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Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182) - Democratic Republic of the Congo (RATIFICATION: 2001)

The Committee notes that the Government’s report has not been received. It must therefore repeat its previous comments.

Repetition

Article 3 of the Convention. Worst forms of child labour. Clause (a). All forms of slavery or similar practices. Forced recruitment of children for use in armed conflict. In its previous comments the Committee noted that section 187 of Act No. 09/001 of 10 January 2009 establishes a penalty of penal servitude of ten to 20 years for the enrolment or use of children under 18 years of age in the armed forces and groups and the police. The Committee noted that, according to the report of 9 July 2010 of the United Nations Secretary-General on children and armed conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (S/2010/369, paragraphs 17–41), 1,593 cases of recruitment of children were reported between October 2008 and December 2009, including 1,235 in 2009. The report of the United Nations Secretary-General also indicated that 42 per cent of the total number of cases of recruitment reported have been attributed to the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (FARDC). The Committee also noted with concern that, according to the Secretary-General’s report, the number of incidents involving the killing and maiming of children had increased. In addition, a significant increase in the number of abductions of children was also observed over the period covered by the Secretary-General’s report, mainly carried out by the Lords’ Resistance Army (LRA) but in some cases by the FARDC. The Committee also observed that the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC), in its concluding observations of 10 February 2009 (CRC/C/COD/CO/2, paragraph 67), expressed grave concern that the State, through its armed forces, bears direct responsibility for violations of the rights of the child and that it had failed to protect children and prevent such violations.

The Committee notes the Government’s indication that children under 18 years of age are not recruited into the armed forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Nevertheless, the Committee notes that, according to the report of 23 April 2011 of the United Nations Secretary-General on children and armed conflict (A/65/820-S/2011/250, paragraph 27), many children continue to be recruited and remain associated with FARDC units, particularly within former units of the Congrès national pour la défense du peuple (CNDP) incorporated into the FARDC. The report also indicates that, of the 1,656 children in the armed forces or groups who escaped or were released in 2010, a large proportion had been recruited to the FARDC (21 per cent) (paragraph 37). Moreover, despite the drop in the number of cases of children recruited into armed forces and groups in 2010, the report points out that former CNDP elements continue to recruit or to threaten to recruit children under 18 years of age from schools in North Kivu (paragraph 85). The Committee also notes that no judicial action has been initiated against the suspected perpetrators of forced recruitment of children, some of whom remain in the command structure of the FARDC (paragraph 88).

Furthermore, physical and sexual violence committed against children by the FARDC, the Congolese National Police and various armed groups continued to be a source of serious concern in 2010. The Committee notes in particular that in 2010, of the 26 recorded cases of killing of children, 13 were attributed to the FARDC. In addition, seven cases of maiming of children and 67 cases of sexual violence against children are alleged to have been perpetrated by FARDC elements during the same period (paragraph 87).

The Committee observes that despite the adoption of Legislative Decree No. 066 of 9 June 2000, concerning the demobilization and reintegration of vulnerable groups present within the fighting forces, and of Act 09/001 of 10 January 2009, which prohibits and penalizes the enrolment and use of children under 18 years of age in armed forces and groups and the police (sections 71 and 187), children under 18 years of age continue to be recruited and forced to join the regular armed forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and armed groups. The Committee expresses deep concern at this situation, especially as the persistence of this worst form of child labour results in other violations of children’s rights, such as murder and sexual violence. The Committee therefore urges the Government to take measures as a matter of urgency to ensure the full and immediate demobilization of all children in the ranks of the FARDC and to put a stop, in practice, to the forced recruitment of children under 18 years of age into armed groups. With reference to Security Council resolution 1998 of 12 July 2011, which recalls “the responsibilities of States to end impunity and to prosecute those responsible for genocide, crimes against humanity and other egregious crimes perpetrated against children”, the Committee urges the Government to take immediate and effective measures to ensure that thorough investigations and robust prosecutions of any persons, including officers in the regular armed forces, who forcibly recruit children under 18 years of age for use in armed conflict, are carried out and that sufficiently effective and dissuasive penalties are imposed in practice, pursuant to Act No. 09/001 of 10 January 2009. It requests the Government to provide information on the number of investigations conducted, prosecutions brought and convictions handed down against such persons in its next report.

Clauses (a) and (d). Forced or compulsory labour and hazardous work. Child labour in mines. In its previous comments the Committee noted the statement by the Confederation of Trade Unions of the Congo (CSC) that young persons under 18 years of age are employed in mineral quarries in the provinces of Katanga and East Kasai. It noted that the United Nations Special Rapporteur, in her report of April 2003 on the situation of human rights in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (E/CN.4/2003/43, paragraph 59), noted that military units are recruiting children for forced labour, especially for the extraction of natural resources. The Committee observed that, although the legislation is in conformity with the Convention on this point, child labour in mines is a problem in practice and it, therefore, asked the Government to supply information on the measures which would be taken by the labour inspectorate to prohibit hazardous work by children in mines.

The Committee notes the Government’s indication that action to strengthen the capacities of the labour inspectorate is planned in the context of the formulation and implementation of the National Plan of Action (PAN) for the elimination of child labour by 2020. The report also indicates that the Government has launched consultations with a view to gathering statistics on the application, in practice, of legislation relating to the prohibition on hazardous work in mines for children under 18 years of age. However, the Committee notes the UNICEF statistics included in the Government’s report, which indicate that nearly 50,000 children are working in mines in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, including 20,000 in the province of Katanga (south-east), 12,000 in Ituri (north-east) and some 11,800 in Kasai (centre). Moreover, the Committee observes that, according to the information in the 2011 report on trafficking in persons, armed groups and the FARDC are recruiting men and children and subjecting them to forced labour for the extraction of minerals. According to the same document, the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) report of January 2011 reports that a commander of one of the FARDC battalions makes use of the forced labour of children in mines in North Kivu. The Committee expresses its deep concern at the allegations that children under 18 years of age are used, especially by certain elements of FARDC, for the extraction of minerals in conditions similar to slavery and in hazardous conditions. The Committee therefore urges the Government to take immediate and effective measures, as a matter of urgency, to eliminate the forced or hazardous labour of children under 18 years of age in mines. It requests the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that thorough investigations and robust prosecutions of offenders are carried out and that sufficiently effective and dissuasive penalties are imposed on them in practice. The Government is also requested to provide statistics on the application of the legislation in practice and also requests it to provide information on action to strengthen the capacities of the labour inspectorate planned in the context of the PAN.

Article 7(2). Effective and time-bound measures. Clauses (a) and (b). Preventing the engagement of children in the worst forms of child labour, removing them from such work and ensuring their rehabilitation and social integration. 1. Child soldiers. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that, according to the report of the United Nations Secretary-General of 9 July 2010, the number of children released in 2009 more than tripled in comparison with 2008, particularly in the province of North Kivu (S/2010/369, paragraphs 30 and 51–58). Between October 2008 and the end of 2009, a total of 3,180 children (3,004 boys and 176 girls) left the ranks of the armed forces and groups or fled and were admitted to reintegration programmes. However, the Committee noted with concern that on many occasions the FARDC denied access to the camps to child protection institutions seeking to verify the presence of children in FARDC units and that the commanders refused to release children. The Committee also observed that there were many obstacles to effective reintegration, such as the constant insecurity and the continuing presence of former recruiters in the same region. The Committee further noted that the CRC, in its concluding observations of 10 February 2009 (CRC/C/COD/CO/2, paragraph 72), expressed concern at the fact that no provision has been made to assist several thousand child victims recruited or used in hostilities with rehabilitation and reintegration and that some of these children have been re recruited for want of alternatives or assistance with demobilization. According to the report of the Secretary-General of 9 July 2010, girls associated with the armed forces and groups (around 15 per cent of the total number of children) rarely have access to reintegration programmes, with only 7 per cent receiving assistance through national disarmament, demobilization and reintegration programmes.

The Committee notes the information provided by the Government concerning the results achieved regarding the demobilization of child soldiers by the new structure of the Unit for the Implementation of the National Programme for Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (UE-PNDDR). It observes that more than 30,000 children have been separated from the armed forces and groups since the launch of the programme in 2004, including nearly 3,000 in 2009 and 2010. Moreover, 6,704 children removed from the armed forces and groups (1,940 girls and 4,764 boys) received support in 2010. However, the Committee observes that, according to the report of 23 April 2011 of the United Nations Secretary-General on children and armed conflict, only 1,656 children recruited to the armed forces or groups escaped or were released in 2010 (A/65/820-S/2011/250, paragraph 37). Of these, the vast majority fled and only a small minority were released by child protection institutions (paragraph 38). The Committee also notes with regret that, according to the aforementioned report, the Government has not been forthcoming in engaging with the United Nations on an action plan to end the recruitment and use of children by the FARDC (paragraph 27). The Committee further observes that, although more than 50 screening attempts were carried out by MONUSCO aimed at demobilizing children under 18 years of age who had been recruited to the FARDC, only five children were demobilized owing to the fact that FARDC troops were not made available for screening by MONUSCO. The Committee also notes that a large number of children released in 2010 stated that they had been recruited several times (paragraph 27) and that some 80 children who had been reunited with their families returned to the transit centres alone in North Kivu during November 2010 for fear of being re-recruited (paragraph 85). The Committee therefore urges the Government to intensify its efforts and take effective, time-bound measures to remove children from armed groups and forces and ensure their rehabilitation and social integration, giving special attention to the demobilization of girls. It expresses the firm hope that the Government will adopt a time-bound plan of action in the very near future, in collaboration with MONUSCO, to put a stop to the recruitment of children under 18 years of age into the regular armed forces and to ensure their demobilization and reintegration. The Committee also requests the Government to continue to provide information on the number of child soldiers removed from armed forces and groups and reintegrated through appropriate assistance with rehabilitation and social integration. It requests the Government to provide information on this matter in its next report.

2. Children working in mines. The Committee previously noted that a number of projects for the prevention of child labour in mines and the reintegration of these children through education were being implemented, aimed at covering a total of 12,000 children, of whom 4,000 were to be covered by prevention measures and 8,000 were to be removed from labour with a view to their reintegration through vocational training.

The Committee notes the Government’s indication that efforts are being made to remove children working in mines from this worst form of child labour. The Government also indicates in its report that more than 13,000 children have been removed from three mining and quarrying locations in Katanga, East Kasai and Ituri as part of the work of the NGOs Save the Children and Solidarity Centre. These children were then placed in formal and non-formal education structures and also in apprenticeship programmes. However, the report also indicates that, in view of the persistence of the problem, much work remains to be done. The Committee therefore requests the Government to intensify its efforts to prevent children under 18 years of age from working in mines and to provide the necessary and appropriate direct assistance for their removal from these worst forms of child labour and to ensure their rehabilitation and social integration. It requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken or contemplated in the context of the PAN and on the results achieved.

The Committee recalls that it raised other matters in a request addressed directly to the Government.

The Committee hopes that the Government will make every effort to take the necessary action in the near future.