Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2008, published 98th ILC session (2009)

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

Article 3 of the Convention. Worst forms of child labour. Clause (a). All forms of slavery or practices similar to slavery. Compulsory recruitment of children for use in armed conflict. The Committee had previously noted that the National Service Ordinance of 1970 prescribes a minimum age of 18 for compulsory enlistment in the armed forces. The Committee had noted that the Government had added that children aged 16 and above may begin training prior to regular service if they are willing to. The Committee had also noted that the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC/C/15/Add.217, 27 October 2003, paragraphs 62, 64(c), 67 and 68) expressed its concern that, in spite of legislation prohibiting the involvement of children in hostilities, there were reports of children being recruited forcibly to participate in armed conflicts, especially in Afghanistan and in Jammu and Kashmir. The Committee on the Rights of the Child also expressed its concern about madrasas (Islamic schools) being involved in recruiting children under 18 years of age, including forcibly, to participate in armed conflicts. The Committee had recalled that under Article 3(a) of the Convention, the compulsory recruitment of children under 18 years of age for use in armed conflict is considered to be one of the worst forms of child labour and consequently is prohibited. Noting the absence of information on this point in the Government’s report, the Committee requests the Government to take immediate measures to ensure that children under 18 years of age are not compelled to participate in armed conflicts. It also once again asks the Government to supply a copy of the National Service Ordinance of 1970 and any other relevant legislation regarding the recruitment of children for their use in armed conflict.

Clause (b). Use, procuring or offering of a child for the production of pornography or for pornographic performances. The Committee had previously noted that, according to section 372 of the Penal Code, whoever sells, lets to hire, or otherwise disposes of any person under the age of 18 years for the purpose of prostitution or for any unlawful and immoral purpose, commits an offence. It had noted that it is also an offence to buy, hire or otherwise obtain possession of a person under the age of 18 years for prostitution or for other immoral purposes (section 373 of the Penal Code). The Committee had also observed that, by virtue of section 292 of the Penal Code, it is a criminal offence to sell, distribute, or for purposes of sale, distribution or circulation, make or produce obscene books, drawing, representation or any other object. Furthermore, it had noted that section 294 of the Penal Code states that it is prohibited to perform any obscene act in a public place. The Committee had noted that “obscene” means “offensive to chastity or modesty, expressing or representing to the mind or view something that delicacy and decency forbid to be expressed” (interpretation given under section 292 of the Penal Code). The Committee once again requests the Government to define the term “unlawful or immoral purpose” and, more specifically, to indicate whether the abovementioned sections of the Penal Code include the prohibition of the use, procuring or offering of a child for the production of pornography or for pornographic performances.

Article 6. Programmes of action. Commercial sexual exploitation of children. The Committee had previously noted that, according to the ILO/IPEC Technical Progress Report on the project entitled “Elimination of child labour in the soccer ball industry in Sialkot, Pakistan” of September 2004, the National Commission on Child Welfare and Development (NCCWD), under the Ministry of Women Development, Social Welfare and Special Education, prepared, in July 2004, a report on the commercial sexual exploitation of children which, after examination by the Government, should have resulted in the launching of programmes of action to combat this phenomenon. The Committee notes that, according to the Technical Progress Report of March 2006 for the second phase of the subregional project to combat child trafficking (TICSA), a draft National Plan of Action on the commercial sexual exploitation of children and child sexual abuse was still being finalized and was then expected to be submitted to Cabinet for review and approval. The Committee once again asks the Government to supply a copy of the report drafted by the NCCWD. It also requests the Government to provide information on the status of the National Plan of Action on commercial sexual exploitation and, if it has been adopted, on its impact on preventing children from commercial sexual exploitation or withdrawing them from this worst form of child labour.

Article 7, paragraph 2. Effective and time-bound measures. The Committee had previously noted that ILO/IPEC launched, in 2003, a four-year Project to Support the National Time-bound Programme (TBP) on the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour. It had noted that the project support had several objectives, including to ensure the monitoring of the incidence of the worst forms of child labour and the launching of relevant programmes. The Committee notes the Government’s information that various projects have effectively been launched under the TBP support project in the following industries: tanneries, surgical instruments manufacturing industries, glass bangle making industry, deep-sea fishing industry, coal mining industries and rag picking. According to the Government’s information, under these projects, a total of 11,800 children were provided with vocational training and health care to ensure that they are protected from being involved in the worst forms of child labour. The Committee notes with interest that in the sector of deep-sea fishing, 160 children were provided with vocational training and 1,000 children were given health-care services, while 400 children engaged in rag picking were provided with vocational training and 1,555 were given health-care services. The Committee strongly encourages the Government to pursue its efforts to effectively eliminate the worst forms of child labour in the abovementioned sectors. It requests the Government to continue providing information on progress made in this regard.

Clause (a). Preventing the engagement of children in the worst forms of child labour. 1. Ensure access to education. The Committee had previously noted the International Trade Union Confederation’s indication that attendance rates in primary education are very low and that independent surveys undertaken in the Karachi area suggest that about 25 per cent of school-age children attend primary education. The Committee had noted that the Government itself reckons that the education system lacks infrastructure and facilities and suffers from a severe shortage of qualified and trained teachers. The Committee had also noted that the Ministry of Education had launched, in 2003, a National Plan of Action on Education for All. The Plan’s objectives were to achieve universal primary education and to eliminate gender disparities in primary and secondary education by 2005. The Committee notes that the National Education Policy of 1998 to 2010 assigns basic education as a top priority and stresses that quality and access to elementary education shall be increased. The Committee requests the Government to provide further information on the implementation of the National Plan of Action on Education for All and the National Education Policy and the results attained.

2. Awareness raising. The Committee notes that, according to the status report of August–December 2006 for the project “Activating media to combat worst forms of child labour in Pakistan”, ILO/IPEC and the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting initiated a three-year collaborative project, from 2006 to 2009, on the basis of the successful completion of phase 1 of the Media Project “Activating media in combating child labour” which ran from 2003 to 2005. In the framework of this project, the ILO/IPEC Action Programme “Media products on child labour for television”, implemented in 2007 for a period of two years, aims to use Pakistan Television as a source of disseminating information on child labour and its worst forms to raise public awareness and motivate the general masses to take affirmative action against it. To reach this objective, it is planned to produce a series of television programmes and to telecast them in order to reach all segments of Pakistan society. Furthermore, the same objective is targeted within the framework of the ILO/IPEC Action Programme “Media products on child labour for radio”, implemented in 2007 for a period of two years, by collaborating with the Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation to produce a series of radio programmes. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the impact of these awareness-raising programmes in preventing the engagement of children in the worst forms of child labour.

Clause (c). Ensuring access to free basic education for all children removed from the worst forms of child labour. The Committee had previously noted that the Pakistan Baitul Mal (i.e. the National Welfare Agency) had set up 68 centres to rehabilitate children working in hazardous occupations by providing non-formal education. The Committee notes that action programmes, implemented in 2005 entitled “Prevention, withdrawal and rehabilitation of working children and their siblings” in the districts Lower Dir and Swat of the North-West Frontier Province of Pakistan, established, among other things, rehabilitation centres to provide rehabilitation services to working children through counselling and non-formal education. The Committee notes with interest the Government’s information that the “National project on the rehabilitation of child labour” has been expanded. The number of national centres for the rehabilitation of child labourers has been increased from 83 in 2004 to 151 in 2007. In these centres, former child workers between 5 and 14 years of age, removed from hazardous work, are provided with free education, vocational training, clothing, footwear and a stipend. At present, 15,045 students are benefiting from primary education in these centres and 4,467 have been admitted to governmental schools for further education. The Committee once again encourages the Government to pursue its efforts to ensure access to free basic education and, wherever possible and appropriate, vocational training for all children removed from the worst forms of child labour. It also asks the Government to provide information on the results achieved.

Clause (d). Children at special risk. 1. Child domestic workers. In its previous comments, the Committee had noted that a Project to Prevent and Eliminate Exploitative Child Domestic Work through Education and Training in South Asia (PEECDW) was established in 2004 to continue addressing the situation of child domestic labourers. The Committee notes that the ILO/IPEC Action Programme “Child domestic work project: basic enabling education programme (non-formal)” was implemented from 2005 to 2006 within the framework of the PEECDW project. According to the summary outline for the Action Programme, child domestic labour is, by nature, susceptible to being or becoming a worst form of child labour because the tasks child domestics perform are difficult to monitor or regulate. The Action Programme targets 1,000 child domestic workers to be withdrawn and placed in a 12-month basic education enabling programme providing educational and vocational services and establishes a system to monitor the situation of these children on a monthly basis. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on progress made with regard to the implementation of the Action Programme on child domestic work and the results achieved.

2. Children working in glass bangle making and tanneries. The Committee had previously noted that, according to the Rapid Assessment Studies of Bonded Labour in Different Sectors in Pakistan (Chapter 5 on glass bangle making, tanneries and construction, pages 5, 15 and 44), the glass bangle making industry in Pakistan uses children as young as 11 years of age. The study indicated that this type of work is highly dangerous for children due to the exposure to high temperatures. The study further revealed that children aged 11 are found in tanneries in Kasur where they perform various tasks, some of which expose them to harmful chemicals. The Committee notes that, in the framework of the ILO/IPEC project “Supporting the time-bound programme on the elimination of the worst forms of child labour in Pakistan”, several activities were undertaken to protect children from these worst forms in the glass bangle making and the tanneries sectors, including occupational safety and health training in the tanneries sector. These activities included occupational safety and health training in the tanneries sector and medical check-ups in the glass bangle making sector. The Committee notes that an ILO/IPEC Action Programme “The elimination of worst forms of child labour from the glass bangle industry in district Hyderabad” was implemented from 2005 to 2008 to address the issue of child labour in the sector by organizing orientation workshops, awareness-raising activities, exposure visits and regular meetings and by building strong partnerships with the district government, social partners, training institutes and non-governmental organizations. The Committee also notes that an ILO/IPEC Action Programme “Elimination of worst forms of child labour from tannery industries in district Kasur” was implemented in 2005 as well. Furthermore, another ILO/IPEC Action Programme “Combating hazardous child labour in the TBP-selected sectors through the promotion of occupational safety and health awareness” was implemented from 2007 to 2008 to promote actions to prevent, reduce, remove and avoid safety and health hazards and risks and the harmful effects of work on children in several sectors, including in glass bangle making and tanneries. Moreover, the Government indicates that, in the context of these action programmes, 300 children working in the glass bangle industry were provided with vocational training and 4,750 received health care, while 50 children working in the tannery industry were provided with vocational training and 250 received health care. The Committee encourages the Government to pursue its efforts to protect children under 18 years of age working in the glass bangle making and tanneries sectors from the worst forms of child labour. It requests the Government to provide information on the results attained.

3. Street children. The Committee had previously noted the increasing number of street children and the vulnerability of these children to exploitation, the lack of a systematic and comprehensive strategy to address the situation and protect these children. The Committee notes that, according to the Technical Progress Report of March 2006 for the ILO/IPEC project to combat child trafficking and sexual exploitation (TICSA-II), the Government of Punjab had established a Child Protection and Rehabilitation Bureau (CPRB) in Lahore to rehabilitate street children and that the CPRB has established its rehabilitation centre in the Rahim Yar Kan and has now planned to open five more such rehabilitation centres in various cities of the Punjab province. Recalling that street children are particularly vulnerable to the worst forms of child labour, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on the number of street children who were effectively prevented or withdrawn from such worst forms of child labour as a result of the CPRB’s activities.

4. Child victims of the 2005 Pakistan earthquake. The Committee notes that, on 8 October 2005, an earthquake registering 7.6 on the Richter scale hit Pakistan, killing 73,338 people, injuring over 135,000 and destroying a large number of educational facilities and resources. It observes that the large number of families and children who have been affected by the earthquake are subject to a high degree of vulnerability and are exposed to serious risks from lack of safe shelter and protection against various forms of abuse and exploitation, including child labour and its worst forms. The Committee notes that an ILO/IPEC project “Pakistan earthquake – Child labour response” (ILO/IPEC earthquake project) has been implemented in 2006 for a period of three years within the framework of the ILO/IPEC umbrella project of support to the National Time-Bound Programme, and national earthquake reconstruction and rehabilitation framework. At the national level, the project aims to contribute to mainstreaming child labour issues into the Government’s recovery and reconstruction policy and programmes, while, at the district and community levels, the key strategies are capacity building and targeted direct action. Therefore, the project targets a total of 2,500 children (1,250 girls and 1,250 boys) who were engaged in child labour prior to the project, children who continue to be involved in child labour post earthquake or who are at risk of being engaged in child labour. The project aims to withdraw 500 children from child labour and prevent 2,000 children from being engaged in child labour, with a focus on its worst forms. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the progress made with regard to the implementation of the ILO/IPEC earthquake project and, more specifically, on the number of children affected by the earthquake who were effectively prevented or withdrawn from the worst forms of child labour.

Article 8. International cooperation and assistance. Poverty reduction. The Committee had previously observed that, according to the World Bank, 42 million people (about 30 per cent of Pakistanis) live below the poverty line. It had also noted that, according to the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP), entitled “Accelerating economic growth and reducing poverty: The road ahead” launched in 2003, measures were to be taken to achieve high and sustained broad-based economic growth particularly in rural areas, reduce poverty, provide essential social and economic services and infrastructure to the poor, create job opportunities and improve governance. The Committee notes that, according to the Technical Progress Report of September 2006–February 2007 for the ILO/IPEC project to support the time-bound programme on the elimination of the worst forms of child labour in Pakistan, the PRSP does not pay specific attention to the poor and vulnerable, but that the Government has been busy formulating PRSP-II with the recommendations of ILO/IPEC. The Committee asks the Government to provide information on any notable impact of the PRSP-II towards eliminating the worst forms of child labour.