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Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182) - Uruguay (RATIFICATION: 2001)

Article 3 of the Convention. Worst forms of child labour. Clause (c). Use, procuring or offering of a child for illicit activities. Further to its previous comments, the Committee notes that, under section 5 of Act No. 17.016 of 22 October 1998, Act No. 14.294 of 31 October 1974 concerning drugs [Drugs Act] is amended in such a way that section 59 thereof now provides that the use of minors for committing offences established by the Drugs Act is considered an aggravating circumstance. Moreover, under section 59 of the Penal Code, securing the cooperation of persons who cannot be held criminally liable for committing offences is also considered an aggravating circumstance as regards the perpetrators of the crime.

Article 5. Monitoring mechanisms. Labour inspection. Referring to its previous comments, the Committee notes that, according to the information provided by the Government in its report submitted under the Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138), the selection process for the recruitment of new inspectors at the National Institute for Children and Young Persons (INAU) has still not resulted in the creation of new posts. The Committee also notes the Government’s indication that the Ministry of Labour and Social Security does not have any statistics on the offences reported by the general labour and social security inspectorate relating to the worst forms of child labour, because of the general nature of the inspections carried out by this service. However, it observes that INAU is responsible for enforcing the national legislation relating to child labour and, to this end, the inspectors of the national department for the inspection of child and adolescent labour are required to undertake inspections. The Committee expresses the firm hope that new inspectors will soon be recruited at INAU’s national department for the inspection of child and adolescent labour and requests it to send information on this matter. It also requests the Government to provide statistics in its next report on the results of INAU’s enforcement work.

Article 6. Programmes of action. Commercial sexual exploitation. In its previous comments the Committee noted with interest the National Plan for the eradication of the commercial sexual exploitation of children and young persons, which aimed to tackle four types of sexual exploitation: (i) the prostitution of children and young persons; (ii) trafficking for commercial sexual exploitation; (iii) child pornography; and (iv) sex tourism, through a series of activities covering the period 2007–10. It noted that the Plan was based around five subprogrammes or parts, namely: prevention; protection; provision of care; reinstatement of the rights of child and adolescent victims; and an evaluation phase.

The Committee takes due note of the information sent by the Government concerning developments in the implementation of these different subprogrammes. It notes that an evaluation of the Plan was conducted in 2010, the results of which will point the way ahead for future implementation of the Plan. The Government’s report indicates that the new plan under consideration includes three new subprogrammes, namely: (i) participation of young persons; (ii) training and awareness-raising; and (iii) internal operations and system of dissemination. The Committee also notes that in March 2011 an agreement was signed between INAU and the courts specializing in the prosecution of organized crime in order to facilitate the processing of complaints related to commercial sexual exploitation. The Committee encourages the Government to pursue its efforts and requests it to continue to provide information on the implementation of the National Plan for the eradication of the commercial sexual exploitation of children and young persons. It also requests the Government to provide a copy of the new plan, once it has been adopted.

Hazardous work. Further to its previous comments, the Committee notes the Government’s indication that the National Committee for the Elimination of Child Labour (CETI) adopted in May 2010 a “Plan of action for the elimination of child labour in garbage collection (2011–15)”. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken in the context of this Plan and requests it to send a copy of the Plan in its next report.

Clause (d). Children at special risk. Street children. In its previous comments the Committee requested the Government to send information on any measures taken in the context of the programme of assistance for the homeless to ensure the rehabilitation and social reintegration of street children.

The Committee takes due note of the information sent in the Government’s report concerning the assistance measures for street children. It observes that, according to the results of the 2010 national survey on child labour, 0.2 per cent of children between 5 and 17 years of age are involved in begging. The Committee requests the Government to pursue its efforts to protect street children from the worst forms of child labour and requests it to send information on the impact of the action taken, indicating the number of children effectively removed from the streets who have benefited from rehabilitation and social reintegration measures.

Article 8. International cooperation and assistance. The Committee previously requested the Government to send information on the measures taken under the Regional Plan for the prevention and elimination of child labour in MERCOSUR in terms of the elimination of the worst forms of child labour.

The Committee notes the Government’s indication that bilateral cooperation projects are under way and that it will send relevant information as soon as possible. Moreover, the Committee notes that the protection component of the National Plan for the eradication of the commercial sexual exploitation of children and young persons provides in particular for developing cooperation with other countries engaged in combating the commercial sexual exploitation of children and young persons and for implementing activities for increasing controls on migration at border crossings. The Committee once again requests the Government to supply information on the measures taken in the context of the Regional Plan for the prevention and elimination of child labour in MERCOSUR. It also requests the Government to provide information on planned or adopted measures for cooperation with neighbouring countries in the context of the National Plan for the eradication of the commercial sexual exploitation of children and young persons.

Parts IV and V of the report form. Application of the Convention in practice. Referring to its previous comments, the Committee notes the 2010 national survey on child labour conducted by the National Institute of Statistics with the support of the ILO’s SIMPOC programme. It observes that, according to the findings of this survey, 9.9 per cent of children and young persons between 5 and 17 years of age are involved in child labour. The vast majority of these perform hazardous types of work and are between 15 and 17 years of age (5.3 per cent in the 15–17 year age group compared with 3.2 per cent in the 5–14 year age group). Moreover, boys are generally more exposed to these types of work than girls are (12.5 per cent of boys between 15 and 17 years of age compared with 4.3 per cent of girls). The three areas of activity where this phenomenon is most widespread are agriculture, the retail trade and construction.

However, the Committee notes that, even though the 2010 national survey provides statistics on the numbers of children engaged in hazardous work, the Government’s report does not provide any information on the nature, scope and trends of the worst forms of child labour, such as the sale and trafficking of children and young persons for commercial sexual exploitation. The Committee encourages the Government to pursue its efforts to eliminate the worst forms of child labour and requests it to continue to provide information, including statistics, on the nature, scope and trends of the worst forms of child labour. It also requests the Government to supply statistics on the number of children covered by the measures giving effect to the Convention, the number and nature of violations reported, investigations, prosecutions, convictions and criminal penalties imposed, especially in relation to the sale and trafficking of children for commercial sexual exploitation. To the extent possible all information provided should be disaggregated by age and sex.