CMNT_TITLE

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

Article 3 of the Convention. Worst forms of child labour. Clause (b). Use, procuring or offering of a child for prostitution. The Committee previously noted that sections 342 and 343 of the Penal Code prohibit the procuring or offering of persons, particularly children, for prostitution. It requested the Government to provide information on the application of sections 342 and 343 of the Penal Code in practice.

The Government indicates in its report that in 2019, 646 cases concerning section 342 of the Penal Code (which punishes anyone who habitually incites, promotes or facilitates the debauchery or corruption of minors) were registered, of which 631 were examined. These cases resulted in the conviction of 632 persons and the acquittal of 217 persons. The Government indicates that these cases enabled the identification of 671 child victims. The Government further refers to the number of cases registered under section 343 of the Penal Code (which punishes anyone who uses, procures or offers a person for prostitution), stating that 39 identified victims were between the ages of 13 and 18. The Committee takes due note of the statistics provided by the Government. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the application in practice of sections 342 and 343 of the Penal Code, specifically concerning cases of persons who use, procure or offer children below the age of 18 for prostitution, by providing, in particular, information concerning the number and nature of the violations reported, convictions obtained and legal penalties imposed, disaggregated by age and gender.

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 the Government’s indications that, in order to ensure the right to free basic education for all children aged 6–16 years, support measures for children’s schooling, particularly in remote areas, had been developed and allowed them to receive aid in various forms. The Committee noted that the net primary school enrolment rate rose to almost 98 per cent in 2015. It nevertheless noted that, according to UNICEF, roughly 300,000 children from so-called disadvantaged regions did not attend school, and that the dropout rate remained a cause for concern. The Committee requested the Government to provide information on the measures taken to improve the education system, and on the impact of these measures on increasing school completion rates and the school attendance of children from disadvantaged regions.

The Government refers to several measures taken to reduce social disparities, and the repetition and school dropout rates, including: (i) measures to provide care and support for pupils, including those with learning difficulties (remedial learning provisions, development of adaptation classes, school orientation measures, and implementation of the Information System of the Ministry of National Education, for the collection of real-time data and intervention for children with learning difficulties); (ii) an increase in school infrastructure, including in remote and most disadvantaged areas; (iii) assistance from the National Office for Distance Learning and Training for pupils who have not been able to attend state schools; (iv) the allocation of study grants and grants for the start of the school year; (v) the expansion of the transport network; and (vi) the consolidation of specialized school health units.

The Government indicates that in 2020, the enrolment rate for children aged 6 to 16 years was 96.15 percent. It emphasizes that in the 2018/2019 school year, more than 250,000 pupils dropped out of basic education (primary and junior secondary levels), that is 3.84 per cent of pupils. In addition, the Committee notes that the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey conducted in Algeria in 2019 by the Directorate of Population under the Ministry of Health, Population and Hospital Reform in partnership with UNICEF reveals that the completion rate is 94.5 per cent for primary school, 68.9 per cent for junior secondary and 46.4 per cent for secondary school.

The Government also indicates that the distance learning programmes that were developed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic will be reviewed and improved to become proper distance learning programmes. The priority actions defined by the Ministry of Education include: (i) ensuring compulsory schooling for pupils aged 6 to 16 years who are not in school or who have dropped out; (ii) reducing disparities within or among regions (wilayas) in terms of schooling; and (iii) reducing educational wastage by consolidating school orientation for better support for pupils. While noting the measures taken by the Government, the Committee requests the Government to strengthen its efforts to ensure access to education for all children, particularly in disadvantaged or remote areas, by focusing on reducing school dropout rates at secondary level. It requests the Government to continue to provide information on the measures taken in this regard and on the results achieved, in particular concerning the increase in enrolment and completion rates, and the reduction in the school dropout rates, in primary and secondary education.

Clauses(b) and (d). Assistance for the removal of children from the worst forms of child labour and children at special risk. Street children. The Committee previously noted that under Act No. 15-12 on child protection, a child subjected to begging is considered to be a “child in danger”. He or she is therefore afforded protection by the community child protection services (services du milieu ouvert), responsible for the social protection of children at the local level, and for conducting investigations to verify situations of danger and removing, where necessary, a child from danger. The Committee urged the Government to provide information on the application of the provisions of Act No. 15-12 relating to the community child protection services, in particular on the number of street children and children subjected to begging who are removed from the worst forms of child labour and subsequently rehabilitated and integrated in society.

The Government indicates that the Brigades for the protection of vulnerable persons, established within the police, are called upon to identify children living or working in the street, who can subsequently be placed in specialized child protection centres. In addition, the Government indicates that in 2019, 36 cases of begging were registered, involving 36 child victims, 25 of whom were below 10 years of age. In the first quarter of 2020, 17 cases of begging involving 31 children were registered, of which 17 children were below 10 years of age. The Government states that the perpetrators were, in most cases, the children’s parents. The Committee requests the Government to continue to take effective and time-bound measures to remove children subjected to begging from this worst form of child labour and ensure that they are rehabilitated and integrated in society. It requests the Government to provide information on the number of street children and children subjected to begging who have been identified, removed from the worst forms of child labour and provided with care in specialized child protection centres and by the community child protection services.