Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2017, published 107th ILC session (2018)

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

Articles 3 and 7(1) of the Convention. Worst forms of child labour and the penalties applied. Clause (a). Sale and trafficking of children. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that section 303bis(4) of Act No. 09-01 of 25 February 2009, prohibits the trafficking of persons, in particular for economic and sexual exploitation, and that the applicable penalty is imprisonment of five to 15 years and a fine of 500,000 to 1,500,000 Algerian dinar, with heavier penalties for persons trafficking children (section 303bis(5)). The Committee nevertheless noted with concern that the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) expressed particular concern that there had been no investigation or prosecution for trafficking offences, or conviction or punishment of trafficking offenders and that some traffickers reportedly benefited from the complicity of some members of the Algerian police. It also noted that child victims of trafficking may be jailed for unlawful acts committed as a result of their being trafficked, such as engaging in prostitution or not having adequate immigration documentation.

The Committee notes with regret that the Government still has not provided any information on this matter in its report. It nevertheless notes that training workshops in Algeria on investigations and prosecutions for the trafficking of persons, and on victim protection, have been held in collaboration with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). These training workshops have brought together representatives of various departments forming the National Committee on Preventing and Combating Trafficking in Persons, which was established by Presidential Decree No. 16-249 of 26 September 2016, as well as law enforcement officials. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the impact of these training workshops on the elimination in practice of the sale and trafficking of children under 18 years of age. It also requests the Government to take measures to ensure that child victims of trafficking are treated as victims rather than offenders, and to provide information on the progress made in this regard. The Committee further requests the Government to continue taking measures to ensure that in-depth investigations and effective prosecutions are conducted of persons who engage in the sale and trafficking of children, including state officials suspected of complicity, and that sufficiently effective and dissuasive sanctions are imposed. The Committee urges the Government to provide information on the number of infringements reported, investigations conducted, prosecutions, convictions and penal sanctions applied, disaggregated by age and gender of the victims.

Clause (c). Use, procuring or offering of a child for illicit activities, in particular for the production and trafficking of drugs. The Committee noted on several occasions, since its first comments published in 2004, that while the national legislation establishes severe penalties for the possession, use or trafficking of illegal drugs, there is no legislative provision prohibiting the use, procuring or offering of a child under 18 years of age for the production and trafficking of drugs.

The Committee notes with regret that the Government does not provide any new information and has still not remedied this shortcoming in the application of the Convention. The Committee once again reminds the Government that under Article 3(c) of the Convention, the use, procuring or offering of a child for illicit activities, in particular for the production and trafficking of drugs, is among the worst forms of child labour. Moreover, under Article 1, immediate and effective measures to secure the prohibition of the worst forms of child labour must be taken as a matter of urgency. The Committee thus urges the Government to take, as a matter of urgency, the necessary measures to ensure, in law and in practice, the prohibition of 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, and to establish sufficiently effective and dissuasive sanctions. It requests the Government to provide information on the progress made in this regard.

Article 4(1). Determination of hazardous types of work. In its previous comments, the Committee noted the Government’s indication that the issue of determining hazardous types of work had been addressed during the drafting of the new Labour Code and that a list of prohibited types of work was due to be established by regulation. It noted that the CRC expressed concern that Algeria had still not determined the hazardous types of work prohibited for persons under the age of 18, even though thousands of children continue to be subjected to the worst forms of child labour, especially in agriculture, as street vendors and domestic servants.

The Committee notes that the Government’s report does not contain any information on this matter. However, the Committee takes note of the draft Labour Code dated October 2015, section 48 of which provides that “minor workers and apprentices” below the age of 18 may not be engaged in work that is likely to harm the health, safety or morals of children. The same section provides that the list of these types of work will be determined through regulation. The Committee once again reminds the Government that under Article 4(1) of the Convention, hazardous types of work shall be determined, as a matter of urgency, by national laws or regulations or by the competent authority, after consultation with the organizations of employers and workers concerned. Noting once again that it has been raising this issue for several years, the Committee urges the Government to take immediate measures to ensure the adoption of the draft Labour Code and of the relevant regulation on the list of types of hazardous work prohibited to children under 18 years of age, as a matter of urgency. It urges the Government to provide information on any progress made in this regard.

Article 6. Programmes of action. Sale and trafficking of children. The Committee notes that, according to the 2016 UNODC Global report on trafficking in persons, a national plan of action to combat trafficking in persons was developed in October 2015, one of the objectives of which is to prevent and reduce trafficking in persons by improving legislation in that field, enhancing the national capacity for detecting and identifying victims, and enhancing international cooperation. The Committee notes that section 3 of Decree No. 16-249 of 26 September 2016 provides that the National Committee on Preventing and Combating Trafficking in Persons – composed of 20 members from various ministries and government institutions – shall oversee the implementation of this plan of action. The Committee requests the Government to take the necessary time-bound measures under the National Plan of Action to Combat Trafficking in Persons to combat the trafficking of children under 18 years of age for economic or sexual exploitation. It requests the Government to provide information on progress made in this regard.

Article 7(2). Effective and time-bound measures. Clauses (a) and (b). Preventing the engagement of children in the worst forms of child labour, and providing assistance for the removal of children from the worst forms of child labour and for their rehabilitation and social integration. Trafficking of children. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that the CRC expressed particular concern that there were no government-operated shelters for victims of trafficking and that even civil society was prohibited from operating any such shelters because they would be penalized for harbouring undocumented migrants. The Committee also noted that Algeria did not provide any medical or psychological assistance to children for their rehabilitation and social integration.

The Committee notes with regret that the Government’s report still does not contain any information in this regard. It reminds the Government that under Article 7(2) of the Convention, the Government is bound to take effective and time-bound measures to eliminate the sale and trafficking of children for economic and sexual exploitation as soon as possible. The Committee once again urges the Government to take effective and time-bound measures to establish services for the recovery of child victims from sale and trafficking, and for their rehabilitation and social integration. It requests the Government to provide information on progress made in this regard.

The Committee is raising other matters in a request addressed directly to the Government.