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Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182) - Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) (RATIFICATION: 2005)

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Article 7(2) of the Convention. Effective and time-bound measures. Clauses (a) and (d). Preventing the engagement of children in the worst forms of child labour. Access to free basic education and identifying and reaching out to children at special risk. Indigenous and Afro-Venezuelan children. The Committee takes note of the Government’s statement, in its report, that the National Committee on the Rights of Children and Young Persons (IDENNA) implements prevention and protection programmes for all children in situations of vulnerability, without discrimination, including for children of indigenous communities and for Afro-Venezuelan children. In this regard, the Government indicates that, in 2022: (1) 448 children (including 55 children of indigenous communities or of Afro-Venezuelan descent), who were separated from their families, received shelter in Units of Comprehensive Care and received assistance for their reintegration; (2) 152 children (including 55 children belonging to indigenous communities) received care through the Casa Comunal de Abrigo Programme (shelter house); and (3) 114 children with learning difficulties (including 58 Afro-Venezuelan children and 32 children of indigenous communities), benefitted from services from the Neuro-Development Centres of IDENNA. The Committee welcomes these measures and requests the Government to continue to provide information on the effective and time-bound measures specifically aimed at protecting these children from the worst forms of child labour, including by ensuring their access to free basic education. It also requests the Government to provide detailed information on the results achieved in the context of the various IDENNA programmes.

Clause (d). Children at special risk. Children in street situations. The Committee notes, from the Government’s report, that in 2022, 47 children and 63 adolescents in street situations were provided with social integration services, through the Centre for Comprehensive Care in the State of Miranda. The Committee further notes the Government’s indication that the National Plan for the Comprehensive Protection of children and adolescents 2021–26, developed by the IDENNA, aims to provide comprehensive protection for, and guarantee, the human rights of children and young persons who require special protection, including children in street situations. The Government indicates that the National Plan is articulated with the “Zero Vulnerability Plan”, the objective of which is the prevention, protection and care of children and young persons, and in particular those in situations of vulnerability. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken and the results achieved, including within the framework of the National Plan for the Comprehensive Protection of children and adolescents 2021–26 and the “Zero Vulnerability Plan”, to protect children in street situations from the worst forms of child labour. The Committee also requests the Government to continue providing information on the number of children who have been removed from the streets, rehabilitated and socially integrated.

Article 8. International cooperation. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that the National Office against Organized Crime and the Funding of Terrorism (ONCDOFT), between 2021 and 2023, detected and repatriated 199 persons, including three minors of Venezuelan nationality who were assumed to be victims of trafficking. The Committee further notes, from the observations of the National Union of Workers of Venezuela (UNETE), the Confederation of Workers of Venezuela (CTV), the Independent Trade Union Alliance Confederation of Workers (CTASI), the United Federation of Workers of Venezuela (CUTV), the Federation of University Teachers’ Associations of Venezuela (FAPUV), the General Confederation of Labour (CGT) and the Confederation of Autonomous Trade Unions (CODESA), that the Government is part of the Regional Initiative for a Latin America and Caribbean Free from Child Labour, which seeks to accelerate and intensify actions to prevent and eradicate child labour and its worst forms by strengthening inter-institutional coordination and promoting coordination between different levels of government. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on its efforts to pursue international cooperation with neighbouring countries to eliminate trafficking in children. It also requests it to continue to provide information on the impact of the measures taken, in terms of the number of child victims of trafficking who have been removed and repatriated to their countries of origin.

Poverty reduction programmes. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that the impact of the sanctions imposed by several other countries and the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have exacerbated the deterioration of the economy and increased the vulnerability of many children and young persons. In this regard, the UNETE, CTV, CTASI, CUTV, FAPUV, CGT and CODESA observe that, due to the economic crisis, an increasing number of children are forced to work, including in the worst forms of child labour. The Committee also notes, from the 2021 Annual Report of the UNICEF Country Office that between 2014 and 2021, the contraction by 81 per cent of the economic activity, the chronic inflation and the deterioration of basic services and the COVID-19 pandemic, were disproportionately affecting children.

The Committee notes, from the Government’s report under the Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138), that the National Plan for Comprehensive Protection of children and adolescents 2021–26 and the “Zero Vulnerability Plan” are specifically directed towards children and families in situations of great vulnerability. The Committee also notes the approval, in 2023, of the UNICEF Country Programme Document, which seeks, inter alia, to encourage the adoption of inclusive policies aimed at reducing poverty (E/ICEF/2023/P/L.7, 13 December 2022, paragraphs 8 and 12). Noting that poverty reduction programmes contribute to breaking the cycle of poverty, which is essential for the elimination of the worst forms of child labour, the Committee encourages the Government to pursue its efforts to implement social protection programmes to address the needs of low-income and vulnerable families. It requests the Government to provide information on the results achieved, especially with regard to the effective reduction of poverty in vulnerable households and the impact observed on the elimination of the worst forms of child labour.