Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2010, published 100th ILC session (2011)

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

Article 3 of the Convention. Worst forms of child labour. Clause (a). Forced recruitment of children for use in armed conflict. The Committee previously noted the International Trade Union Confederation’s (ITUC) indication that, while military service was compulsory for men over 18 years of age, in practice, children between the ages of 12 and 17 years were recruited through various means, including the use of force and the persuasion of parents to authorize their recruitment. The ITUC also indicated that, although in recent years the recruitment of children in the armed forces had decreased, the practice still existed. A study carried out by the Inter-Institutional Human Rights Commission in military barracks in March 2005 showed that, out of 1,458 conscripts, 168 were under 18 years of age. The Committee noted the Government’s information that, although the national legislation prohibits the recruitment of young persons under 18 years of age into the armed forces, cases of forced recruitment into military service occurred in practice. Moreover, according to the Government, the Inter‑Institutional Human Rights Commission identified irregularities in recruitment procedures, consisting of falsifying identity documents for persons under 18 years of age so as to raise their age. The Committee requested the Government to take the necessary measures to enforce the legislation prohibiting the forced recruitment of young persons under 18 years of age into the armed forces and to adopt appropriate penalties for violations of this prohibition.

The Committee notes that the Government has supplied a copy of a judgement which rejects the appeal under the grounds of unconstitutionality against the decision of not recruiting into the armed forces a child of 17 years of age (voluntary recruitment). Noting the absence of information requested under this Article, the Committee once again requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken to enforce the legislation prohibiting the forced recruitment of young persons under 18 years of age into the armed forces and penalties applied in practice. To the extent possible, all information provided should be disaggregated by sex and age.

Clause (b). Use, procuring or offering of a child for the production of pornography or for pornographic performances. The Committee previously noted the adoption of Act No. 2861/06, which punishes the trading and commercial and non-commercial dissemination of pornography using the image or other representations of minors or persons with disabilities. In particular, it noted that sections 1 and 3 of this Act criminalize the use of boys, girls and young persons for the production of pornography or pornographic performances. Under sections 2 and 6 of the Act, the dissemination and possession of such materials are also penalized.

The Committee notes that section 140 of the Penal Code, as amended by Act No. 3440/2008, establishes penalties of up to five years’ imprisonment or fines for anyone who produces pornographic publications representing children under 18 years, disseminates such materials, or organizes spectacles in which a child under 18 years performs pornographic performances. It further notes that section 2 of Act No. 3440/2008 repeals Act No. 2861/06. It notes with concern that the penalties provided for by section 140 of the Penal Code, as amended by Act No. 3440/2008, are lower than those which were established by Act No. 2861/06. Noting that the new Penal Code reduces the punishment for child pornography compared to the penalties established in Act No. 2861/06, the Committee hopes that the Government will consider legislative amendments that include penalties proportional to the harm inflicted on the victim. Furthermore, it requests the Government to provide information on the effect given in practice to section 140 of the Penal Code by providing, inter alia, statistics on the number and nature of the infringements reported, investigations conducted, prosecutions, convictions and penal sanctions applied. To the extent possible, all information provided should be disaggregated by sex and age.

Clause (c). Use, procuring or offering of a child for illicit activities. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that the national legislation does not contain provisions giving effect to this provision of the Convention.

The Committee notes the information contained in the Government’s report that various activities have been carried out to prevent and combat the recruitment of children for the purpose of trafficking in drugs, including through training special units dealing with children, adolescents and women within the police. The Committee notes, however, that the Government provides no information on any legislation adopted to prohibit the use, procuring or offering of a child for illicit activities, in particular for the production and trafficking of drugs. It reminds the Government that, under the terms of Article 3(c) of the Convention, the use, procuring or offering of a child under 18 years of age for illicit activities, in particular for the production and trafficking of drugs as defined in the relevant international treaties, is considered as one of the worst forms of child labour and that, under Article 1 of the Convention, immediate and effective measures must be taken to secure the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labour as a matter of urgency. Accordingly, it urges the Government to take the necessary measures to prohibit the use, procuring or offering of a child for illicit activities, in particular for the production and trafficking of drugs, in accordance with Article 3(c) of the Convention as well as to establish penalties for this purpose, and to provide information on any developments in this regard.

Articles 3(d) and 4. Hazardous types of work. The Committee previously noted that Decree No. 4951 of 22 March 2005, issued under Act No. 1657/2001 approving the list of hazardous types of work, contains a detailed list of hazardous types of work prohibited for young persons under 18 years of age, including work in mines. However, it noted that section 87 of Act No. 93/14 on mines provides that children under 10 years of age shall not be employed in mines and children under 14 years of age on work inside mines. Noting the absence of information on this point in the Government’s report and recalling that the Convention prohibits the employment of young persons under 18 years of age in hazardous types of work, and that Decree No. 4951 of 22 March 2005 prohibits work by young persons under 18 years of age in mines, the Committee once again requests the Government to indicate whether Act No. 93/14 on mines is still in force.

Article 4(2). Identification of where hazardous types of work exist. In its previous comments, the Committee requested the Government to indicate the measures adopted or envisaged with a view to identifying where the hazardous types of work determined exist, in consultation with the organizations of employers and workers concerned. The Committee notes the Government’s information that, in the framework of the Programme to Strengthen Public Policies on Childhood and Adolescence funded by the Inter-American Bank of Development (BID), the National Committee for Childhood and Adolescence (SNNA) and the National Committee for the Prevention and Elimination of Child Labour and the Protection of the Work of Young Persons (CONAETI) planned two exploratory studies to locate and evaluate the situation of children and adolescents who work in the limestone quarries and the brick factories in the north of Paraguay (Concepción) and in the Department of Cordillera (Tobatí). The prioritization of these types of hazardous work and the location of the respective areas responds to the situations of exploitation reported to the municipal Advisory Centres for the Rights of Childhood and Adolescence (CODENIS), as well as to the CONAETI, UNICEF and OIT–Paraguay. The implementation of the studies started in October 2009. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the results of these studies.

Article 6. Programmes of action. The Committee notes the information contained in the Government’s report that in 2009 the CONAETI has started drafting the National Strategy for Prevention and Elimination of Child Labour and Improvement of the Work of Young Persons in Paraguay (National Strategy), which is the extension of the National Plan for the Prevention and Elimination of Child Labour and the Protection of the Work of Young Persons (2003–08). It also notes that the ILO–IPEC projects on Combating the worst forms of child labour through horizontal cooperation in South America 2009–13 and on Development, awareness raising and support for the implementation of the Global Action Plan on the elimination of the worst forms of child labour by 2016, are being carried out in Paraguay. It requests the Government to provide information on the programmes of action for the elimination of the worst forms of child labour undertaken in the context of the implementation of the National Strategy and results achieved, as well as on the implementation of the ILO–IPEC projects referred to above.

Article 7(2). Effective and time-bound measures. Clause (d). Children at special risk. 1. Indigenous children. The Committee previously noted that, in his report of 9 December 2004 (E/CN.4/2005/78/Add.1), the Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography indicated that the children of indigenous peoples, who are in constant growth in Paraguay, are subject to discrimination, suffer from malnutrition and do not attend school frequently. Many leave their families to go and live in towns and are exposed to very dangerous situations in view of their vulnerability. Having noted that indigenous children are often victims of exploitation, which may take on very different forms, and are at risk of being engaged in the worst forms of child labour, the Committee requested the Government to take the necessary measures to protect these children.

The Committee notes the Government’s information that the Indigenous Unit within the SNNA, inter alia, assists indigenous children and adolescents and their families. It also notes that one of the groups targeted by the ILO–IPEC project Combating the worst forms of child labour through horizontal cooperation in South America 2009–13 are indigenous people. It requests the Government to provide information on the activities of the SNNA and on the implementation of the ILO–IPEC project on Combating the worst forms of child labour through horizontal cooperation in South America 2009–13 in terms of preventing the engagement of indigenous children in the worst forms of child labour, removing them from such labour, and providing the necessary and appropriate direct assistance to ensure their rehabilitation and social integration.

2. Street children. The Committee previously noted the Government’s information that 50 per cent of the 265,000 children who work in the country did not have skills and worked in services or as street traders. It further noted the Government’s indication that in 2006 the Programme for the Progressive Reduction of Child Labour in the Streets (ABRAZO) – which is aimed at helping families in situations of extreme poverty by providing them with financial allowances, including the solidarity allowance subject, inter alia, on condition that the children stop working in the streets and attend school – benefited a total of 1,340 boys and girls engaged in work. Moreover, their families, numbering 665, received a financial allowance, with 391 families receiving a solidarity allowance. The Committee notes with interest the Government’s information that in 2009 the ABRAZO Programme directly benefited 1,780 working boys and girls and 853 families. Moreover, 540 families received monthly allowances to avoid their children working or begging in the streets. It further notes the information provided by the Government that the Plan for the Social Inclusion of Childhood, run by the SNNA, also targets children working in the streets and, inter alia, is aimed at strengthening the ABRAZO Programme. Among the various activities carried out in the framework of this Plan to protect and prevent the risk of children being in the streets, of the 1,780 children reached by the Programme ABRAZO, 1,520 were removed from the streets in July 2009. The Committee however, also notes that the CRC, in its concluding observations of 29 January 2010, while welcoming the strategy to address the situation of children in the street, expressed its concern at the high number of children living or working in the street, constantly exposed to violence, sexual exploitation, discrimination and police brutality (CRC/C/PRY/CO/3, paragraph 68). The Committee accordingly requests the Government to redouble its efforts to remove children from the streets and provide for their rehabilitation and social integration, and to continue to provide information on the number of children removed from the streets and given education pursuant to the implementation of programmes and projects such as the abovementioned ones.