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

Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182) - Costa Rica (Ratification: 2001)

The Committee notes the observations of the Confederation of Workers Rerum Novarum (CTRN), received on 31 August 2021.

Article 3(a) and (b) of the Convention. Worst forms of child labour. Sale and trafficking of children for commercial sexual exploitation; use, procuring or offering of a child for prostitution. The Committee previously requested the Government to intensify its efforts to ensure the thorough investigation and robust prosecution of persons who commit criminal acts such as the sale and trafficking of children for commercial sexual exploitation, and to ensure that assistance is provided to children in all cases. The Committee requested the Government to indicate the measures taken to implement the provisions of Act No. 9095 related to child victims of trafficking, and to indicate the number of investigations, prosecutions, convictions, and the penalties imposed in this regard.

The Committee notes that, according to CTRN, despite progress in combating the trafficking of children and young persons, the efforts made by the Government are inadequate, in view of the low number of convictions in cases of trafficking of children for commercial sexual exploitation.

The Committee notes, in the Government’s report, various amendments to the Penal Code concerning child victims of trafficking: (i) the amendment to Act No. 9685 of 21 May 2019, extending the limitation period for prosecutions in cases of sexual offences against minors; (ii) the amendment to sections 172 and 189 of Act No. 4573, increasing the length of prison sentences in cases of trafficking of children; and (iii) the amendment to section 5 of Act No. 9095 concerning the definition of types of trafficking to which children are subjected.

The Committee also notes that in 2018 the Office of the Deputy Prosecutor against trafficking in persons and migrant smuggling improved the institutional response at the local level, establishing “liaison prosecutors” in 23 territories in Costa Rica most affected by the trafficking of children. Local and inter-institutional teams for combating the trafficking of persons have also been set up, involving the prosecution authorities, the criminal investigation police, the Office for the Care and Protection of the Victims of Crimes, and the administrative, border and migration police forces in certain priority areas. The Committee notes that the Ministry of Public Education, as an active member of the National Coalition against Migrant Smuggling and Human Trafficking (CONATT), has developed a programme called “Training strategy for the teaching and student community for protection against child labour and its worst forms, trafficking in persons and migrant smuggling”. In 2019, a total of 553 persons were trained in these subjects by means of 20 workshops in seven regions of Costa Rica. CONATT also conducted awareness-raising courses for 500 local judiciary officials and representatives of civil society through the production of a training manual on offences related to the trafficking of persons for labour exploitation.

The Committee notes the different sources of statistical data between 2017 and 2019 concerning the trafficking of children for commercial sexual exploitation: (i) in 2017, the judiciary’s Directorate of Planning recorded a total of 137 complaints filed with the Public Prosecutor’s Office and the Judicial Investigation Agency, which resulted in 23 convictions and three acquittals; (ii) the 2019 report on the trafficking of persons indicates that the CONATT rapid response team recorded that there were two girls among 14 victims of trafficking for sexual exploitation; (iii) statistics for 2019 from the judiciary’s Gender-Based Violence Observatory, cited in the CTRN report, indicate a total of 32 victims of human trafficking (28 girls and four boys), 48 victims of pimping (36 girls and 12 boys), including nine cases of aggravated pimping and 58 cases of paid sexual relations with minors (44 girls and 14 boys); (iv) the 2019 report from the Directorate-General for Migration and Foreigners on trafficking in persons, which is attached to the Government’s report, indicates that out of 62 trafficking victims, two girls were victims of sexual exploitation and two girls were victims of domestic servitude. The Committee welcomes the Government’s efforts to combat the trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation of children. The Committee requests the Government to continue providing detailed information on the number of investigations, prosecutions, convictions and penalties imposed in this regard.

Article 7(2). Effective and time-bound measures. Clauses (a) and (c). Preventing children from becoming engaged in the worst forms of child labour and ensuring access to free basic education for all children removed from the worst forms of child labour. The Committee previously asked the Government to intensify its efforts to improve the operation of the education system through the Avancemos (“Let’s move forward”) and Yo me apunto (“I’m enrolling”) programmes to increase the school attendance and completion rates. It also asked the Government to indicate the results achieved through these two programmes and the National Scholarship Fund (FONABE), including the number of children, disaggregated by age and gender, who have been removed from the worst forms of child labour and reintegrated into the education system as a result of these programmes.

The Committee notes the indication in the Government’s report that the number of working minors aged between 5 and 17 years has decreased as a result of the coordination of different actions such as: (i) the Puente al Desarrollo II (“Bridge to development II”) national strategy; (ii) the use of scholarships and conditional money transfers enabling students to remain in the education system; (iii) a cooperation agreement between the Joint Social Assistance Institute (IMAS) and the Ministry of Labour and Social Security; and (iv) the Yo me apunto programme of the Ministry of Public Education. The Government also refers to a reduction in the child employment rate, which also coincides with an increase in the integration of persons under 18 years of age in the education system, compared with 2011.

The Committee also notes that, according to IMAS data for 2019, bursary funds and items for nursery and primary schools from FONABE have been transferred to IMAS for the purpose of a conditional monetary transfer programme called Crecemos (“We’re growing”), set up in 2019. A total of 188,960 children under 12 years of age and a total of 19,216 children between 13 and 18 years of age have been the beneficiaries of this programme. The Committee also notes the statistics of the Avancemos programme: the number of beneficiary children under 12 years of age was 60 in 2017; 88 in 2018; and 68 in 2019; as regards children between 13 and 18 years of age, the number of beneficiaries was 153,839 in 2017; 151,028 in 2018; and 148,696 in 2019. In 2020, a total of 157 children (48 girls and 109 boys) also benefited from this programme. While noting the Government’s efforts to improve access to free basic education for the most vulnerable children, to prevent their involvement in the worst forms of child labour, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on the school enrolment, attendance and completion rates in primary and secondary education, and also the school drop-out rate, including for the most vulnerable children. The Committee also requests the Government to indicate the number of children, disaggregated by age and gender, who have been removed from the worst forms of child labour and reintegrated in the education system through these programmes.

The Committee is raising other matters in a request addressed directly to the Government.