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

The Committee notes the observations of the International Organisation of Employers (IOE) received on 30 August 2017 and requests the Government to provide its comments in this respect.

The Committee notes that the Government’s report has not been received. It is therefore bound to repeat its previous comments initially made in 2016.

Follow-up to the conclusions of the Committee on the Application of Standards (International Labour Conference, 105th Session, May–June 2016)

The Committee notes the Government’s report, received on 25 October 2016, and the in-depth discussion on the application of the Convention by Madagascar in the Committee on the Application of Standards at the 105th Session of the International Labour Conference in June 2016.

Articles 3(b) and 7(1) of the Convention. Worst forms of child labour and sanctions. Child prostitution. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that section 13 of Decree No. 2007-563 of 3 July 2007 respecting child labour categorically prohibits the procuring, use, offering or employment of children of either sex for prostitution and that section 261 of the Labour Code and sections 354–357 of the Penal Code, which are referred to in Decree No. 2007 563, establish effective and dissuasive sanctions. The Committee noted the observations of the Christian Confederation of Malagasy Trade Unions (SEKRIMA) indicating that the number of girls under the age of majority, some as young as 12 years old, who are engaged in prostitution is increasing especially in cities, that 50 per cent of prostitutes in the capital, Antananarivo, are minors, and 47 per cent engage in prostitution because of their precarious situation. For fear of reprisals, 80 per cent of them prefer not to turn to the authorities. Furthermore, the Government has strengthened the capacity of 120 actors engaged in tourism in Nosy-Be and 35 in Tuléar in relation to sexual exploitation for commercial purposes. However, the Committee noted the absence of information on the number of investigations, prosecutions and convictions of those engaged in commercial sexual exploitation. It also noted the increase in sex tourism involving children, the insufficient measures taken by the Government to combat this phenomenon and the low number of prosecutions and convictions, all of which fosters impunity.

The Committee notes that the Conference Committee recommended the Government to strengthen its efforts to ensure the elimination of the sexual exploitation of children for commercial purposes and sex tourism.

The Committee notes the Government’s indication in its report that the Ministry of Internal Security, through the Police for Morals and the Protection of Minors (PMPM), is one of the agencies responsible for the enforcement of penal laws on the sexual exploitation of children for commercial purposes, including prostitution. The PMPM centralizes criminal charges concerning children and is responsible for conducting investigations into alleged perpetrators. The Government adds that the PMPM regularly makes unannounced raids on establishments that are open at night to monitor the identity and age of the persons present, but that it is difficult to determine whether the minors who are found are prostitutes. Moreover, the Committee notes that a code of conduct for actors in the tourism industry was signed in 2013. The code of conduct seeks to raise awareness among all actors in tourism with a view to bringing an end to sexual tourism in the country. The Committee also notes the statistics provided by the Government on the cases handled by the courts of first instance in Betroka, Ambatolampy, Arivonimamo, Nosy-be, Taolagnaro, Vatomandry, Mampikony and Ankazobe. It notes that in 2015 no cases of the exploitation of minors or of sex tourism involving minors were brought before these courts. The Committee is therefore once again bound to note with deep concern the absence of prosecutions and convictions of perpetrators, which is resulting in the continuation of a situation of impunity which seems to persist in the country. The Committee therefore urges the Government to take immediate and effective measures to ensure that robust investigations and effective prosecutions are carried out on persons suspected of procuring, using, offering and employing children for prostitution, and that sufficiently effective and dissuasive penalties are imposed. It requests the Government to continue providing statistical information on the number and nature of the violations reported, investigations, prosecutions, convictions and criminal penalties imposed in this respect. Finally, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on the results achieved as a result of the dissemination of the code of conduct among the various actors in the tourism sector.

Clause (d). Hazardous types of work. Children working in mines and quarries, and labour inspection. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that children work in the Ilakaka mines and in stone quarries under precarious and sometimes hazardous conditions, and that the worst forms of child labour are found in the informal economy and in rural areas, which the labour administration is unable to cover. The Committee also noted that the work carried out by children in mines and quarries is a contemporary form of slavery, as it involves debt bondage, forced labour and the economic exploitation of those concerned, particularly unaccompanied children working in small-scale mines and quarries. It noted that children work from five to ten hours a day, that they are engaged in transporting blocks of stone or water, and that some boys dig pits one metre in circumference and between 15 and 50 metres deep, while others go down the pits to remove the loose earth. Children between three and seven years of age, often working in family groups, break stones and carry baskets of stones or bricks on their heads, working an average of 47 hours a week when they are not enrolled in school. Moreover, the working conditions are unhealthy and hygiene is extremely poor. All of the children are also exposed to physical and sexual violence and to serious health hazards, particularly due to the contamination of the water, the instability of pits and the collapse of tunnels.

The Committee notes that the Conference Committee recommended the Government to take measures to improve the capacity of the labour inspectorate. It also notes the Government’s indication that, in the context of the National Plan of Action to Combat Child Labour (PNA), the labour inspectorate envisages conducting inspections to take preventive and protective measures with a view to combating child labour in mines and quarries in the regions of Diana, Ihorombe and Haute Matsiatra. The Committee notes that the Government representative to the Conference Committee indicated that the lack of resources is a major obstacle to the adoption of rigorous measures. For example, labour inspectors do not have means of transport, even though the Government indicates in its report that one of the main obstacles to inspections by labour inspectors is the fact that mining sites, located on the outskirts of large cities, are often difficult to access. The Committee notes with deep concern the situation of children working in mines and quarries under particularly hazardous conditions. The Committee once again urges the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that no children under 18 years of age can be engaged in work which is likely to harm their health, safety or morals. It requests the Government to provide information on the progress made in this respect, particularly in the context of the PNA, and the results achieved in removing these children from this worst form of child labour. The Committee also requests the Government to improve the capacities of the labour inspectorate, in particular by providing the necessary resources, such as vehicles, to enable labour inspectors to have access to remote sites.

Article 7(2). Effective and time-bound measures. Clause (d). Children at special risk. Street children. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that the Ministry of Labour and Social Legislation (MTLS) was continuing its programme of school enrolment and training for street children in the context of the Public Investment Programme for Social Action (PIP). It however noted that the number of street children has increased in recent years and that the action taken by the Government to help them is still minimal. The Government indicated that the programmes financed under the PIP have the objective of removing 40 children a year from the worst forms of child labour, or 120 children over three years. The Committee nevertheless noted that there are about 4,500 street children in the capital, Antananarivo, most of whom are boys (63 per cent) who live from begging or sorting through rubbish. Girls living on the streets are frequently victims of sexual exploitation to meet their subsistence needs, or under pressure from third parties. Others are engaged in domestic work, swelling the ranks of exploited child workers.

The Committee notes that the Conference Committee, in its conclusions, requested the Government to increase funding for the PIP with a view to removing children from the streets and for awareness-raising campaigns.

The Committee notes the Government’s indication that the Ministry of the Population, Social Protection and the Promotion of Women has set up a census programme of children living and working on the streets and homeless families for the period 2015–16. The objective of this programme is to determine the number of children living and working on the streets, identify the needs of homeless families and develop a short-, medium- and long-term plan of action to deal with them. The Committee notes that studies have been carried out, data analysed and interpreted, and shelters set up. The next stages will consist of the provision of shelter, care, guidance, education, school enrolment and placement or repatriation of the persons concerned. The Committee requests the Government to continue taking effective and time-bound measures to ensure the targeted implementation of the PIP’s programmes, and requests it to intensify its efforts to ensure that street children are protected from the worst forms of child labour and are rehabilitated and integrated in society. It requests the Government to provide information on the results achieved in this respect. The Committee also requests the Government to provide information on the data collected through the census programme on children living and working in the streets and homeless families, as well as the results achieved in removing them from this situation and preventing them from becoming engaged in the worst forms of child labour.

Application of the Convention in practice. The Committee previously noted that 27.5 per cent of children, or 2,030,000, are engaged in work, of whom 30 per cent live in rural areas and 18 per cent in urban areas. The Committee also noted that 81 per cent of child workers between 5 and 17 years of age, or 1,653,000 children, are engaged in hazardous types of work. Agriculture and fishing account for the majority of child labour (89 per cent), and more than six out of ten working children have reported health problems resulting from their work over the past 12 months. The Committee further noted that child domestic labour is often a feature of the lives of poor rural families who send their children to urban areas in response to their precarious situation. Child domestic workers may be forced to work up to 15 hours per day, and most of them receive no wages, which are paid directly to their parents. In some cases, they sleep on the floor, and many are victims of psychological, physical or sexual violence. The Committee expressed its deep concern at the situation and number of children under 18 years of age forced to perform hazardous types of work.

The Committee notes the Government’s indication that it is intensifying its efforts to combat child labour through the Manjary Soa project. The Manjary Soa Centre, established in 2001, offers selected children second chance education. Once these children have been reinserted into the public education system, the Centre covers their school fees and provides them with the necessary school supplies. The Committee also notes the 2014–16 project to combat child labour in the regions of Diana and Atsimo Andrefana. The Government indicates that the objective of this project is to reinforce action in support of the socio-economic reintegration of 100 girls under 18 years of age, who have been removed from sexual exploitation for commercial purposes in Nosy-be, Toliara and Mangily. The Committee requests the Government to intensify its efforts to eliminate the worst forms of child labour, and particularly hazardous types of work, and to provide information on any progress made in this regard and the results achieved.

The Committee is raising 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.