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

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

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Article 6 of the Convention. Programmes of action. National Action Plan against the Worst Forms of Child Labour. The Committee notes with interest the Government’s information that the National Action Plan (NAP) against the Worst Forms of Child Labour including Child Trafficking has been reviewed and adopted for the period 2022–26. The NAP identifies four key policy areas: (1) advocating for adequate legislation and law enforcement; (2) promoting access to affordable, relevant and quality education; (3) ensuring effective social protection strategies and actions towards the most vulnerable households; and (4) promoting the involvement of key stakeholders in supporting the elimination of the worst forms of child labour. The key target groups are children at risk of falling into the worst forms of child labour, children who engage in hazardous work and the families of these children. The Committee notes that the NAP contains a detailed list of activities and expected outcomes with associated timeframes. The Committee requests the Government to: (i) provide specific information on the measures taken to implement the NAP on the Worst Forms of Child Labour 2022–26; and (ii) indicate if the expected outcomes have been reached and the timeframes met.

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 one of the priority areas of the NAP on the Worst Forms of Child Labour including Child Trafficking 2022–26 is to ensure access to quality education for all children. The aim is to raise awareness on the importance of education and collaborate with stakeholders to improve access (especially in remote areas), mobilize additional resources and monitor school attendance. The Committee also notes, from the 2022 UNICEF Country Office Annual Report, that the gross enrolment rate at the primary school level increased from 137 per cent to 152 per cent between 2021 and 2022, indicating that a large number of under- and over-aged students enrolled at that level. The gross enrolment rate for lower secondary education also increased from 78 per cent in 2021 to 97 per cent in 2022. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on: (i) the measures taken, including within the framework of the NAP on the Worst Forms of Child Labour including Child Trafficking 2022–26, to ensure access to free basic education for all children; and (ii) the results achieved, including statistical data on school enrolment, attendance and completion rates for the primary and lower secondary levels.

Clause (d). Identifying and reach out to children at special risk. Children in street situations. Recalling that children in street situations are at an increased risk of being involved in the worst forms of child labour, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on: (i) the progress reached in preparing and adopting a national policy and a draft bill to address the plight of these children; (ii) the measures taken to remove children from the street and to provide the necessary direct assistance for their rehabilitation and social integration; and (iii) the results achieved in this regard, such as the number of children rescued and socially integrated according to such measures.

Article 8. International cooperation and assistance. The Government indicates that the National Task Force on Human Trafficking seeks to cooperate with foreign governments in the investigation and prosecution of human trafficking. The Committee also takes note of the Freetown Roadmap on Enhancing the Combat of Trafficking in Persons in the ECOWAS Region, signed in April 2023. Through the Roadmap, the Government committed to take the necessary measures to: (1) identify and address the root causes of trafficking in persons, including child exploitation; (2) focus on an effective implementation of the ECOWAS Child Policy and Strategic Plan of Action 2019–30, the ECOWAS Child Protection Strategic Framework, the ECOWAS Regional Action Plan on the Elimination of Child Labour and Forced Labour and the ECOWAS Roadmap on Preventing and Responding to Child Marriage; 3) ensure that all persons enjoy the right to legal identity; 4) implement strategies to build the resilience of the most vulnerable groups through the identification of risk factors such as poverty, family instability, physical and sexual abuse and climate change, and the provision of appropriate social risk management interventions and strengthening social protection; and 5) endorse and operationalize the Roadmap. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the measures taken, including within the framework of theFreetown Roadmap on Enhancing the Combat of Trafficking in Persons in the ECOWAS Region, to combat the trafficking of children, and on the results achieved in this regard.

Labour inspection and application of the Convention in practice. Concerning labour inspection and the application of the Convention in practice, the Committee refers to its detailed comments under the Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138).