Sierra Leone

The Partnership Protocol Agreement was signed between the Government of Sierra Leone, the International Labour Organisation and the European Commission (EC) in October 2008, and the TACKLE Project was officially launched on the same day. This was followed by a National Stakeholders meeting in January 2009, where priority activities were identified and the project work plan was endorsed in another workshop in September 2009.

Output 1: Improved country level child labour and education legal framework

  • The ILO Conventions No. 138 and No. 182 were ratified in June 2011 through support provided by TACKLE.
  • Following the ratification of Convention 138, a Minimum Age for Work Declaration was made: 15 years for non hazardous work, and 18 years for hazardous work.

Output 2: Strengthened institutional capacity to formulate and implement child labour strategies

  • A Child Labour National Technical Steering Committee was formed through TACKLE support and guidance.
  • A Child Labour Unit was created at the Ministry of Labour and Social Security - and this unit is now taking the lead in ensuring that actions following the ratification of Conventions 138 and 182 are met.
  • Representatives from the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, Employers Federation, the Sierra Leone Labour Congress Representatives, Statistics Sierra Leone, the Sierra Leone Teachers’ Union, the International Rescue Committee were trained in the ILO International Training Centre (ILO-ITC) in Turin on: (i) “The Labour Dimension of Trafficking in Children”; (ii) “Education for All and Child Labour Elimination”; (iii) “Child Labour Data Collection and Analysis”
  • The project has supported two trainings on child labour data collection. Another training of two participants was conducted in Nairobi, Kenya in November 2011. These trainings are beneficial in the on-going National Child Labour Survey which is also being supported by TACKLE.

Output 3: Targeted actions to combat child labour

Two main Action Programmes (APs) are being implemented through TACKLE support in Sierra Leone and both APs are now in the closing stages:

  • “Community Responses to Child Labour” implemented by the International Rescue Committee (IRC). The action programme aims at withdrawing and preventing 1,500 children from child labour through educational support. It is being implemented in the Western Area, and Eastern Province where diamond mining is very prevalent.
  • “Awareness raising of stakeholders on child labour, and provision of primary education support to two hundred school age children prevented or withdrawn from exploitative child labour in Bo City” implemented by Community Action for Rural Empowerment (CAREM). It targets 200 direct child beneficiaries for withdrawal and preventtion from child labour through education support in 10 primary schools. This project is implemented in the Southern Province and an Anti-Child Labour Monitoring Committee is also formed through the project.

Output 4: Enhanced knowledge base and networks on child labour and education

  • Mobilization and participation of stakeholders in organizing and commemorating the World Day against Child Labour (WDACL) including engagement of new partners. This was done through press briefings, radio and TV discussion programs, jingles, school quiz competitions and rallies.
  • The project is currently supporting a National Child Labour Survey (which is the first in Sierra Leone) in order to get a clearer picture of the CL situation in the country. Data has already been collected and is being analysed.

2013

  1. Good practices

    Good practices in tackling child labour through education - Selected examples from the IPEC TACKLE Project

    10 October 2013

    The objective of the TACKLE project was to contribute to the withdrawal of children engaged in child labour and to prevent further entry of children into employment by offering them alternative education and training opportunities and thereby contributing towards poverty reduction.