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

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

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Article 3 of the Convention. Worst forms of child labour. Clause (c). Use, procuring or offering of a child for illicit activities. The Committee notes the Government’s indication, in its report, that section 47(VII) of the General Act on the rights of boys, girls and young persons was amended by Decree of 2022 to provide that the central, federal and municipal authorities shall: “take the necessary measures to prevent, address and punish cases in which children are incited or coerced to participate in the commission of crimes or in associations of criminal activities, in armed conflicts or in any other activity that prevents their comprehensive development”. It further notes, from the Government’s report to the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) that measures were taken for the training of federal, state and municipal security forces, to better detect and prevent the recruitment of children and adolescents by organized crime groups, and ensure their protection in case of demobilization (CRC/MEX/6-7, 18 December 2020, paragraph 248).

The Committee takes note of the 2022 report of the Secretariat of Security and Civil Protection (SEGUR) on the crime rate at the national level and that, in 2022, there were 2,951 cases of corruption of minors. The Committee notes, from the Government’s report, that the Office of the Special Prosecutor dealing with violence against women and trafficking in persons (FEVIMTRA) in the period 2018–22 initiated five investigations relating to the offence of corruption of minors and the National Commission of Tribunals (CONATRIB) undertook 275 investigations for the offence of corruption of minors and 112 convictions were handed down. According to the data provided by the Government, between 2015 and June 2022, 12,247 victims of corruption of minors aged 0 to 17 years were detected (8,472 girls and 3,775 boys). The Committee requests the Government to continue providing information on the number of violations reported, including the penalties imposed under section 47(VII) of the General Act on the rights of boys, girls and young persons. It also requests the Government to provide information on the application in practice of section 201 of the Federal Penal Code, which establishes penalties for inciting or obliging any person to engage in begging.

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 Decree of 26 January 2018 introduces a new subparagraph XXII to section 57 of the 2014 General Act on the rights of boys, girls and young persons which provides that federal authorities shall “establish mechanisms for educational authorities, schools and individuals with authorization, to notify the corresponding Protection Attorney about cases of irregular attendance or school drop-outs that are identified with respect to students enrolled in basic education”. With regard to the measures taken to reduce the drop-out rates of children at the secondary level, the Government indicates that, since 2019, the Benito Juárez Wellbeing National Scholarship Programme, contributes to the protection of the right to education, seeking to reduce the level of school dropouts, through scholarship grants of 840 Mexican pesos per month for students enrolled in the basic and secondary levels who are living in poverty or in a situation of vulnerability. Between 2019 and June 2022, 15.8 million students in secondary education benefitted from the programme.

The Committee welcomes the Government’s information on the programmes aimed at indigenous children to guarantee and increase their school attendance rates, including: (1) the Programme for the Diversity of Indigenous Education (PADEI), established in 2020, which aims to strengthen education services for girls, boys, and young people in a situation of vulnerability, and contribute to better opportunities and access tools to a comprehensive, equitable and inclusive education. During 2020 and 2021, the programme benefitted to 334,160 indigenous students, 10,950 teachers and 6,804 schools; (2) during the 2018–19 school year, the General Coordinator of Intercultural and Bilingual Education, together with the UNICEF, developed the Attention Project for the Indigenous Population in cities implemented in City schools from Mexico and Pachuca, with the objective that indigenous children from urban schools receive education with an intercultural approach, which contributes to their school attendance and completion rates. This programme benefitted 388 children who completed their the 2018–19 school year, and of this total, 90 per cent enrolled into the next grade in the same elementary school; (3) the Sectoral Programme on Education (PSE) 2020–24, which contains a number of strategies and actions to ensure a quality education for indigenous children; and (4) the National Commission on Free Books (CONALITEG) gave out free books for pre-primary and primary education in 20 different languages of indigenous communities.

The Committee notes with interest the Government’s indication that, as a result of the measures taken, between 2018 and 2021, more than 1.3 million indigenous children were enrolled in school each year, with a significant decrease in drop-out rates for basic education (from 1.1 per cent in 2019 to -0.5 per cent in 2021). The Committee requests the Government to pursue its efforts to improve the functioning of the education system and to provide detailed information on the results achieved within the framework of its various programmes, in particular with regard to indigenous children, and with emphasis on the increase in the school attendance rate in lower secondary education.

Clause (d). Children at special risk. Children in street situations. The Committee notes that, in 2021, the Commission for the Substantive Equality of Children and Adolescents of the Executive Secretariat of the National Protection System Children and Adolescents (SIPINNA) adopted the Strategy for the care and protection of children and adolescents living and working on the streets 2022–24, with the aim of disseminating, raising awareness, attending to and comprehensively protecting these children. The Government indicates that the Strategy will be executed by authorities at all levels of Government, around four specific actions relating to: (1) the right to identity; (2) access to food and health services; (3) access and permanence in the education system; and (4) a life free from violence. The Committee further notes the Government’s indication that, through the National System for the Comprehensive Development of the Family (SNDIF), care was provided to 2,312 girls, boys and adolescents living and working on the streets, and that 1,074 of these children were reintegrated into their family and social environment, while the others remained under the guardianship of public and private Social Assistance Centres. The Committee further notes from the Government’s report to the CRC that: (1) in the framework of the 2022–2024 Strategy, the SNDIF financed 91 prevention and assistance projects which benefitted 13,138 children in street situations or in vulnerable situations; and (2) investigations and diagnostics undertaken on the situation of street children have been used to elaborate public policies and programmes such as the Programme on Integral Development for children and adolescent workers in street situations or in vulnerable situations in Guanajuato (CRC/MEX/6-7, paragraphs 226 and 228). The Committee welcomes the Government’s efforts and requests it to continue taking measures to remove children from the streets and to ensure their rehabilitation and social integration. It also requests the Government to continue providing information on the number of children who have been removed from the streets, rehabilitated and socially integrated.

Application of the Convention in practice. The Committee notes, from the 2019 ENTI Survey, that out of the 3.3 million children aged 5 to 17 years involved in child labour, there were: (1) 1.1 million children aged 15 to 17 years engaged in hazardous work; (2) 0.7 million children aged 5 to 15 years engaged in hazardous work; and (3) 1.2 million children aged 5 to 17 years engaged in unpaid domestic work in their own homes under inadequate conditions. The Committee notes that the information provided is disaggregated and geo-referenced by municipality. The Committee requests the Government to continue providing statistics and other information on the nature, extent and trends of the worst forms of child labour, the number of children protected by the measures giving effect to the Convention, the number and nature of the violations reported, investigations, prosecutions, convictions and criminal penalties imposed. To the extent possible, all information provided should be disaggregated by gender and age.