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

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

The Committee notes the observations of the Costa Rican Confederation of Democratic Workers (CCTD), communicated with the Government’s report.

Article 3(a) and (b) of the Convention. Sale and trafficking of children for commercial sexual exploitation, use, procuring or offering of a child for prostitution, and court decisions. The Committee previously noted that the trafficking of children for sexual exploitation and the smuggling of migrants, including children, particularly in the tourism sector, continued to be serious problems in the country, and that the practice of purchasing sexual services from children was still regarded as socially acceptable. The Committee noted that, according to the observations of the Confederation of Workers Rerum Novarum (CTRN), Act No. 9095 of 2013 to combat human trafficking, which establishes the National Coalition to Combat the Smuggling of Migrants and Human Trafficking (CONATT), was not implemented and that child victims of trafficking therefore continued to be in danger. The Government referred to the 2010–20 Roadmap for the prevention and eradication of child labour and its worst forms, developed in collaboration with ILO–IPEC, the objective of which is to combat the trafficking of children for commercial sexual exploitation as one of the worst forms of child labour, under the responsibility of the National Foundation for Children (PANI) and the National Directorate of Migration and Foreign Nationals (DNME). The Committee took due note of Act No. 9095, section 2(g) of which explicitly provides that priority shall be given to young victims of trafficking, and section 37(1) provides that child victims of trafficking shall have the right, in addition to the rights established for all victims of crimes, to be reintegrated into their families or their community, whichever is in their best interests. The Committee also noted that section 42 of the Act contains specific provisions respecting young persons, and particularly subsections (g) and (h), which envisage specific investigative and judicial proceedings, and that sections 74 and 75 revise the Penal Code to increase penalties for the trafficking of young persons.

The Committee notes that, according to the CCTD, despite the progress made in the protection of children and young persons, the efforts undertaken by the Government are inadequate, in view of the low number of convictions in cases of trafficking of children for commercial sexual exploitation, particularly with regard to the migrant population.

The Committee notes the indication by the Government in its report that the judicial authorities received 95 complaints concerning trafficking in 2016, ten of which resulted in a criminal conviction under section 172 of the Penal Code, which prohibits trafficking of persons, although no information is provided on the number of cases relating to victims under 18 years of age. The Government adds that many of the cases detected give rise to other types of related convictions, such as aggravated procurement or paid sexual relations with a minor. However, the Committee notes that, in its concluding observations in July 2017, the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women notes with concern the heightened risk of sex trafficking, particularly for children and migrant girls in Pacific coastal zones (CEDAW/C/CRI/CO/7, paragraph 20). The Committee requests the Government to continue intensifying its efforts to ensure the thorough investigation and robust prosecution of persons who commit such criminal acts, and to ensure that assistance is provided to children in all cases. Noting the absence of information on this subject, the Committee also requests the Government to indicate the specific measures taken for the implementation of the provisions of Act No. 9095 related to child victims of trafficking, the number of investigations, prosecutions and convictions, and the penalties imposed in this regard.

Articles 7(2). Effective and time-bound measures. Clauses (a) and (c). Preventing children from becoming engaged in the worst forms of child labour and ensuring access to free basic education for all children removed from the worst forms of child labour. The Committee recalls its previous comment in which it noted that the Avancemos (“Let’s Move Forward”) programme consists of conditional cash transfers which are, in part, linked to access to education and the universalization of secondary education, and that in 2013 the programme benefited 133,212 young persons between the ages of 12 and 17 years and resulted in the removal of 95 young persons between the ages of 12 and 14 years from the worst forms of child labour. However, it noted the observations of the CTRN which, emphasizing the low school attendance rate in secondary education which is more pronounced in rural areas, alleged that neither the Avancemos programme nor the National Scholarship Fund (FONABE) had resulted in an effective increase in school attendance. Finally, the Committee noted that the Roadmap includes the objectives of: (i) reducing the number of children between the ages of 5 and 17 years engaged in work from 113,523 in 2002, to 27,811 in 2015, and then to zero in 2020; and (ii) increasing the secondary school attendance rate from 85 per cent in 2008 to 95 per cent in 2015, and then to 100 per cent in 2020. The Government emphasized that the number of children engaged in child labour had decreased (from 49,229 in 2002 to 16,160 in 2011).

The Committee notes that, according to the CCTD’s observations, school drop out from compulsory basic education continues to be a problem in rural areas. The CCTD adds that the Avancemos programme and the FONABE do not establish strategies for the definitive resolution of the problem of child labour.

The Committee notes the Government’s indication that, as a result of an inter institutional cooperation agreement between the Ministry of Labour and Social Security (MTSS) and the Joint Social Assistance Institute (IMAS), cash transfers are provided to young persons under 18 years of age in a situation of poverty or extreme poverty on condition that they remain in the education system. The Committee also notes, from the Government’s report on the application of the Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138), that the Yo me apunto (“I’m enrolling”) programme has been launched by the Ministry of Public Education (MEP) to combat school drop-out and is the basis for promoting the maintenance of children in the school system, their reintegration and success at school. The objective of the programme is to provide a tool for the implementation of the Roadmap to ensure that Costa Rica is a country free of child labour. The Committee requests the Government to continue intensifying its efforts to improve the operation of the education system through the Avancemos and the Yo me apunto programmes and to increase the school attendance and completion rates. It also requests the Government to continue indicating the results achieved through the Avancemos, Yo me apunto and FONABE programmes, including the number of children who have been removed from the worst forms of child labour and reintegrated into the education system as a result of these programmes, disaggregated by age and gender.

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