Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2020, published 109th ILC session (2021)

Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182) - Rwanda (Ratification: 2000)

The Committee notes with concern that the Government’s report has not been received. It hopes that the next report will contain full information on the matters raised in its previous comments.

Repetition

Articles 3(b) and 7(2)(b) of the Convention. Commercial sexual exploitation and direct assistance to child victims. The Committee previously noted, from the Government’s report to the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) of 2012, that despite the efforts of the Government, children were still exploited in prostitution, and that orphans, children from poor areas and child domestic workers might be particularly vulnerable to becoming engaged in this worst form of child labour. The Committee noted the National Policy for Orphans and Other Vulnerable Children (OVCs), which sets specific objectives for protection and prevention mechanisms against child sexual exploitation, had been implemented and a gender-specific protocol and codes of conduct on protection of OVCs from exploitation had been developed. The Government further stated that child victims of sexual exploitation were provided with legal assistance, counselling and other services at the rehabilitation centres.

The Committee notes the Government’s information in its report that child protection committees and community police were established to ensure the implementation of laws, policies and strategies for the prevention and eradication of commercial sexual exploitation. However, the Committee notes that in its concluding observations on the combined seventh to ninth periodic reports of Rwanda of 9 March 2017, the Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) expressed its concern at the increase in trafficking in adolescent girls for purposes of sexual exploitation under the pretext of offering them opportunities to study or work abroad and the relative low number of prosecutions and convictions of traffickers due to insufficient resources allocated to law enforcement (CEDAW/C/RWA/CO/7-9, paragraph 26). The Committee therefore requests the Government to take the necessary measures to protect children against commercial sexual exploitation, particularly by strengthening the capacity of the law enforcement bodies, including by means of allocating enough resources to this end, and to ensure the removal, rehabilitation and social integration of children involved in commercial sexual exploitation. It also requests the Government to continue providing information on the measures taken and the results achieved in this regard.

Articles 3(d) and 5. Hazardous work and monitoring mechanisms. Children working in the informal economy. The Committee previously noted that the Law Regulating Labour (2009) did not apply to the informal sector, and therefore children working in this sector did not benefit from the prohibition on child labour contained in this Law. The Government indicated that several awareness-raising campaigns against child labour had been conducted in the informal economy by labour inspectors in collaboration with government agencies, local authorities and NGOs. The Committee also noted that according to the findings of the Integrated Household Living Conditions Survey of 2010–11, the majority of children participating in economic activities worked in the informal sector, including 40.8 per cent in the agricultural sector and 31 per cent in the domestic service. The Committee further noted that the CRC expressed its concern at the high prevalence of child labour in rural areas particularly in the agricultural and domestic sectors, and that despite legal prohibitions, approximately 65,628 children were involved in hazardous work.

The Committee notes the Government’s information that Ministerial Guidelines No. 02 of 10/05/2016 include contents related to the prevention of child labour in the informal economy. The Government has also undertaken other preventive measures, including awareness-raising activities and income-generating programmes to reduce poverty. However, the Committee notes the concluding observations of the CEDAW of 9 March 2017 that despite the measures undertaken to reduce child labour, including domestic work, many girls living in poverty continue to be exploited as domestic workers, a condition in which they frequently face precarious conditions, labour exploitation, sexual abuse, violence and harassment (CEDAW/C/RWA/CO/7-9, paragraph 36). The Committee therefore requests the Government to strengthen its efforts to ensure that children working in the informal economy are protected against hazardous types of work. In this regard, it once again requests the Government to pursue its efforts to strengthen the capacity and expand the reach of the labour inspectorate services to better monitor children working in the informal economy, particularly in the agricultural sector and domestic service. The Committee also requests the Government to provide information on the concrete measures taken and the results achieved in this regard, particularly under Ministerial Guidelines No. 02 of 10/05/2016.

Article 7(2). Effective and time-bound measures. Clause (b). Direct assistance for the removal of children from the worst forms of child labour and their rehabilitation and social integration. Child soldiers. The Committee previously noted that the former child soldiers repatriated from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) had been reintegrated into society by the Rwanda Demobilization and Reintegration Programme (RDRP). The rehabilitation and reintegration services provided by the RDRP included: medical screening, psychological counselling, civic education, literacy learning, family tracing and reunion, income-generating activities and reintegration into formal education and vocational training.

The Committee notes the Government’s information that within the framework of RDRP stage III, from 2009 to 2016, 263 child ex-combatants were demobilized after being identified through the verification screening in the demobilization centre and separated from adult ex-combatants. They were also issued with demobilization cards and ID cards. Children who were unable to find their families were provided foster families, group homes, independent living or institutionalization. The programme also extends additional support to families hosting child ex-combatants in formal education through the Vulnerable Support Window (VSW). The VSW grant is invested in income-generating activities, whose returns enables families to continue funding their children’s education on a sustainable basis. The Committee also notes that 280 children formerly associated with armed forces were repatriated from 2009 to 2016, all of whom were male. Moreover, 3,603 children dependants of ex-combatants were identified from 2009 to 2016, of which 1,812 were boys and 1,791 were girls. The Committee further notes the Government’s indication that gender-sensitive measures are employed through the RDRP regarding female ex-combatants who are screened by women and provided with safety and sanitary facilities during their stay at the demobilization centre. The Committee therefore requests the Government to continue taking the necessary gender-sensitive measures to identify and socially integrate children, particularly girls who are affected by armed conflict within the framework of the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration process. It also requests the Government to continue providing information on the measures taken and the results received regarding the rehabilitation and social integration of former child soldiers, including the number of children who have benefited from the activities of the RDRP.

Clause (d). Children at special risk. 1. HIV/AIDS orphans and other vulnerable children (OVCs). The Committee previously noted that the Government had introduced several measures to support OVCs, such as providing school fees and school materials and support for income-generating activities to households with OVCs. The Committee also noted from a report of the Ministry of Health of Rwanda, entitled Global AIDS Response Progress Report of 2014, that through the coordination of the National Commission for Children, different partners, including UN agencies and NGOs provided support to orphans and OVCs on different components related to education, housing support, health and psychosocial support. According to this report, by the end of 2013, an estimated 44,096 girls and 35,991 boys were provided access to primary education; 30,765 girls and 24,096 boys were provided access to secondary education; 3,082 girls and 2,023 boys were provided vocational training; and 987 girls and 779 boys were provided shelter.

The Committee notes with interest the Government’s information that in order to ensure effective access to education of OVCs, the Government provided support to 1,369 children in secondary schools and 5,160 children in technical vocational training. The Committee also notes that, according to the 2015 estimation of the UNAIDS, there are about 70,000 orphans aged 0 to 17 due to HIV/AIDS, compared to 135,000 as indicated in the 2012 Country Progress Report to the UN General Assembly Special Session on HIV/AIDS (UNGASS). Recalling that OVCs are at an increased risk of being engaged in the worst forms of child labour, the Committee encourages the Government to continue its efforts to ensure that children orphaned by HIV/AIDS and OVCs are protected from the worst forms of child labour, and to facilitate access to education for these children. The Committee also requests the Government to continue providing information on the concrete measures taken and the results achieved in this regard.

2. Refugee children. The Committee previously noted that the CRC expressed its concern at the increase in cases of child trafficking, and that children, particularly refugees, were victims of trafficking to the other East African countries and other destinations where they were exposed to forced agricultural and industrial labour, domestic work and prostitution. The CRC also expressed its concern about reports of adolescent girls disappearing from the refugee camps without their families being aware of their whereabouts.

The Committee notes the Government’s information that the appropriate institutions are taking measures to ensure the basic rights of children in refugee camps, including the right to health and the right to registration. Child rights committees are also established in refugee camps, aiming to prevent and respond to cases of neglect, abuse and exploitation against children, and to provide rehabilitation to child victims of gender-based violence and child labour. However, the Committee notes that the CEDAW expressed its concern at the high risk of trafficking for refugee girls in its concluding observations of 9 March 2017 (CEDAW/C/RWA/CO/7-9, paragraph 48). The Committee therefore once again requests the Government to take effective and time-bound measures to protect refugee children, particularly girls, from the worst forms of child labour. It also requests the Government to continue providing information on the concrete measures taken and the results achieved in this regard.

Clause (e). Special situation of girls. The Committee previously noted that, according to the statistical information provided by the Government, the number of girls enrolled in secondary education increased from 50.7 per cent in 2010 to 52.2 per cent in 2012.

The Committee notes the Government’s information that the number of girls enrolled in secondary education continues to increase. In 2015, there were 287,302 girls enrolled in secondary education, representing 52.8 per cent of total students. The Government also indicates that, in the lower secondary education, the drop-out rates have decreased from 2012 to 2015 for both girls and boys. There was no gender-disaggregated data in 2015. However, in 2013 and 2014, the drop-out rates of girls (14.9 per cent and 14.8 per cent) were higher than those of boys (14.6 per cent and 13.9 per cent). For the upper secondary education, the drop-out rates remained the same between 2012 and 2014 for girls (7.2 per cent), and decreased from 4.9 per cent to 4.5 per cent for boys. The overall drop-out rate decreased to 2.5 per cent in 2015. While taking due note of the continuous increase in the enrolment rates of girls at the secondary level, the Committee requests the Government to enhance its efforts to reduce the drop-out rates. It also requests the Government to continue to provide information on the measures taken and the results achieved in this regard. To the extent possible, this information should be disaggregated by age and gender.