Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2022, published 111st ILC session (2023)

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

Article 6 of the Convention. Programmes of action. The Committee notes the Government’s indication, in reply to its previous comments, that the objective of the No hay excusa (no excuses) campaign was to give visibility to the problem of the commercial sexual exploitation of children and also to provide a helpline for reporting this crime. For three months the campaign was disseminated through various platforms, media, enterprises and airports. The Committee also notes the Government’s indication that, in the context of the “National Strategic Plan for the elimination of the worst forms of child labour 2006–16”, the National Council for Children and Young Persons (CONANI), in coordination with the Ministry of Labour, proposed to guarantee the restoration of the rights of street children and young persons engaged in the worst forms of child labour. In this regard, CONANI is carrying out an evaluation to determine the family and school situation and physical and psychological health of child victims of the worst forms of child labour in order to take action to determine urgent support needs. Lastly, the Committee notes that, in the context of the Supérate programme (the Government’s main social action framework), a protocol for the care of orphaned children whose mothers were the victims of femicide was adopted in order to prevent these children from being exposed to the worst forms of child labour, particularly commercial sexual exploitation. As a result of the application of the protocol, 510 children and young persons who lost their mothers to femicide are receiving psychological support and personalized care. The Committee welcomes the measures adopted by the Government and requests it to continue sending information on the programmes of action implemented to eliminate the worst forms of child labour, and on their results. The Committee also requests the Government to clarify whether it is planned to adopt a new “National Strategic Plan for the elimination of the worst forms of child labour”.

Article 7(2). Effective and time-bound measures. Clause (d). Children at special risk. 1. HIV/AIDS orphans. In reply to the Committee’s previous comments, the Government indicates that measures have been adopted to strengthen the capacity of families and communities to care for orphaned children. In this regard, a total of 15,002 families of persons living with HIV are registered in the Supérate programme for monetary transfers to families with limited resources, and some 28,000 families are registered in the National Health Insurance subsidy scheme. The Committee notes that, according to UNAIDS statistics, the number of HIV/AIDS orphans increased slightly from 40,000 in 2016 to 44,000 in 2022. The Committee requests the Government to continue sending information on the time-bound measures taken to protect HIV/AIDS orphans from being engaged in the worst forms of child labour, and on the results achieved in this respect.

2. Haitian migrant children. The Committee notes that the United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children refers in the 2018 report on her visit to the Dominican Republic to the situation of unaccompanied migrant children of Haitian origin who are the victims of multiple forms of exploitation and who work as shoeshiners, street vendors, porters and window cleaners or who are used by adults for criminal activities or begging. The UN Special Rapporteur emphasizes that many of these children are obliged to give financial compensation to their traffickers and that fear and lack of protection prevent them from reporting the individuals who are exploiting them (A/HRC/37/60/Add.1, paragraphs 22 and 24). The Committee requests the Government to provide detailed information on the measures taken to protect migrant children of Haitian origin, particularly those who are undocumented, against the worst forms of child labour, including information on reception centres available for this purpose.

Article 8. International cooperation. The Committee notes that the Government continues to participate in meetings organized in the context of the Latin America and the Caribbean Regional Initiative, at which progress and experience on the prevention and elimination of child labour is shared by each State party.