Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2023, published 112nd ILC session (2024)

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

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Articles 3(a) and 6 of the Convention. All forms of slavery or practices similar to slavery and programmes of action. Sale and trafficking of children. Following its previous comments, the Committee notes with interest the adoption of the Trafficking in Persons Act No. 1, 2018. The Government indicates that this Act provides that a person commits the crime of child trafficking if he or she intentionally recruits, transports, delivers, transfers, harbors, sells, exchanges, leases or receives a child for the purposes of exploitation, which includes prostitution or any form of sexual exploitation; forced labour or services; prohibited child labour or other economic exploitation; slavery or practices similar to slavery, including debt bondage; involuntary servitude; and criminal exploitation.

The Committee notes that, in its report under the Forced Labour Convention, No. 29 (1930), the Government communicates statistics on the number of investigated cases of trafficking (18) and of trafficking victims (25), registered between 2021–22. The Government, however, does not provide information on how many cases pertained to child victims of trafficking. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the application in practice of the Trafficking in Persons Act No. 1, in particular 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 of age.

Article 5. Monitoring mechanisms. Trafficking. The Committee notes the Government’s information, in its report, according to which a National Referral Mechanism (NRM) and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for the identification, protection and safe return of victims of trafficking have been developed and approved by Cabinet in 2018, which enhances a coordinated and efficient response to trafficking in persons in Namibia. The NRM and SOPs are coordinated and implemented by a National Coordinator, the Ministry of Gender Equality, Poverty Eradication and Social Welfare (MGECW). Moreover, an inter-ministerial committee has been set up consisting of the Ministry of Labour, Industrial Relations and Employment Creation, the MGECW, and the Ministry of Home Affairs, Immigration, Safety and Security, to monitor reports on human trafficking and smuggling of migrants in Namibia. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the implementation of the NRM and SOPs by the MGECW, in particular as regards the identification, protection and safe return of child victims of trafficking for labour or sexual exploitation. It also requests the Government to provide information on the activities and number of reports of child trafficking identified by the inter-ministerial committee.

Article 6. Programmes of action.National Agenda for Children 2018–22. The Committee previously noted that child protection, including protection from child abuse and child trafficking, was one of the pillars of the National Agenda for Children 2018–22. It notes that the Government provides no information on the impact of the National Agenda for Children in this regard. The Committee requests the Government to provide information, in its next report, on the impact of the measures taken under the National Agenda for Children 2018–22 on the protection of children under 18 years of age against sale and trafficking for sexual or labour exploitation. On other issues related to the development of a plan of action against sale and trafficking, the Committee refers to its comments under the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29).

Action Plan to Eliminate Child Labour in Domestic Work (AP-CLDW). Following the Committee’s previous comments, the Government indicates that the AP-CLDW is still ongoing and yielding positive results. The Committee requests the Government to provide information, in its next report, on the impact and results achieved through the implementation of the AP-CLDW in terms of protection of children from the worst forms of child labour in the domestic sector.

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. Following its previous comments, the Committee takes note of the measures taken by the Government to improve access to free basic education in the country, in particular for learners with disabilities. Such measures include the provision of hostel accommodations for these learners or of school feeding programmes, and the offer of learning support to enable teachers in all schools to assist learners with disabilities. As a result of the measures implemented by the Government, the number of enrolled learners has increased from 638,789 in 2013 to a total of 802,655 in the 2022 academic year. The Committee also notes that, according to UNESCO statistics, the gross enrolment ratio at the level of primary education in 2022 was very high (125.7 per cent).

However, the Committee notes that, according to the UNICEF Education Budget Brief for Namibia, 2022–23, while Namibia has made significant progress in achieving basic education, challenges remain, in particular the high number of learners repeating a grade, partly due to the quality of outcomes remaining somewhat low across the education sector. The Committee therefore requests the Government to continue its efforts to facilitate access to free quality education for all children. It requests the Government to continue providing information on the measures taken in this regard and on the results achieved, particularly in terms of increasing school attendance rates and completion rates, and reducing repetition rates, in primary and lower secondary education.

Clause (d). Identifying and reaching out to children at special risk. HIV/AIDS orphans and other children in situations of vulnerability (OVCs). Following its previous comments, the Committee notes the Government’s information regarding the measures it is taking, either under the National Strategic Framework for HIV and AIDS Response 2017/18 – 2021/22 or otherwise, to reduce HIV/AIDS infections and protect and support persons infected, including children and adolescents, and OVCs. The Government indicates, for example, that the Child Care and Protection Act, 2015, which came into force in 2019, provides child support for children in need of care and protection, as well as short-term emergency grants or assistance in kind and residential childcare facility grants to support children in need of nutrition, clothing and housing. In this regard, the Government has recruited 41 volunteers, through the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), to assist with grants application processes for OVCs, which resulted in an increase in the number of OVCs receiving grants from 111,624 in 2009/2010 to 314,140 in 2021/2022. The Government further indicates that the number of OVCs enrolled in school as at 2021 are 4,337 boys and 41,454 girls. The Committee notes, however, that UNAIDS estimates indicate that 60,000 children were orphans of HIV/AIDs in 2021. The Committee takes due note of the measures taken by the Government and requests it to continue its efforts to protect orphans of HIV/AIDS and OVCs from the worst forms of child labour. It requests the Government to continue providing information on the measures taken in this regard and the results achieved.

Article 8. International cooperation. Poverty reduction. The Committee notes that, according to a UNICEF policy brief on ending multidimensional child poverty in Namibia of 2021, the UN Namibia Socioeconomic impact analysis of COVID-19 (2020) estimates that the pandemic pushed more than 105,000 people, including some 45,000 children into poverty. In this regard, the Committee notes that the Government of Namibia is implementing several key national strategies and development plans, such as the Harambee Prosperity Plan, Vision 2030 and the United Nations Partnership Assistance Framework (UNPAF), 2019–23. The Committee also takes note of the ILO Decent Work Country Programme (DWCP), 2019–23, which will be integrated in the Economic progression and the Social transformation Pillars of the UNPAF 2019–23 to contribute to results on strengthening the design and implementation capacities of government institutions at all levels, for example in the areas of productivity and job-rich infrastructure development. Namibia is also benefiting from assistance from the UN World Food Programme (WFP) in the framework of a Country Strategic Plan, 2017–23, to provide food assistance to vulnerable people affected by shock, ensure adequate capacity strengthening to the Government, and facilitate effective policies and best practices. Recalling that poverty reduction programmes contribute to breaking the cycle of poverty, which is essential for the elimination of the worst forms of child labour, the Committee strongly encourages the Government to continue its efforts to reduce the incidence of poverty in Namibia. It requests the Government to provide information on the results achieved, particularly in relation to the effective reduction of multidimensional child poverty, and the impact detected on the elimination of the worst forms of child labour.

Application of the Convention in practice. The Committee notes that, in the framework of the Decent Work Country Programme 2019–23, it is aimed to improve the capacities of government institutions in the area of timely collection, analysis, dissemination and application of comprehensive, quality and disaggregated data on the labour market, including on child labour, trafficking in persons and violence against women and girls. The Committee therefore requests Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that sufficient data on the worst forms of child labour is made available, in particular on the sale and trafficking of children and children engaged in hazardous work.