Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2021, published 110th ILC session (2022)

Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182) - Eritrea (Ratification: 2019)

The Committee notes the Government’s first report.

Article 3 of the Convention. Worst forms of child labour. Clause (a). All forms of slavery or practices similar to slavery. 1. Sale and trafficking of children. The Committee notes that section 297 of the Penal Code of 2015 establishes penalties for enslavement and abetting traffic, which involves, paragraph (a) selling, buying, trading or trafficking of others or paragraph (c) knowingly transporting whether by land, sea or air persons enslaved or aids and abets such traffic whether within Eritrean territory or otherwise, and shall constitute a serious offence punishable with imprisonment from 13 to 16 years, if it involves persons under 18 years. Furthermore, according to section 315 of the Penal Code, trafficking in women or infants and young persons to engage them in prostitution or the production of pornography or for pornographic performances, even with their consent shall be liable to a definite term of imprisonment of not less than five years and not more than seven years. In addition, sections 316, 317 and 318 establishes penalties for certain aggravated circumstances of trafficking in women, infants and young persons; the organisation of trafficking in persons, involving women, infants and young persons; and aggravated organisation of trafficking in persons involving many victims, respectively.

The Committee notes that the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), in its concluding observations of March 2020, expressed concern that the State party has not adopted an adequate legal framework and a comprehensive policy to address trafficking in persons, in particular women and girls, and that most perpetrators of trafficking-related crimes enjoy impunity (CEDAW/C/ERI/CO/6, paragraph 27). The Committee requests the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that, in practice, thorough investigations and prosecutions are carried out against persons who engage in the trafficking of children under 18 years, and that sufficiently effective and dissuasive sanctions are imposed. The Committee also requests the Government to provide information on the number of investigations, prosecutions, convictions, and penalties applied regarding trafficking of children.

2. Slavery, debt bondage, forced or compulsory labour. The Committee notes that according to article 16 of the Constitution, no person shall be subjected to torture or cruel or inhuman or degrading treatment nor shall be held in slavery or servitude or required to perform forced labour. It also notes that section 108 of the Penal Code establishes penalties of life imprisonment or imprisonment between 23 to 27 years, for crimes against humanity, including enslavement. Section 297 further stipulates that “any person who (a) sells, alienates, pledges, buys, trades, traffics or otherwise enslaves another person; (b) keeps or maintains another person in a condition of slavery even in disguised form, is guilty of enslavement which shall be punishable with a definite term of imprisonment of not less than 7 years and not more than 10 years. If the person enslaved is less than 18 years of age, the crime shall amount to serious offence punishable with imprisonment between 13 to 16 years. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the application of section 297 (a) and (b) in practice, indicating any offences reported in relation to children under the age of 18 years and the investigations, prosecutions, convictions and penalties applied.

3. Compulsory recruitment of children for use in armed conflict. The Committee notes that according to section 6 of the National Service Proclamation No. 82 of 1995, all citizens from 18 to 50 years of age shall have the obligation to render national service and citizens between 18 to 40 years have the compulsory duty of performing active national service for a total of eighteen months (section 8). Pursuant to section 11(1) of the National Service Proclamation, young persons who has attained the age of 17 years shall be called upon to appear for registration. The Government states in its report that the underage recruitment of children is completely prohibited by law and in practice in Eritrea. The Committee, however, notes that according to section 109(2)(x) of the Penal Code, a person who, as a part of systematic plan or policy or a large scale commission, and in time of war, armed conflict or occupation, organizes, orders or engages in serious violations of laws and customs applicable in international armed conflict, such as conscripting or enlisting children under the age of 15 years into the national armed forces or using them to actively participate in hostilities is guilty of war crimes. The Committee observes that this provision protects only children below 15 years from being used in armed conflict, which is not in conformity with the provisions of the Convention. Furthermore, the Committee notes that the Human Rights Committee (HRC), in its concluding observations of 2019 on the application of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (CCPR), expressed concern at the practice that all high school students, boys and girls, must enrol for their twelfth grade at the Sawa military training centre, where they undergo stringent military training. The HRC is also concerned that many students drop out of school and some of them flee the country to avoid such enrolment. The HRC is further concerned about reports of alleged forced underage recruitment, including through the practice of round-ups (giffa), and allegations of violence against children, including sexual violence, including at the Sawa military training centre (CCPR/C/ERI/CO/1, paragraphs 43 and 44). The Committee reminds the Government that under Article 3(a) of the Convention, the forced or compulsory recruitment of children under 18 years of age for use in armed conflict is considered to be one of the worst forms of child labour and that, under Article 1 of the Convention, member States must take immediate and effective measures to secure the elimination of the worst forms of child labour as a matter of urgency. The Committee therefore urges the Government to take immediate and effective measures to ensure that no child under the age of 18 years shall be recruited or enlisted into the national armed forces or for armed conflict. The Committee also urges the Government to take the necessary measures to put a stop, in practice, to the forced underage recruitment of children under the age of 18 years for military training at the Sawa military training centre.

Clause (b). Use, procuring or offering of a child for prostitution and for the production of pornography or pornographic performances. The Committee notes that section 108 of the Penal Code which deals with crimes against humanity, prohibits the offence of forced prostitution which is punishable with life imprisonment or imprisonment up to 27 years. Section 314 of the Penal Code further provides for penalties of imprisonment up to one year or a fine of 20,001 to 50,000 Nakfas (approximately US$1,333 to US$3,333) for procuring, promoting or aiding the prostitution of another person. The Committee also notes that according to section 315 of the Penal Code, any person who for gain or to gratify the passions of others: (a) traffics in women or infants and young persons, whether by seducing them, by enticing them, or by procuring them or otherwise inducing them to engage in prostitution or the production of pornography or for pornographic performances, even with their consent; or (b) keeps such a person in a disorderly house or to let them out to prostitution, shall be liable to a definite term of imprisonment of not less than five years and not more than seven years. However, the Committee observes that the offence of using a child by a client for prostitution is not covered by the above provisions. The Committee therefore requests the Government to indicate the measures taken or envisaged to prohibit the use of a child under 18 years by a client for prostitution. It also requests the Government to provide information on the application of sections 314 and 315 in practice indicating the number of investigations, prosecutions, convictions and specific penalties applied for the offences related to the use, procuring or offering of persons under the age of 18 years for prostitution or the production of pornography or for pornographic performances.

Clause (c). Use, procuring or offering of a child for illicit activities, in particular for the production and trafficking of drugs. The Committee notes that sections 377 to 389 of the Penal Code of 2015 makes it an offence to produce, traffic, possess, sell or cultivate controlled drugs or plants. Section 391 specifically deals with offences related to procuring a minor for the production or trafficking of controlled drugs or plants, which is punishable with imprisonment for up to nineteen years. Moreover, offences related to encouraging a child to beg shall be punishable under section 206 of the Penal Code, with a maximum period of imprisonment for up to six months or a fine of 5001 to 20,000 Nakfas. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the application in practice of section 391 of the Penal Code, including the number of investigations, prosecutions and convictions, as well as penalties applied for the use, procuring or offering of children under the age of 18 years for the production or trafficking of drugs.

Clause (d) and Article 4(1). Hazardous work and determination of hazardous work. The Committee notes that according to section 9(2) of the Labour Proclamation of 2001, no contract of employment shall be enforceable against a person below the age of eighteen years if it is determined to be prejudicial to the interests of that person. Section 69 of the Labour Proclamation further stipulates that the Minister of Labour and Social Welfare may, by regulation, issue a list of activities prohibited to young employees, including apprentices, which shall, in particular, include: (a) work in the transport of passengers and goods by road, rail way, air and sea and in docksides and warehouses involving heavy weight lifting, pulling or pushing or any other related type of labour; (b) work connected with toxic chemicals, dangerous machines, electric power generation plants, transformers or transmission lines; (c) underground work, such as mines, quarries and similar works; and (d) work in sewers and digging tunnels.

The Committee also notes the Government’s information that the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare, after consultation with the representatives of workers’ and employers’ Associations, has been engaged in the process to finalize the regulation issuing the list of hazardous activities prohibited to persons under the age of 18. The Committee requests the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that the regulation concerning the list of types of hazardous work prohibited to children under the age of 18 years is finalised and adopted, without delay and to provide information on any progress made in this regard.

Article 5. Monitoring mechanisms. The Committee notes that according to section 143(1) of the Labour Proclamation, the labour inspection service shall ensure the implementation of the provisions of the Proclamation and of regulations and directives issued in accordance with the Proclamation and other laws relating to labour relations. Labour Inspection Service shall include the supervision, execution, conducting of studies and research and preparation in accordance with this Proclamation and other laws, of working conditions, occupational safety, health and standards of work. The Committee also notes the Government’s information that both the labour inspectors and the police of Eritrea play important roles in law enforcement. The labour inspection service has the power to supervise the workplaces, oversee the execution of the labour proclamation, take corrective measures and bring the offender to justice. If crimes relating to child labour are committed in violation to the Penal Code, the Police and Prosecutors will actively involve and bring the case to the court. The Committee further notes that in its Replies of February 2020 to the CEDAW, the Government has indicated that focused training is being conducted for the Eritrean Police Force and Security and other law enforcement agencies in partnership with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) to tackle human trafficking and smuggling (CEDAW/C/ERI/RQ/6, paragraph 26). The Committee requests the Government to continue providing the necessary training to the police and other law enforcement agencies on combating the worst forms of child labour, in particular the trafficking of children. It also requests the Government to provide information on the functioning of the labour inspection services, including the specific measures taken in strengthening their capacity to identify the worst forms of child labour. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken in this regard and on the results achieved in terms of the number of cases of worst forms of child labour identified and investigated.

Article 6. Programmes of action. The Committee notes the Government’s reference to the Eritrean Comprehensive Child Policy of 2016 which contain strategies to prevent child labour and protect the rights of children. The Government also indicates that the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare (MLSW) is implementing the 2017-2021 strategic plans with a vision to ensure decent work agenda. The Committee also notes from its comments adopted in 2020, under the Minimum Age Convention No.138 (1973), that the MLSW is in the process of developing a national action plan for the elimination of child labour. In this regard, the Committee notes from the ILO Technical Advisory Mission Report on the Tripartite Inter-ministerial Workshop on the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No.182) (ILO Mission report of 2019) held in Asmara in March 2019, that the tripartite constituents identified that measures are required to protect children from certain types of extremely hazardous forms of work in domestic work, artisanal mining and street vending. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken or envisaged to protect children from hazardous forms of work in domestic work, artisanal mining and street vending. It also requests the Government to provide information on any progress made with regard to the adoption of the national action plan for the elimination of child Labour, indicating the concrete measures taken or envisaged within its framework, as well as within the Comprehensive Child Policy of 2016 to combat the worst forms of child labour and the results achieved.

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 notes that pursuant to section 13.1.2 of the Macro Policy of Eritrea of 1994, universal education up to seven years shall be made available to all children. According to the statistics provided by the Government, in the 2018–2019 academic year, 656,272 students were enrolled from pre-primary up to secondary. In the last two decades school enrolment rates have increased by 96.4 per cent (106.3 per cent for girls), the number of teachers by 131 per cent (174.1 per cent for female teachers) and the number of schools by 178 per cent. The Government states that about 17 per cent of primary school age children are presently out of school (was 33.7 per cent in 2014) and alternative mode through the Complementary Elementary Education (CEE) has been introduced to address the challenges in remote and rural areas. The Government further indicates that in spite of the challenges and hostilities including capacity and resources, and to a limited extent the cultural obstacles affecting girl’s education in some of the low land areas, there are no substantive barriers to education at all levels of education from pre-school up to the tertiary levels.

The Committee, however, notes that the CEDAW, in its concluding observations of March 2020, expressed concern at the persistently low rates of school enrolment, retention and completion, with significant discrepancies between rural and urban areas and the failure of the State party to adequately address the root causes of girls dropping out of school (CEDAW/C/ERI/CO/6, paragraph 33). The Committee also notes from the ILO Mission report of 2019, that increased efforts are required to ensure access to free basic education to those children who are at a risk of falling victims to the worst forms of child labour, including those in the rural areas and from nomadic communities. The Committee therefore strongly encourages the Government to pursue its efforts to improve access to free basic education of all children, including children from rural areas and from nomadic communities, and to improve the functioning of the education system through measures to increase school enrolment, attendance and completion rates, and reduce drop-out rates, particularly of girls. The Committee requests the Government to provide detailed information on the concrete measures taken and on the results achieved in this regard.

Clauses (a) and (b) Preventing and removing children from the worst forms of child labour and providing for their rehabilitation and social integration. Trafficking and commercial exploitation of children. The Committee notes from the Government’s Replies of February 2020, to the list of issues raised by CEDAW to its sixth periodic report, that women and girls are the main victims of the hideous crimes of illegal smuggling and human trafficking (CEDAW/C/ERI/RQ/6, paragraph 25). The CEDAW, in its concluding observations of March 2020, expressed concern at the high number of cases of trafficking and sexual exploitation of women and girls, who are forced to exit the country illegally (CEDAW/C/ERI/CO/6, paragraph 27). The Committee requests the Government to take effective and time-bound measures to prevent children under the age of 18 years from falling victims to trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation, and to remove them from such worst forms of child labour and to provide for their rehabilitation and social integration. It requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken and the results achieved in this regard.

Article 8. International cooperation and assistance. The Committee notes the Government’s information that Eritrea is engaged with the UN agencies, including the UNICEF and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) on child rights and labour issues. At present, the Government and UNICEF are engaged and jointly funding the child protection and child right programs in coordination with Ministries of Labour and Social Welfare, Education, Health and Local Government. It also states that the National poverty elimination policy and its highly focused interventions targeting rural communities have improved the living standards of all Eritreans, especially those that were left behind and vulnerable.

According to the information provided by the Government, in its Replies to CEDAW of February 2020, Eritrea is also engaged in international (UNODC) and regional (AU-Horn of Africa Counter Trafficking Initiative) efforts to tackle illegal migration coupled with combating human trafficking and smuggling (CEDAW/C/ERI/RQ/6, paragraph 26). Moreover, according to the information from a report of the UNODC, the Government of Eritrea signed a Partnership Framework with the UNODC in July 2019 on three areas of intervention, including crime prevention and criminal justice, strengthening the administration of justice and combatting transnational organised crime. The Committee encourages the Government to continue its international and regional cooperation efforts to combat the worst forms of child labour, in particular trafficking of children. It also requests the Government to provide information on the results achieved through the signing of the Partnership Framework with the UNODC as well as other regional and international cooperation.

Application of the Convention in practice. The Committee notes the Government’s statement that the situation of children in Eritrea in general and the ideals of upbringing a new generation aiming at the best interest of the child remains a priority. The legal and institutional basis and sector policies and strategies have advanced the goals of development of children and will be consolidated in the future. The Government indicates that the Governmental and Non-governmental institutions are involved directly or indirectly in the application of national laws and regulations which are linked with the rights of the child. The Government further referring to the findings of the labour force survey of 2015–2016 provides statistics on the involvement of children between 5–13 years in child labour. The Committee also notes the Government’s information that in 2019, the labour inspectors inspected 1,166 establishments and no specific infringements pertaining to child labour and its worst forms were reported. The Committee requests the Government to provide statistical information on the situation of children under 18 years in the worst forms of child labour, including information on the nature, extent and trends of the worst forms of child labour in the country, the number and nature of violations reported, the investigations, prosecutions convictions and penal sanctions applied. To the extent possible all information provided should be disaggregated by age and gender.