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Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182) - Liberia (RATIFICATION: 2003)

Article 4(1) of the Convention. Determination of hazardous work. In its previous comments, the Committee expressed the firm hope that the Decent Work Bill, which contains a provision prohibiting the engagement of children under the age of 18 years in hazardous types of work would be adopted in the near future. It also expressed the hope that a regulation specifying hazardous types of work and processes prohibited to children under 18 years of age would be developed after consultation with the organizations of employers and workers concerned.

The Committee notes with interest that the Decent Work Act of 2015 has been enacted. It notes that Chapter 21, section 21.4(a) of the Decent Work Act prohibits the employment of children under the age of 18 years in those types of hazardous work enumerated under Paragraph 3 of the Worst Forms of Child Labour Recommendation, 1999 (No. 190). Section 21.4(b) further states that the minister shall, within 12 months from the coming into force of this Act, issue regulations specifying further types of work that may be prohibited to children and identify hazardous processes, temperatures, noise levels or vibrations that are dangerous to the health of children. In this regard, the Committee notes the Government’s information, in its report, that the Law Reform Committee has prepared a draft list of types of hazardous work prohibited to children and that consultations with stakeholders on its finalization are ongoing. The Committee expresses the firm hope that the Government will take the necessary measures to ensure that the draft list of types of hazardous work prohibited to children under 18 years of age will be finalized and adopted without delay. It requests the Government to provide information on any progress made in this regard.

Article 7(2). Effective and time-bound measures. Clause (a). Preventing the engagement of children in the worst forms of child labour. Access to free basic education. The Committee previously noted from the compilation prepared by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to the Human Rights Council (A/HRC/WG.6/22/LBR/2, 23 February 2015) that according to the United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF), the gender gap was apparent in education and that illiteracy rates among women and girls were especially high at 60 per cent. It further noted from this report the statement made by the United Nations Country Team in Liberia that, due to the spread of the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD), schools had been ordered to be closed in June 2014 and an estimated 1.4 million students had been forced to stay home. The Committee requested the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure the proper functioning of the education system and to strengthen its efforts to bring back children to schools as well as to take measures to increase the enrolment and completion rates at primary and secondary levels and to provide information in this regard.

The Committee notes the Government’s statement that since the last recorded case of Ebola in 2015, proper precautionary measures were taken and that schools were reopened and children were encouraged to return to school. The Government indicates that better mechanisms to keep children at schools and out of child labour are being initiated. In this regard, the Committee notes the information from the publication entitled: Education in Liberia-Global Partnership for Education, that in order to address the challenges in the education sector related to the rebuilding and recovery from civil war, constrained national finances, poor infrastructure and the Ebola epidemic, the Government has developed a strategic response through “Getting to Best Education Sector Plan for 2017–21”. This plan consists of nine programmes including: (i) improving the efficiency and management of education system; (ii) improving access to quality early childhood education; (iii) providing quality alternative education for overage and out-of school children; (iv) mainstreaming gender and school health across the education sector; and (v) improving the quality and relevance of vocational and technical training. The Committee notes, however, that according to the UNESCO statistics, in 2016, the net enrolment rate was 36.75 per cent in primary education and 10.37 per cent in secondary education. Moreover, there were 572,439 children and adolescents who were out-of school in 2016. The Committee notes with concern the low enrolment rates at the primary and secondary levels and the high number of children who are out-of-school. Considering that education is key in preventing the engagement of children in the worst forms of child labour, the Committee urges the Government to intensify its efforts to improve the functioning of the education system and to facilitate access of all children to free basic education, including through the “ Getting to Best Education Sector Plan for 2017–21”. It requests the Government to provide information on the concrete measures taken or envisaged in this regard, aimed, in particular at increasing the school enrolment and attendance rates at the primary and secondary levels and reducing school drop-out rates as well as to provide updated statistical information on the results obtained, disaggregated by age and gender.

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