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Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182) - Ecuador (RATIFICATION: 2000)

Article 4(3) of the Convention. Revision of the list of hazardous types of work. The Committee notes with interest that the Ministry of Labour revised the list of hazardous types of work prohibited for young persons aged 15 to 18 years in 2015 under Ministerial Order No. MDT-2015-0131.

Article 6. Programmes of action. In its previous comments, the Committee noted the implementation by the Government of various measures to eliminate child labour in public refuse dumps, floral cultivation and municipal slaughterhouses, as well as the adoption of a management handbook for the prevention and eradication of child labour in municipalities and the implementation of the “Give dignity to Ecuador without begging or child labour” campaign and the 2013 “Progressive eradication of begging in Ecuador” programme. Recalling the vulnerability of street children, the Committee asked the Government to provide information on its programmes to enhance protection for those children, including with the cooperation of the decentralized autonomous authorities.

The Committee notes the report of the Ministry of Economic and Social Inclusion (MIES), attached to the Government’s report, on the implementation of goals 2.6 and 9.3 of the National Development Plan for “Good Living” 2013–17, which aims to “develop and strengthen devolved and decentralized special protection programmes”. These programmes establish “assistance and protection for abandoned persons, in particular children, including for the eradication of begging and child labour” and seek to “deepen and promote policies for the eradication of all types of labour exploitation, particularly child labour, domestic work and basic care”. The Committee notes that, among the different measures implemented by the Government to achieve these objectives, 71 agreements were concluded in 2017 between the decentralized autonomous authorities, civil society and religious organizations through the decentralized local authorities, with a view to providing care for 7,892 children and young persons in a situation of child labour. Of those agreements, 21 were in Region 3 of the country where there is a high concentration of indigenous people, which reached 1,880 girls, boys, and young persons. In Manta Canton, 81 young persons reportedly obtained a work permit of their own accord from the decentralized autonomous authorities and support for their families, within the framework of activities authorized by law.

Noting the absence of information in the Government’s report on the eradication of child labour among children in street situations, the Committee encourages the Government to step up its efforts to adopt programmes for the eradication of child labour among those children, including those engaged in begging. It requests the Government to provide detailed information in its next report on the results achieved in the context of the National Development Plan 2013–17.

Article 7(2). Effective and time-bound measures. Clause (a). Preventing the engagement of children in the worst forms of child labour. The Committee takes due note of the increase of 1.4 per cent in the net secondary school enrolment rate between 2015 and 2016. It notes the Government’s strategy to prevent and eliminate child labour by making the education of children a precondition for human development grants (BDH). According to the Government’s report, families receiving the BDH have a shared responsibility for the education of girls, boys, and young persons in the household, who must be enrolled and regularly attend primary and secondary school classes. Human development grants also guarantee access to basic services such as health and education in order to allow beneficiary families to escape structural poverty. The Committee notes that, according to surveys conducted by the Government in 2016, of the 355,936 family units receiving the BDH, 543,047 school-age boys and girls were enrolled in the national education system, while 279,329 school age girls and boys were not enrolled. It also notes the measures taken by the Government to suspend the BDH of families (in total 12,834 families) who did not prove that their children were attending school. It notes that, according to the Government, the suspension measures have had a positive effect on the return to school of students aged 15 to 17 years in the Costa region.

While noting the action taken by the Government, the Committee encourages it to continue its efforts to improve the education system by increasing the school attendance rate and reducing the school drop-out rate, especially at secondary level, in order to prevent children from being engaged in the worst forms of child labour.

Clause (d). Identifying and reaching out to children at special risk. 1. Children of indigenous peoples. In its previous comments, the Committee requested the Government to provide detailed information on the effective and time-bound measures taken to ensure that children of indigenous peoples have easier access to the system of bilingual education so as to prevent them from being engaged in the worst forms of child labour. The Committee takes due note of the measures taken by the MIES, including 21 of the 71 agreements concluded between the decentralized local authorities and civil society organizations, the decentralized autonomous authorities and religious bodies in 2017 covering a geographic area with high levels of indigenous peoples, covering 1,880 girls, boys, and young persons in the region. The Committee notes the project to strengthen the intercultural and bilingual education system (SEIB) of the MIES, attached to the Government’s report, which aims to improve education conditions in inaccessible areas with materials and equipment to meet the educational needs in different regions of the country. The SEIB covers a total of 183,022 students: 15,525 students in early childhood community and family education; 119,424 girls and boys in primary education; 18,910 young people in the second cycle of secondary education; and 29,163 young people and adults in literacy programmes. The Committee notes with interest that the People’s Indigenous Parliament was able to take part in the development of public policies for the benefit of the targeted priority persons and groups and issued an intercultural order to prevent and combat child labour in Guamote Canton, with the support of the ILO project to combat child labour.

The Committee notes however that, according to a 2017 report from the inter-agency Understanding Children’s Work (UCW) programme, which is based on statistics from the 2016 urban survey of employment, unemployment and underemployment (ENEMDU), indigenous young persons aged from 15 to 17 years occupy 41.6 per cent of hazardous jobs compared with 8.7 per cent for non-indigenous young persons.

The Committee encourages the Government to reaffirm its commitment to working for the benefit of children of indigenous peoples by continuing to facilitate their access to the bilingual education system in order to prevent them from being engaged in the worst forms of child labour, as they are still the most vulnerable according to the statistics.

2. Child domestic workers. In its previous comments, the Committee requested the Government to continue to provide information on the effective and time-bound measures taken to protect child domestic workers from the worst forms of child labour.

The Committee duly notes that paid domestic work now appears on the list of hazardous types of work, adopted by Ministerial Order No. MDT-2015-0131. However, the Committee notes that the Government’s report does not provide any information on the measures adopted to combat child labour in clandestine domestic work.

The Committee therefore once again requests the Government to take effective and time-bound measures to protect children engaged in clandestine domestic work and to provide information in that regard in its next report.