Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2019, published 109th ILC session (2021)

Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182) - Lao People's Democratic Republic (Ratification: 2005)

Article 6 of the Convention. Programmes of action. National Action Plan on Anti-Trafficking in Persons. The Committee previously took note of the National Action Plan on Anti-Trafficking in Persons 2017–2020, which sought to protect victims of trafficking and to prevent people from becoming victims of trafficking, and which included various awareness-raising measures on anti-trafficking in persons. The Committee accordingly requested the Government to provide information on the specific measures taken within the National Action Plan on Anti-Trafficking in Persons to prevent and combat trafficking of children under 18 years of age and the results achieved.

The Government indicates in its report that it has conducted various sensitization events to promote key messages regarding the prevention of and protection from trafficking in persons. It also mentions the existence of a National Anti-Trafficking Committee. The Committee observes that, according to the report of the Special Rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children of January 2019 on her visit to the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, the Ministry of Public Security intends to organize training activities on victim identification, first targeting officials and then the public at large, within the framework of the National Action Plan on Anti-trafficking in Persons (A/HRC/40/51/Add.1, paragraph 49). The Committee accordingly requests the Government to supply information on the activities conducted within the framework of the National Action Plan on Anti-Trafficking in Persons to specifically prevent and combat trafficking of children under 18 years of age, including the activities to improve identification of child victims of trafficking, and the results achieved in this regard. It also requests the Government to provide information on the role of the National Anti-Trafficking Committee with regard to the prevention and elimination of trafficking in children.

Article 7(2). Effective and time-bound measures. Clause (a). Preventing the engagement of children in the worst forms of child labour. Access to free basic education. The Committee previously noted with interest that the enrolment rate at the primary level and at the lower secondary level had increased, as well as the number of students graduating from primary and lower secondary education. It further noted that the Education and Sports Sector Development Plan (2016–2020) (ESDP 2016–2020) sought, inter alia, to achieve compulsory primary education and expand it to include lower secondary education, and to expand, strengthen and promote secondary education and technical and vocational education. The Committee accordingly strongly encouraged the Government to pursue its efforts to improve the functioning of the national education system by increasing the enrolment and completion rates and reducing drop-out rates at the primary and secondary level.

The Committee notes the Government’s information that, in 2017–18, for children in lower secondary school, the enrolment rate increased, reaching 83.1 per cent (81.2 per cent of girls and 84.9 per cent of boys), and the school drop-out rate was 9.2 per cent.

The Committee also notes that, according to the Lao Social Indicator Survey II 2017 (LSIS II), issued in 2018 by the Lao Statistics Bureau and UNICEF, the completion rate was 83.4 per cent in primary school and 53.5 per cent in lower secondary school. The report also indicates that, in 2017, the effective transition rate to lower secondary school was 92.6 per cent; the net attendance rate was 89.6 per cent for primary school, and 60.5 per cent for lower secondary school. The Committee takes note of the report of the Government to the CRC of October 2017, which indicates that the National Plan of Action for Mothers and Children (2016–2020) aims to increase the net enrolment rate of lower secondary school students to 90 per cent (CRC/C/LAO/3-6, paragraph 161). Considering that education is key in preventing the engagement of children in the worst forms of child labour, the Committee strongly encourages the Government to continue its efforts to ensure access to free basic education, including by taking measures to increase the school enrolment, attendance and completion rates, particularly at the lower secondary level. It requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken in this regard and on the results achieved, including within the framework of the ESDP 2016–2020 and the National Plan of Action for Mothers and Children 2016–2020.

Clause (d). Identifying and reaching out to children at special risk. 1. Street children. The Committee previously took note of a Child-Safe Movement, providing a safety network for children living and working on the streets and of awareness-raising measures to protect children from specific risks. It requested the Government to pursue its efforts to protect this vulnerable group.

The Committee notes the absence of information from the Government on this matter. It notes that, in its concluding observations of November 2018, the Human Rights Committee expressed concern about reports of arbitrary arrest and detention without due process of street children (CCPR/C/LAO/CO/1, paragraph 27). Recalling that children living and working on the streets are particularly at risk of being engaged in the worst forms of child labour, the Committee requests the Government to take specific measures to identify and adequately protect these children against exploitation and to ensure that they are treated as victims rather than offenders. It requests the Government to provide information in this respect.

2. Migrant children. The Committee notes that the Guideline on Implementation of Decree on Export of Lao Workers Working Abroad No. 2417/Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare of 2002 (MLSW Guideline) states that applicants who wish to work abroad should be over 18 years of age. However, the Committee notes that the report entitled What’s the incentive? Comparing regular and irregular migrant work experiences from the Lao People’s Democratic Republic to Thailand, issued in 2018 by the United Nations Development Programme and the ILO, indicates that more than 10 per cent of the respondents, who are Lao migrant workers, were children when they began working in Thailand. The report further states that Lao migrant workers in Thailand may have their passports confiscated, feel constrained or unable to leave their job, not receive their salaries, or experience harassment and violence. Noting that migrant children are at an increased risk of being engaged in the worst forms of child labour, the Committee encourages the Government to take effective and time-bound measures to prevent these children from becoming victims of the worst forms of child labour, and to provide information on the measures taken in this regard. It also requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken to ensure that Lao migrant workers applying for employment abroad are over 18 years of age, according to the MLSW Guideline.