living in poverty continued to be exploited as domestic workers, a condition in which they frequently face precarious conditions, labour exploitation, sexual abuse, violence and harassment.

The Committee notes, from the replies of Rwanda to the list of issues in relation to its combined fifth and sixth reports to the CRC of 15 January 2020, that administrative sanctions are provided for by the Ministerial Instructions No. 01/2017 of 17 November 2017 on the prevention and fight against child labour, which are being implemented to fight against the worst forms of child labour and hazardous work and which are particularly useful to combat child labour in the informal economy (CRC/C/RWA/RQ/5-6, para. 143). The Committee notes that, under section 14 of these Instructions, fines are provided for employers who engage children in child labour or exploitation both in the formal and informal sectors. They may also be punished, by a temporary closure of their establishment for a period ranging from seven days to one month.

The Committee further notes the Government’s information in its report that Law No. 66/2018 of 30 August 2018 regulating labour in Rwanda applies to the informal sector, including child labour in the informal economy. In accordance with section 113, the Labour Inspectorate is responsible for monitoring compliance with the Law, its implementing orders and collective agreements, as well as raising awareness and providing advice on matters relating to the laws governing labour and social security.

In this regard, in its replies to the CRC, the Government indicates that child labour inspectors have been deployed at the district level to work hand in hand with different concerned institutions such as the police in making sure that child labour cases are investigated and punished. Every year about 30 million Rwandan francs are allocated to facilitate labour inspections and investigate cases of child labour (CRC/C/RWA/RQ/5-6, para. 146). The Committee welcomes the measures taken by the Government and encourages it to pursue its efforts to strengthen the capacity and expand the reach of the labour inspectorate services to better monitor children working in the informal economy, particularly in the agricultural sector and domestic service. In this regard, the Committee also requests the Government to provide information on the data gathered by the labour inspection concerning child labour, including statistical information on the number and nature of reported violations, and the penalties imposed in the event of violations, in application of both Ministerial Instructions No. 01/2017 and Law No. 66/2018.

Article 7(1) and (3). Light work and determination of light work activities. The Committee notes that, according to section 5 of Law No. 66/2018, a child aged 13 to 15 years is allowed to perform light work in the context of apprenticeships. The Committee notes that article 3(26) of the law defines light work as “work which cannot have a detrimental effect of child’s health, child development and child’s education or other aspects of child’s life interest”. Moreover, the Ministerial Instructions No. 07/2017 provide that children aged 13 to 15 years may perform light work and establishes a list of types of light work that these children may engage in (sections 7 and 8). However, the Committee notes that section 8 adds that light work activities must not exceed 40 hours per week.

The Committee draws the Government’s attention to Paragraph 13(b) of the Minimum Age Recommendation, 1973 (No. 146), which states that in giving effect to Article 7(3) of the Convention, special attention should be given to the strict limitation of the hours spent at work in a day and in a week, and the prohibition of overtime, so as to allow enough time for education and training, for rest during the day and for leisure activities. The Committee is of the view that authorizing children from the age of 13 to carry out work for up to 40 hours per week, as allowed by the Ministerial Instructions No. 07/2017, may affect their attendance at school and reduce the time needed for homework related to their education, as well as their period for rest and leisure. This could also have a negative impact on the children’s physical and mental development. The Committee therefore considers that the number of hours set out in section 8 do not meet the conditions for carrying out light work activities, in line with paragraphs 1 and 3 of Article 7 of the Convention. The Committee requests the Government to take the necessary measures to determine a number of hours which constitutes light work that is in line with Article 7(1) and (3) of the Convention, in both Ministerial Order No. 07/2017 and Law No. 66/2018. It requests the Government to provide information on progress made in this regard in its next report.