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

Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182) - Sierra Leone (Ratification: 2011)

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(a) and 7(1) of the Convention. Worst forms of child labour. Trafficking in children and penalties. The Committee previously noted that section 2 of the Anti-Human Trafficking Act penalized trafficking in persons for the purpose of exploitation. Moreover, section 22 of the Anti-Human Trafficking Act provides that any person convicted of the offences related to trafficking in persons shall be liable to a fine not exceeding 50 million Sierra Leone leones (SLL) (approximately US$11,615) or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding ten years or to both. The Committee further noted the Government’s information that from 2005 to 2011, 13 convictions were made on child trafficking.

The Committee notes that according to the concluding observations of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW, CEDAW/C/SLE/CO/6, paragraph 22) of March 2014, Sierra Leone remains a source, transit and destination country for women and children trafficked for purposes of sexual exploitation and forced labour. CEDAW also expressed its concern at the reported high incidence of internal trafficking of women and girls from rural areas, the limited prosecution and conviction rates under the Anti-Human Trafficking Act (2005), and the absence of a specific action plan to implement the Act. The Committee therefore requests the Government to strengthen its efforts to combat trafficking in children, and to ensure that thorough investigations and robust prosecutions of offenders are carried out and sufficiently effective and dissuasive penalties are applied in practice. The Committee once again requests Government to provide information on the application of the Anti-Human Trafficking Act in practice, including statistics on the number and nature of offences reported, investigations, prosecutions, convictions and penal sanctions imposed with regard to the trafficking of children under 18 years.

Articles 3(d) and 4(1). Hazardous work and determination of types of hazardous work. With regard to the adoption of the list of hazardous types of work, the Committee refers to its detailed comments under the Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138).

Article 5. Monitoring mechanisms. 1. National Task Force on Anti-Human Trafficking. The Committee previously noted that a National Task Force on Anti-Human Trafficking was established to coordinate, monitor and supervise the implementation of the Anti-Human Trafficking Act, and to assist potential victims of trafficking by providing shelter, psychosocial counselling, medical assistance, as well as family reunification.

The Committee notes the absence of information in this regard. The Committee therefore once again requests the Government to provide information on the activities of the National Task Force on Anti-Human Trafficking in preventing and combating human trafficking and the results achieved.

2. National Technical Steering Committee, Child Welfare Committees and National Commission for Children. The Committee previously noted the Government’s information that a National Technical Steering Committee on Child Labour (NTSC) was established to provide guidance on policy, strategy and substance relating to child labour in Sierra Leone, to provide technical support and participation towards annual reviews of national activities, to mainstream child labour issues in other development programmes and policies, and to review and endorse project proposals developed under the various support programmes. The Committee also noted that Child Welfare Committees were established at the national, regional, district, and community levels to coordinate all child protection activities as well as to monitor and supervise child labour in the local communities.

The Committee notes the Government’s information in its report that, the National Commission for Children was established by an Act of Parliament in July 2014, and became operational in February 2015. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the activities of the NTSC, Child Welfare Committees and National Commission for Children, as well as their impact on the prevention and elimination of the worst forms of child labour.

Article 6. Programmes of action. National Action Plan against the Worst Forms of Child Labour. The Committee previously noted the Government’s indication that a draft National Action Plan against the Worst Forms of Child Labour has been elaborated.  

The Committee notes from the written replies of the Government to the list of issues in relation to the combined third to fifth periodic reports to the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) of September 2016 that, following several consultations and workshops with relevant stakeholders and line ministries, the National Action Plan against the Worst Forms of Child Labour including Child Trafficking was developed, finalized and validated; however, the implementation of this Action Plan has been rescheduled to commence in 2016–18 (CRC/C/SLE/Q/3-5/Add.1, paragraph 102). The Committee requests the Government to indicate whether the National Action Plan against the Worst forms of Child Labour has been adopted, and to provide information on its implementation.

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 that the Education Act of 2004 provided for free and compulsory basic education, comprising of six years of primary education and three years of junior secondary education to all its citizens (section 3(1) and (2)). The Committee also noted that, within the framework of the ILO–IPEC TACKLE project 2008–13, two main action programmes were implemented to provide educational support to children and their families in targeted regions, namely “Community responses to child labour” and “Community Action for Rural Empowerment (CREAM)”. The Committee further expressed its concern at the discrimination against girls with regard to access to education.

The Committee notes the absence of information on this point. The Committee therefore once again urges the Government to pursue its efforts to ensure access to free basic education, including by taking measures to increase the school enrolment and completion rates, both at primary and secondary level, giving particular attention to girls. It requests the Government to provide information on the concrete measures taken in this regard, and on the results achieved, providing data disaggregated by age and gender.

Clause (b). Direct assistance for the removal of children from the worst forms of child labour and for their rehabilitation and social integration. Former child combatants. The Committee previously noted that the Government representative of Sierra Leone, at the 55th Session of the CRC on consideration of the initial reports of Sierra Leone under the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict (CRC–OPAC) stated that once the war had ended, the country took various measures to assist child victims of war, regardless of whether they had been directly involved in the hostilities, including psychosocial services, vocational training and school re-entry programmes under the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration programmes (DDR). The Committee also noted that the CRC OPAC expressed its concern at the limited number of children who benefited from the DDR programmes, relative to the estimated number of children who participated in the armed conflict, as well as the inadequate attention paid to the physical and psychological recovery of former child combatants, particularly girls formerly associated with armed groups, the majority of whom had been victims of sexual violence.

The Committee notes the absence of relevant information in the Government’s report.  The Committee once again requests the Government to take the necessary measures to address the physical and psychological recovery of former child combatants, especially girls, and to monitor the situation of those who were not included in the DDR programmes with a view to providing them with the necessary assistance to fully rehabilitate and reintegrate them in society. It also requests the Government to provide information on the impact of the measures taken in this regard, in particular the number of children who were provided with the necessary assistance.

Clause (d). Identify and reach out to children at special risk. Street children. The Committee notes that the CRC–OPSC expressed its concern at the high number of children living or working in the streets who are particularly vulnerable to sexual and other forms of exploitation and the absence of an effective strategy to address this issue.

The Committee notes the Government’s information in its report that, the Street Children Project has been implemented by the Ministry of Social Welfare Gender and Child Affairs (MSWGCA). The Committee also notes from the written replies of the Government to the list of issues in relation to the combined third to fifth periodic reports to the CRC of September 2016 that, MSWGCA has been providing family tracing and reunification support services with the support of development partners. Moreover, focal agencies (NGOs and INGOs) have been identified in all 14 districts of the country and are all functional in their respective districts. (CRC/C/SLE/Q/3-5/Add.1, paragraph 100). Recalling that street children are at an increased risk of being involved in the worst forms of child labour, the Committee requests the Government to continue its efforts to remove children from the street and to provide the necessary direct assistance for their rehabilitation and social reintegration. The Committee also requests the Government to provide information on the results achieved in this regard, such as the number of children rescued and socially integrated pursuant to such measures.

Article 8. International cooperation and assistance. The Committee previously noted that Sierra Leone is a party to the West African Network of Child Protection, which was launched in March 2013 to monitor vulnerable children’s movement within the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) region. The Committee also noted the Government’s cooperation with the ECOWAS Child Protection Unit, the ECOWAS Anti-Human Trafficking Unit and the Manu River Union for border community security.

The Committee notes the absence of information in the Government’s report in this regard. The Committee therefore once again requests the Government to provide information on the impact of the West African Network of Child Protection and the ECOWAS Anti-Human Trafficking Unit on combating the trafficking of children under 18 years of age.

Labour inspection and application of the Convention in practice. The Committee previously noted the Government’s statement that no child labour was detected in the formal economy, while only limited inspections were carried out in the informal economy. It further noted the Government’s statement that the law enforcement bodies and the labour inspectors lack sufficient training on identifying, monitoring and investigating cases related to child labour and its worst forms. The Government further indicated that proper records and documents on child labour are not available.

The Committee notes that the Government does not provide relevant information on this point. However, the Committee notes that the Government provided results of the National Child Labour Survey 2011 in its written replies to the list of issues in relation to the combined third to fifth periodic reports to the CRC (CRC/C/SLE/Q/3-5/Add.1, Annex II) of September 2016, according to which, 895,428 (45.9 per cent) of children between 5 and 17 years of age were engaged in child labour, while about half of them (428,775 children) were involved in hazardous work. The Committee further notes that, according to the State of the World’s Children 2014 (UNICEF), more than a quarter (26 per cent) of children aged 5–17 in Sierra Leone were involved in hazardous child labour. The Committee therefore once again requests the Government to take the necessary measures to strengthen the capacity and functioning of the labour inspectorate and the law enforcement bodies to detect cases of the worst forms of child labour, including training and capacity-building activities. It also requests the Government to continue its efforts to ensure that sufficient data on the situation of children involved in the worst forms of child labour is made available, including statistics and information on the nature, extent and trends of the worst forms of child labour. To the extent possible, all information should be disaggregated by gender and age.