Individual Case (CAS) - Discussion: 2009, Publication: 98th ILC session (2009)

Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182) - Democratic Republic of the Congo (Ratification: 2001)

A Government representative indicated that in the report of the Security Council of 10 November 2008 on children in armed conflict, the United Nations Secretary-General observed a reduction in the number of allegations of serious violence against children during the period of June 2007 to September 2008 in the district of Ituri, the Northern provinces and those of South Kivu and North Katanga. The Government undertook to put an end to the impunity of those responsible for violence against children, as shown by the legal measures adopted against the perpetrators of these crimes before the national, military and civil judicial authorities. It should be noted that the Government collaborated with the International Criminal Court in the framework of the prosecution of individuals for war crimes and in particular for the enlistment and conscription of children of less than 15 years. The Government considered that the agreements recently signed in Goma with the National Congress for the People’s Defence (CNDP), the detention of Laurent Nkuda and the joint attacks carried out by the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC) and the forces de défenses rwandaises (FDR) against the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) could also have positive consequences on the situation of children in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Additionally, informal mining had been considerably developed due to the deterioration of the socioeconomic situation and armed conflict. Many children worked in informal mines in various mining provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Eastern Kasai, Western Kasai, Katanga, Eastern Province, North and South Kivu). Concerning statistical information, the speaker referred to the information submitted by the Government as reflected in the Committee of Experts’ report.

The Government was pleased to indicate the legislative and regulatory measures taken, namely the adoption of Act No. 09/001 of 10 January 2009 concerning the protection of children which reinforced their protection against all forms of violence. This Act was complemented by Decree No. 066 of 9 June 2000 on the demobilisation and reintegration of vulnerable groups present among the fighting forces as well as three Presidential Decrees concerning the creation of institutions in charge of the Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration process (DDR).

At the institutional level, the national Committee on the fight against the worst forms of child labour existed since 2006 in order to elaborate a strategy and National Plan of Action on the fight against the worst forms (PNLP) and ensure the follow-up and evaluation of actions to help exploited children and victims of violence in collaboration with national and international NGOs and agencies of the United Nations system. This illustrated the commitment of the Government with regard to this matter. Provincial Committees on the fight against child labour had also been created.

At the policy level, a national plan of action on the fight against child labour was being elaborated with the support of the ILO. This was also the case with regard to the national employment and vocational training policy aimed at full employment and the improvement of the conditions of lives of parents. The speaker also referred to the elaboration and adoption of a plan of action against violence on children, and the implementation of a national plan of action for youth employment.

At the operational level, the FARDC had put an end to the systematic recruitment of children, in conformity with the army policy and the applicable international law rules. Since 2004, more than 31,000 children had been released from armed groups. Most of them had benefited from family reunification and social reintegration programmes with the support of many international organizations, including the ILO. The Office had in fact implemented two successive projects to prevent the recruitment of children and ensure the reintegration of children released from armed groups. At present, many projects by national and international organizations were being implemented and aimed at the prevention of child labour in mines and the reintegration into the educational system of children taken out of mines.

The speaker concluded by indicating that the two projects undertaken between 2003 and 2009 and which aimed at the prevention and reintegration of children taken out of armed conflict had been developed in the eastern part of the country and had achieved encouraging results. Furthermore, the Government had made a request to the Office to ensure cooperation essentially aimed at social sensitisation and mobilisation at all levels on the detrimental effects of child labour and its consequences, as well as the possible carrying out of investigations in order to obtain reliable statistical information which was currently lacking.

The Employer members stated that every year since 2006, the Committee of Experts had considered the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s violations of Convention No. 182, which it had ratified in 2001. In 2007 and 2008, the CEACR had repeated the comments made in 2006. The case of the Democratic Republic of the Congo was marked by the armed hostilities prevailing since 1988 and the continuing civil war in some provinces. In its comments, the Committee of Experts had reported grave violations of all elements of Article 3 of Convention No. 182, including kidnapping of children, sale, slave-like treatment, and sexual exploitation, the forced recruitment of children to participate in armed conflicts; and hazardous child labour in mines.

As confirmed by the Government representative, the majority of the Committee of Experts’ conclusions were based on the enquiries and reports of the UN Special Rapporteur and the UN Secretary-General, such as the 2007 report on the use of children in armed conflicts. The reports proved that in the last few years, several tens of thousands of children had been used in armed conflicts. The UN Secretary-General had further found that children, who were not part of the recruited troops and who had been kidnapped and forcibly recruited, had often ended up between the fronts of government and other military groups and rebel groups. According to information noted by the Committee of Experts and further complementary information provided by the Government representative during this session, the Government had undertaken various efforts to improve the situation. These efforts were related to legislative measures such as the amendment of the Penal Code, an increase of penalties and an improvement in law enforcement. In July 2006, section 174, paragraph (j) had been inserted into the Penal Code. It provided for custodial sentences of between 10 and 20 years for kidnapping and sexual exploitation of children. The adoption of Law No. 06/18 would further pursue the same purpose. In addition, Legislative Decree No. 066 of 9 June 2000 was aimed at improving the reintegration and the demobilisation of child soldiers. Also, a penal provision against the use of children in mining had been inserted into the Labour Code. A ministerial decree of 2008 and the recently adopted 2009 Act for the Protection of Children against All Forms of Dangerous Activities prohibited dangerous activities of children below 18 years of age. The efforts would also concern the establishment of a national commission to combat the worst forms of child labour.

Further, as had been stated by the Government representative, the reports made reference to cooperation with the International Criminal Court in the prosecution of military leaders. Cooperation also existed with different international institutions and child relief organizations, like UNICEF.

It seemed as though an effective practical implementation of the legislative measures was still at least partly lacking, as confirmed by the Government representative. Concrete and recent information was, however, not available. In some areas of the country, in particular, Ituri and North and South Kivu, armed units were still forcibly recruiting children. According to the report of the UN Secretary-General, referred to by the Committee of Experts, children from refugee camps in bordering countries were forcibly recruited by armed groups. In particular, the reintegration of those children in forced labour and those who were forcibly recruited for armed conflicts progressed very slowly. An improvement could probably be seen in the commissions, which were also established on the provincial level, as had been described by the Government representative. It was, however, possible that the legal foundations for those measures were not yet sufficient. Equally it remained difficult to fully appreciate that progress, as up until now the Committee of Experts had not received a copy of the Legislative Decree No. 066 of 2000.

Therefore, urgent measures in all areas, especially for the creation of legal foundations and their implementation, were necessary. For violations of the Convention, effective penalties had to be imposed. Statistical data on the situation of children in the Democratic Republic of the Congo had to be collected, efficient programmes aimed at reintegrating children in the society had to be established and the psychological rehabilitation of children had to be supported. The Government’s remark that reintegrating forcibly recruited children, especially young girls, and their registration was difficult, since those children had the wish to return discreetly to their families, might be correct. Nevertheless, the Government was required to remedy this situation through comprehensive awareness training. The education programme mentioned by the Government representative could be seen as one step in this direction.

Due to the country’s partly still dramatic situation, it was apparent that it could not solve problems solely by itself. Comprehensive assistance of the international institutions, of the UN and the ILO, as mentioned in the report, was necessary. Since steps in the direction of a normalisation of children’s lives in the country were indispensable for easing the general situation and for the process of democratization, this assistance had to be rendered expeditiously. The Employer members supported any urgent enquiries and requests the Committee of Experts would direct towards the Government and, especially in light of its statements in this session, asked the Government to increase its efforts to combat child labour and to provide comprehensive information on actual developments.

The Worker members stated that, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, child labour did unfortunately exist, in almost all of its worst possible forms. Those practices were the consequence, both directly and indirectly, of the economic war waged by warlords and certain States in order to exploit the country’s natural resources. In the context of a war that had been destroying the country for several years, as well as the additional financial crisis, no less than 80 per cent of the working population was currently unemployed, with the majority not in a position to send their children to school. Those factors provided the backdrop to the worst forms of child labour in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

With regard to the forced recruitment of children to the armed forces or armed groups, the various reports of the United Nations Secretary-General on that issue indicated that the number of children recruited had fallen after 2006, owing to a number of factors. However, it should be noted that the number of children who were victims of those practices still remained very high, and recruitment had actually increased in some regions of the country or in neighbouring countries such as Rwanda and Uganda. The Government had taken some measures to end the impunity of the perpetrators of forced recruitment through pursuing some warlords, but many children were still forced to join armed groups and even the regular armed forces. Forced recruitment also led to other violations of the rights of children, including abductions and the selling and trafficking of children for sexual exploitation. The Committee of Experts considered that the Penal Code of the Democratic Republic of the Congo did not sufficiently penalize such practices. In its response, the Government made reference to new legislative provisions, but failed to provide copies of those provisions. The Government also failed to communicate statistics on the number of offences as well as the number of convictions.

Another worst form of child labour concerned children being forced by armed groups or rebels to work in artisanal mines in the regions of Katanga, East Kasai and South Kivu, primarily for the extraction of precious natural resources such as coltan and gold. The Government confirmed the observations made by the Confederation of Trade Unions of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the United Nations Special Rapporteur. The problem did not exist at the level of legislation, which did, on that occasion, conform to the Convention; the primary concern was the ineffective implementation of the legislation. Programmes had been established to remove children from military or sexual exploitation, with the participation of several ministries, NGOs and international organizations such as UNICEF, the UNDP and the ILO. The programmes allowed around 30,000 children, between 2003 and 2006, to be released from the armed forces and armed groups. Half of those received assistance with reintegration, either through returning to school or through professional training programmes. The National Institute for Vocational Training, established by the ILO in Katanga, allowed 2,800 children, every six months, to learn a trade, such as construction, woodworking, or electricity. However, around 50,000 children still remained “under arms” and the reintegration of girls proved an even more sensitive issue, as they feared social exclusion following their association, even though it was forced, with soldiers or armed groups. Furthermore, economic reintegration was hindered by limited economic possibilities, which were further diminished by the crisis, as well as by the lack of sufficient money available for longer-term reintegration programmes. Consequently, children risked being re-enlisted in the armed forces or groups.

To conclude, the Worker members stated that this human drama, together with the violence against women and young people, affected a large number of children and itself formed part of the wider backdrop of economic war and widespread unemployment.

The Worker member of the Democratic Republic of the Congo indicated that the Democratic Republic of the Congo was a country in Central Africa with a surface area of 2,345,000 km2 and an estimated population of 60 million. This country was rich in mineral resources and contained 50 per cent of the equatorial rain forest, with wood resources in high demand. Besides the systematic looting which had been destroying the economic fabric since 1991, wars had plagued the regions of Ituri, and South and North Kivu. Due to the safety plan, the situation had started to improve but the drop in metal prices had resulted in an increase of unemployment reaching 80 per cent of the active population. These factors provided an insight into the context in which the violations of Convention No. 182, which had been ratified by the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 2001, were committed. Information existed on the fact that young children, within the country or stemming from the country and directed to foreign countries, were sold, exchanged and kidnapped for sexual exploitation. Children were also forcibly recruited for service in the armed forces. Others were employed in the mineral mines in the provinces of Katanga, East Kasai, North and South Kivu and Ituri. The reported violations of the Convention were real and gave reason for concern. The Government had adopted laws of which several needed to be reinforced and adapted the actual situation. Nevertheless, it had to be noted that the situation had been improving. In view of the scale of the phenomenon, the means provided on the ground by the international community remained insufficient. In the majority of cases, the culprits of those practices were warlords and criminal prosecutions against them were hardly ever initiated. Those warlords came very often from the countries bordering the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The end of the war and the fight against poverty would contribute to an expeditious solution of the problem of recruitment of child soldiers and the sale, trafficking and enslavement of children.

The National Institute for Professional Training (INPP), COMADER, UNICEF, UNDP and NGOs provided assistance to child victims of exploitation, in particular concerning measures for their social and economic rehabilitation and reintegration. Due to the high number of child abuse victims, the Government had to increase its efforts. It was recommended that the international community and especially the ILO rendered assistance. The employment of children in mines was one reason for the drop of mineral and diamond prices which had led to the fall into poverty of many heads of families. Children, which could no longer be educated were obliged to work and were the object of artisanal exploitation. The labour inspection was not efficient and there existed a problem of manpower and means. Following a request of the workers, the ILO had established an office in Katanga to take care of the work in the artisanal mines.

The speaker concluded that the Office had to render assistance to the Government in order to increase the activities of the INPP, to reinforce the legislation and thus bring it into conformity with Convention No. 182, to end the impunity of warlords, to reinforce the efficiency of labour inspections and the fight against poverty, to create a climate of safety on the ground by putting an end to the systematic pillaging of natural resources and the suffering of children, and to improve social dialogue in the fight against the worst forms of child labour.

The Government member of Canada stated that his Government was acutely aware of and was concerned with the situation of children in conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo. It was a tragic example of a situation where children faced direct and indirect recruitment as soldiers and into forced labour, as well as injury, death, displacement and sexual and gender based violence – a list of consequences that sadly enough was not exhaustive. Canada recognized the recent successful efforts of the Government to disarm and demobilize child soldiers. Attention had, however, to be given to the reintegration of these children, to avoid them being recruited again. Preventing the recruitment and use of children as soldiers was key, and he urged the Government to improve efforts to stop such practices and hold violators of the rights of children accountable. Canada welcomed in this respect the steps taken by the Government in cooperation with the International Criminal Court. Canada expressed its grave concern regarding the recruitment of children into forced labour, in particular for the extraction of natural resources. Tens of thousands of children worked in the mining sector, most often in extremely dangerous conditions. Despite legislation in force, serious concerns remained regarding the rights of children and their protection. The Government needed to intensify its efforts rapidly to put in place effective measures to stop the recruitment of children under the age of 18 for use as mine workers, sex slaves and soldiers.

The Worker member of Senegal stressed that the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo was under consideration by the Committee to respond to serious violations of the provisions of Convention No. 182 and the continued failure of its application. The Conference Committee had to adopt conclusions which were proportional to the seriousness of the acts described by the Committee of Experts in its report, namely the sale, trafficking, kidnapping and exploitation for pornographic purposes of young girls and boys, inside the country or in foreign countries. These events also included hazardous work in mines and the forced recruitment of children by armed forces of the country for use in armed conflict. Reintegration and rehabilitation of child soldiers in their community was necessary. According to the report of the UN Secretary-General on children and armed conflict of 9 February 2005, which confirmed the comments of the Committee of Experts, thousands of children remained in the armed forces and groups in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and recruitment was ongoing. Although some regional military leaders had released children, no mass release had been recorded to date. These recruitments constituted one of the worst forms of child labour within the meaning of Article 3 of the Convention.

In addition, according to the report of the Committee of Experts, the provisions of the Penal Code prohibiting the sale and trafficking of children for sexual exploitation were inadequate and had to be improved to stop impunity. Much remained to be done concerning child labour, which was largely caused by poverty and high unemployment. The provisions of the Convention must be transposed into national legislation and the Government had to make a firm commitment to work twice as hard to implement the commitments undertaken in this area. In this respect, the speaker recalled that the Government had ratified the two Optional Protocols to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

The Conference Committee had to adopt firm conclusions if the Government provided no assurances as to its commitment to the fight against child labour. The group of experts responsible for the investigation of the illegal exploitation of the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s natural resources had repeatedly stressed the link between the plundering of resources and the continuing recruitment by the military groups of children into forced labour for extraction of natural resources. Ten years after the adoption of Convention No. 182, it was time to promote real progress towards eradicating the worst forms of child labour and the Government should make substansive efforts to stop abuses.

The Worker member of Comoros indicated that the information provided by the Government concerning non-compliance with Convention No. 182, as well as the information reported by the trade union representatives of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, showed a wide disparity between the law on the rights of the child and its effective application in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In fact, the figures contained in the information provided by the Government was much less than the number of children actually affected by this phenomenon, which exceeded 50,000 children, ranging from those involved in armed conflict to those working in mines.

The speaker welcomed the willingness of the Government to eradicate child labour in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, especially in its worst forms, but he considered it necessary and urgent that the Government took action in the form of a programme that would match the scale of the problem, focusing on: the strengthening of legislation for the protection of children; the construction of sufficient infrastructure to accommodate all children affected; the expansion of vocational training and learning centres in order to accommodate more children; good cooperation with the international organizations present in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and with the social partners; the strengthening of the capacity of the labour inspectorate for operational purposes; bringing the perpetrators of these crimes to justice in order to put an end to this unacceptable evil.

Finally, the speaker also urged the international community to assist the Government in this task, so as to give effect in practice to the provisions of Convention No. 182, which had been ratified in 2001.

The Government representative of the Democratic Republic of the Congo thanked all the speakers and recalled that his country had been at war since 1998. At present, some areas remained under the control of warlords. The Government had always sought the support of the international community, as evidenced by the presence of the United Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC). The law existed, courts applied it and the culprits were convicted. It was true that statistics were not available, but the Government agreed to make efforts so as to be able to transmit the data in question. He expressed the hope that criminal law would be strengthened in order to consider the recruitment of children for use in armed conflict a war crime, making these acts imprescriptible. He also indicated that it would be desirable for the international community to take measures against products marketed in the neighbouring countries of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and produced by the exploitation of the worst forms of child labour.

The Employer members considered that the statements made by the Government representative, the Committee of Experts’ comments and the UN Secretary-General’s report, had shown that the situation in the country as regards the implementation of Convention No. 182 was still grave.

While the Government had made promising endeavours to improve the situation, these efforts had to be considerably and expeditiously intensified. First and foremost, it was necessary to penalize violations against the Convention by exhausting all means under the penal provisions. Furthermore, information had to be provided concerning the current situation, including the recently adopted Act for the Protection of Children against All Forms of Dangerous Activities. The provision of up to date figures concerning the development of child labour and the liberation of children from the hands of armed troops was also important. This information should also include information on the situation in the border areas and in the refugee camps. Comprehensive awareness raising was necessary for the reintegration of children in the society and contributing to achieving a sustainable peace process.

The Employer members encouraged the Government to continue cooperating closely with the international organizations and child relief organizations and to further national programmes to combat the worst forms of child labour. In this regard, the mentioned education programme was very important. The Office was asked to offer its technical assistance together with the UN.

The Worker members once more regretted the multiple forms of child labour in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. They urged the Government to take the following measures: to optimise the penal arsenal to combat the worst forms of child labour; to reinforce the effectiveness of its labour inspection system; to ensure that the commanders of the national armed forces did not recruit children; to severely penalize all infringements; to provide without delay information on the number and nature of infringements, the prosecutory sanctions induced and the penal sanctions imposed as well as on the demobilisation and social reintegration programmes; to increase its efforts for the rehabilitation and the reintegration of released children, paying particular attention to girls; to increase the cooperation with neighbouring countries affected by the same problems.

Furthermore, the Worker members asked the international organizations and institutions to continue their efforts to develop programmes aimed at: restoring order and peace in the country; creating more jobs and reducing the massive unemployment in the affected regions; guaranteeing a primary education for every child.

With regard to the actions the Office had to undertake, the Worker members asked the Office to multiply job training centres for released children in light of the highly appreciated contribution by the centre in Katanga and the still high number of children needing support.

Conclusions

The Committee took note of the oral information provided by the Government representative and the discussion that followed. The Committee noted the information contained in the report of the Committee of Experts relating to the sale and trafficking of children under 18 for sexual exploitation, both within the country and across its borders, the forced recruitment of children for use in armed conflict and the use of children in hazardous work in mines.

The Committee took note of the information provided by the Government outlining laws and policies put in place to combat the forced recruitment of children in armed conflict, as well as action programmes established with ILO assistance to provide for the removal, rehabilitation and social integration of former child soldiers. The Committee also noted the statement by the Government representative that due to the deterioration of the socio-economic situation and the persistence of armed conflict in the country, an important number of children continued to work in mines and quarries in the various provinces of East and West Kasai, Katanga, and North and South Kivu. In this regard, several national and international action programmes were under way to prevent children from working in mines, and to provide for the social integration of children removed from mines through education. The Government representative also called on the international community to combat the use of children in the extraction of mineral resources in mines resulting from the illegal exploitation and trade of the natural resources of the country involving neighbouring countries. Finally, the Government representative expressed his country’s willingness to continue its efforts to eradicate violations of Convention No. 182 with ILO technical assistance and cooperation.

The Committee noted that recently enacted legislation expressly prohibited the sale and trafficking of children for sexual exploitation and introduced criminal sanctions for violations of this prohibition. It noted, however, that although the law prohibited the trafficking of children for labour or sexual exploitation, it remained an issue of serious concern in practice. The Committee accordingly called on the Government to redouble its efforts and take, without delay, immediate and effective measures to eliminate the trafficking of children under 18 in practice. The Committee requested the Government to provide detailed information in its report when it was next due to the Committee of Experts on the measures taken to ensure the effective implementation of the legislation, including the number of infringements reported, investigations, prosecutions, convictions and penal sanctions applied.

Concerning the issue of child soldiers, the Committee noted the concern expressed by several speakers about the situation of children under 18 being recruited and forced to join armed groups or the armed forces. While noting certain efforts made by the Government to address this problem, the Committee deplored the persistence of this practice, especially since it led to other violations of the rights of children, in the form of abductions, murders and sexual violence. The Committee emphasized the seriousness of such violations of Convention No. 182 and urged the Government to take immediate and effective measures, as a matter of urgency, to put a stop in practice to the forced recruitment of children under 18 years by armed groups and the armed forces and to ensure that the perpetrators of these egregious crimes were prosecuted and that sufficiently effective and dissuasive penalties were imposed. The Committee also requested the Government to continue to take effective and time-bound measures for the removal, rehabilitation and social integration of children involved in armed conflict. It requested the Government to provide information on progress made in this regard in its next report when it was due to the Committee of Experts.

Concerning the issue of the employment of children in hazardous work in mines, the Committee noted the Government’s statement acknowledging the continued exploitation of young persons under 18 in mines and quarries in the provinces of Katanga, East and West Kasai, and North and South Kivu. The Committee noted with concern that the number of children undertaking hazardous work in this sector remained high. In this regard, the Committee requested the Government to expand the authority of the labour inspectorate in enforcing the law and to ensure that regular unannounced visits were carried out by labour inspectors so as to ensure that persons who infringed the Convention were prosecuted and faced sufficiently effective and dissuasive sanctions. The Committee also requested the Government to provide information on the impact of the national and international action programmes mentioned by the Government representative on withdrawing children under 18 working in hazardous conditions in mines and quarries and providing for their rehabilitation and social integration. It finally requested the Government to provide information in its report, when it was next due, to the Committee of Experts on the results achieved in the effective application of the legislation prohibiting the employment of children in underground work.

Moreover, the Committee called on ILO member States to provide assistance to the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo in line with Article 8 of the Convention, with special priority on facilitating free basic education and vocational training. In this regard, the Committee encouraged the Government to make every effort to ensure the sustainability of the Vocational Training Institute which had been established with ILO technical assistance. Furthermore, the Committee requested the Government to undertake a national study on child labour to assess the extent of the worst forms of child labour in the country.

Finally, international cooperation could also be extended to combating the use of children in the extraction of mineral resources in mines, resulting from the illegal exploitation and trade of the natural resources of the country.