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Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182) - Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) (RATIFICATION: 2005)

Article 3(a) and (b) and Article 7(1) of the Convention. Sale and trafficking of children, the use, procuring or offering of a child for prostitution, and penalties. The Committee previously noted, in its comments under the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29), the comments made by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) in which it referred to the “widely reported” trafficking of women and children for prostitution. It further noted that the national legislation contains various provisions penalizing the sale and trafficking of children under 18 years of age or their use, procuring or offering for prostitution. It noted that, in its concluding observations on the Government’s combined fourth, fifth and sixth periodic reports of January 2006 (CEDAW/C/VEN/CO/6, paragraphs 27 and 28), the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), while noting the preventive efforts in place aimed at addressing the root causes of prostitution, expressed concern that insufficient steps had been taken to curtail the exploitation of prostitution and to discourage demand. The Committee finally noted that, according to the information contained in the Government’s second periodic report to the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) in December 2006 (CRC/C/VEN/2, paragraph 187), child prostitution is one of the most serious problems confronting the country.

The Committee takes note of the information provided by the Government in its report on the measures taken to prevent and combat the trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation of children. As part of these measures, government officials were trained on trafficking of persons, including illicit trafficking of migrant workers. It also notes the Government’s information that, in the framework of the anti-trafficking collaboration with UNICEF, a bill on trafficking of persons is pending. The Committee notes that the 2009 Report on Trafficking in Persons in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, available on the website of the Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees (www.unhcr.org), indicates that the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela is a source, transit and destination country for men, women and children trafficked for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation and forced labour. Venezuelan women and girls are trafficked within the country for commercial sexual exploitation, lured from poor interior regions to urban and tourist areas such as Caracas and Margarita Island. Some Venezuelan children are forced to work as street beggars or as domestic servants. Venezuelan women and girls are trafficked transnationally for commercial sexual exploitation to Mexico, in addition to Caribbean destinations such as Trinidad and Tobago, Netherlands Antilles and the Dominican Republic. Furthermore, men, women and children from Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, Brazil, Dominican Republic and Asian nations such as the People's Republic of China are trafficked to and through the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, and may be subjected to commercial sexual exploitation and forced labour. A more recent trend appears to be increased human trafficking activity in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela’s Orinoco River Basin area and border regions of Tachira state, where political violence and infiltration by armed rebel groups are common.

The Committee further notes that, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) 2009 Global Report on Trafficking in Persons, which contains information for the period 2004–07, the number of persons prosecuted for the offence of trafficking of persons and other related offences decreased from 18 in 2005 to four in 2007 (12 persons were convicted for these offences in 2005 and only one in 2007). Moreover, the Committee notes that the 2009 Report on Trafficking in Persons in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela indicates that the Government did not show evidence of progress in convicting and sentencing trafficking offenders and providing adequate assistance to victims. In particular, the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela made limited anti-trafficking law enforcement efforts over 2008: despite existing legal tools for punishing many forms of human trafficking, the Venezuelan Government did not report any convictions or sentences of trafficking offenders in 2008. However, the Government opened six investigations of transnational sex trafficking, one investigation of transnational labour trafficking, and one investigation of suspected internal trafficking. There were no confirmed reports of government complicity with human trafficking in 2008, though corruption among public officials, particularly related to the issuance of false identity documents, appeared to be widespread. Moreover, many Venezuelan law enforcement officials reportedly did not distinguish between human trafficking and alien smuggling offences.

The Committee expresses its concern at the information concerning the persistence of the problem of trafficking of children for commercial sexual exploitation and forced labour in the country as well as at the limited anti‑trafficking law enforcement efforts to address the issue. The Committee therefore urges the Government to redouble its efforts to strengthen the capacity of law enforcement agencies in order to ensure that persons who traffic in children for the purposes of sexual or labour exploitation are in practice prosecuted, and that sufficiently effective and dissuasive penalties are imposed. It requests the Government to continue to provide information on the number of infringements reported, investigations, prosecutions, convictions and penal sanctions applied for violations of the legal prohibitions on the sale and trafficking of children. It finally requests the Government to provide information on any developments in adopting the bill on trafficking of persons.

Article 7(2). Effective and time-bound measures. Clause (a). Preventing the engagement of children in the worst forms of child labour. Trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation. The Committee previously noted that the Government adopted a National Plan of Action against Abuse and Commercial Sexual Exploitation (PANAESC), the objectives of which include the prevention and protection of children under 18 years of age from sexual exploitation and their rehabilitation. It further noted that, in its concluding observations of January 2006 (CEDAW/C/VEN/CO/6, paragraphs 27 and 28), CEDAW, while noting the socio‑economic and preventive measures in place to address the root causes of prostitution, expressed concern that insufficient steps had been taken for rehabilitation.

The Committee notes the Government’s information that it has adopted, especially through the National Committee for the Rights of Children and Adolescents (IDENA) and the Ministry for Internal Affairs and Justice, various measures to prevent the trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation of children. The more recent measures include: the adoption of the National Plan to prevent, combat and sanction trafficking of persons as well as assist its victims (National Plan to combat trafficking); and the development and publication of guidelines for the protection of child and adolescent victims of pornography as a form of commercial sexual exploitation. Various public awareness campaigns were also carried out against the dangers of human trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation. The Committee requests the Government to continue to take measures to prevent the engagement of children in trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation and to provide information in this regard.

Clause (b). Direct assistance for the removal of children from the worst forms of child labour and for their rehabilitation and social integration. Trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation. The Committee notes the Government’s information that, in the framework of the anti-trafficking collaboration with UNICEF, a guide for protecting and assisting victims of trafficking of persons, especially women, children and adolescents, was elaborated. It also notes that the National Plan to combat trafficking also targets assistance to victims of trafficking. It finally notes that one of the objectives of the PANAESC is rehabilitating child victims of commercial sexual exploitation. Noting the absence of information on any effective and time-bound measures taken in the context of the National Plan to combat trafficking and the PANAESC with a view to providing the necessary and appropriate direct assistance for the removal of children from trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation and for their rehabilitation and social integration, the Committee once again requests the Government to provide information on the measures adopted in this regard. In this respect, it requests the Government to indicate whether reception centres for child victims of trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation have been established in the country, with an indication of the number of children actually received by such centres; and whether specific medical and social follow-up programmes have been formulated and implemented for child victims of trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation.

Article 8. International cooperation. Following its previous comments, the Committee notes the Government’s information that since 2006 the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela is cooperating with various international organizations, such as the International Organization for Migration (IOM), UNICEF and the Organization of American States (OAS), as well as at the regional level in the framework of MERCOSUR, in order to eliminate the sale and trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation of children. It also notes that, according to the Trafficking Report, the Venezuelan Ministry of Tourism is part of the Joint Group for the Elimination of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children in Tourism, which conducts prevention and awareness-raising campaigns to combat the commercial exploitation of children in Latin America. Moreover, the Government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, jointly with the government members and associates of MERCOSUR, is carrying out the Niño Sur initiative to defend the rights of children and adolescents in the region. The initiative aims to raise awareness of commercial sexual exploitation, improve country legal frameworks, and exchange best practices to tackle issues related to victim protection and assistance. The Committee notes the Government’s information that, in the framework of the Niño Sur initiative, a regional legislative database on the prevention and fight against the sale, trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation of children has been created. It also notes the Government’s indication that proposals of cooperation with the Governments of Brazil and Uruguay on the elimination of the sale and trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation of children are being carried out. The Committee finally notes that, according to the information available at the Office, in 2007 the Bi-national Forum between the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and Brazil on trafficking of persons was carried out with the objective of exchanging information and cases of good practice on the subject. In this framework, the two governments committed to develop actions against the crime of trafficking of persons, especially in the border areas, and to sign a bilateral agreement against trafficking of persons. Furthermore, in January 2007, the forum “Latin American experiences in assisting victims of trafficking of persons” was carried out, in which the Governments of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Panama and Peru participated. The Committee requests the Government to continue to take measures to cooperate with countries with which it shares frontiers in order to eliminate the trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation of children. It also requests it to provide information on further measures taken in this regard and results achieved.

Parts IV and V of the report form. Application of the Convention in practice. The Committee previously noted that, in its conclusions on the Government’s second periodic report of October 2007, the CRC regretted the lack of information and data on the sexual exploitation and sale of children. It further noted that, in its concluding observations of January 2006 (CEDAW/C/VEN/CO/6, paragraph 28), the CEDAW requested the Government to include in its next periodic report a comprehensive assessment, based on appropriate studies, on the causes and extent of prostitution, as well as the trafficking of women and girls, with information disaggregated by age and geographical area, and to provide details of the results achieved. The Committee requested the Government to take the necessary measures to conduct a global evaluation of the causes and extent of the trafficking and prostitution of children under 18 years of age.

The Committee notes the Government’s information that it will take the necessary measures in this regard and provide the relative information. It also notes the Government’s information that, in the framework of the annual work plan of the National Statistical Office in collaboration with UNICEF, and in the context of the implementation of the PANAESC, various activities were carried out to ensure the visibility of children and adolescents within national statistics. Moreover, a central national system is planned for reporting the violations of the rights of children and adolescents. The Committee hopes that the Government will carry out in the very near future a global evaluation of the causes and extent of the trafficking and prostitution of children under 18 years of age, and requests it to provide information on its results, once undertaken. Noting the measures taken by the Government to ensure the visibility of children and adolescents within national statistics and to improve the system for reporting the violations of their rights, the Committee also requests the Government to provide information on the nature, extent and trends of the worst forms of child labour, including updated statistics on the number of children under 18 years involved in trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation, as well as information on the number of infringements reported regarding the violation of the provisions giving effect to the Convention. To the extent possible, all information provided should be disaggregated by sex and age.

The Committee is raising other points in a request addressed directly to the Government.