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

Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182) - China (Ratification: 2002)

The Committee notes the Government’s report and the communication of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) dated 1 September 2010.

Article 6. Programmes of action to eliminate the worst forms of child labour. The Committee had previously noted that the Government had taken a number of measures to combat child prostitution and online pornography involving children. It requested the Government to continue to provide information on the impact of these measures.

The Committee notes that the Government refers to the “National Plan of Action against Trafficking in Women and Children (2008–12)” and the “Eleventh Five-Year Plan on the Establishment of a Relief and Protection System for Vagrant Minors”. The Committee observes that these Plans do not appear to address the commercial exploitation of children who are not victims of trafficking, or who do not live on the street.  In this regard, the Committee notes the indication in the ITUC communication of 1 September 2010 that not all child victims of prostitution are victims of trafficking. The Committee therefore requests the Government to provide information on measures taken to address the commercial sexual exploitation of persons under 18 years of age who are not street children or victims of trafficking, particularly their use, offering or procuring for the purpose of prostitution, pornography or pornographic performances.

Article 7(2). Effective and time-bound measures. Clause (d). Identifying and reaching out to children at special risk. Child domestic workers. Following its previous comments, the Committee notes the statement in the ILO document entitled “Situational Analysis of Domestic Work in China” of 2009 (ILO Situational Analysis) that there are approximately 20 million domestic workers in China. While the majority of these workers are women over the age of 18, children may engage in this type of work from the age of 16. The ILO Situational Analysis further states that domestic work has the potential to negatively affect the development of these children due to the long hours, lack of standards, and possible inappropriateness of some tasks for children, all of which may be compounded by their physical and intellectual immaturity. The ILO Situational Analysis emphasizes that children working in a private household are at risk because of the invisibility of their work, and they are less likely to seek help than adults. Noting an absence of information on this point in the Government’s report, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken to protect domestic workers under 18 from hazardous work. It further requests the Government to take measures to identify the number of persons under the age of 18 engaged in domestic work, and to provide this information with its next report.

Article 8. International cooperation. Trafficking. The Committee previously noted that China had enhanced cooperation in international anti‑trafficking programmes, noting the China–Myanmar Anti-trafficking Cooperation Programme (2007–10), and the continued China–Vietnam Anti‑trafficking Cooperation Programme. The Committee encouraged the Government to consider ratifying the Protocol to prevent, suppress and punish trafficking in persons, especially women and children (the Palermo Protocol).

The Government notes with interest that, on 8 February 2010, China acceded to the Palermo Protocol. The Committee also notes the Government’s statement that it attaches great importance to cooperation with international organizations in its efforts to combat human trafficking, and notes the detailed information provided by the Government in this regard. The Government states that, in recent years, it has worked with UNICEF, the International Organization for Migration, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, the UN Inter-Agency Project on Human Trafficking in the Greater Mekong Subregion, as well as several NGOs, to combat human trafficking. The Committee further notes that the Government signed an MOU with the Ministry of the Interior of Cambodia, which includes cooperation to combat trafficking. The Government indicates that two China–Myanmar border liaison offices were established to combat the cross-border trafficking of women and children, and that 14 trafficking victims were returned to Myanmar in the first half of 2009 as a result of this collaboration. By the end of 2009, seven border liaison offices for combating cross-border human trafficking had been established. The Government further indicates that it held a seminar on “Guiding Principles for Protection of Victims of Trafficking” in May 2009, and that the All China Women’s Federation and the ILO hosted a workshop in November 2009 on human trafficking for labour exploitation.

Part V of the report form. Application of the Convention in practice. Following its previous comments, the Committee notes the indication in the ITUC’s allegations that many of the worst forms of child labour exist in China, particularly trafficking, forced labour, prostitution, involvement in illicit activities, and use in hazardous work including in brick kilns, glass-making workshops, fireworks workshops and footwear factories. The ITUC states that there are increasing press reports on child labour, but that data collection is not systematic. The ITUC also states that the lack of national statistics and analysis of data on child labour, child prostitution and child trafficking remains a serious problem, which raised considerable concern with regard to the authorities’ willingness to address these issues. In this regard, the ITUC states that reliable and transparent data are essential for the Government and other agencies to effectively tackle the worst forms of child labour.

The Committee notes the information in the Government’s report that, between June 2008 and May 2010, there were no prosecution cases for engaging minors in activities in violation of the regulations for public order. The Government indicates that, in this same period, one person was prosecuted for employing a minor in hard and harmful work. Noting an absence of information on the overall prevalence of the worst forms of child labour, the Committee urges the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that sufficient data on the prevalence of the worst forms of child labour are made available. In this regard, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on the nature, extent and trends of these worst forms and the number of children covered by the measures giving effect to the Convention. To the extent possible, all information should be disaggregated by sex and age.