CMNT_TITLE

Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182) - Paraguay (RATIFICATION: 2001)

Other comments on C182

Observation

Direct Request

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Article 7(2) of the Convention. Effective and time-bound measures. Clause (d). Children at special risk. 1. Street children. In its previous comments, the Committee noted the observations of the National Union of Workers (CNT) that many children work in the streets in order to meet the needs of their families. It also noted that the Comprehensive Care Programme for Children and Young Persons in the Streets (PAINAC) of the Secretariat for Children and Young Persons (SNNA) had reached out to 463 children and young persons. The Committee also noted that 6.1 per cent of children and young persons engaged in an activity classified as child labour work in the streets and that, of a total of 6,061 children and young persons who benefited from the ABRAZO programme, 5,262 children worked in the streets or in public places. The vast majority of these children (94 per cent) were removed from the streets.

The Committee notes the information contained in the Government’s report on the results achieved in 2014 and 2015 through PAINAC. During the first quarter of 2014, a total of 77 street children were received in centres in the departments of Central and Alto Paraná. The Government indicates that it is endeavouring to help the children provided with shelter to achieve reintegration and to leave the streets definitively. The Committee also notes that, through the ABRAZO programme, shelters for children have been opened throughout the country to provide care for street children. However, the results are still weak and it would appear that only 15 children in 2015 followed a process of integration in centres for this purpose. The Committee requests the Government to intensify its efforts and to take immediate and effective measures for the protection of street children against the worst forms of child labour. It requests the Government to provide information on the results achieved.

2. Indigenous children. The Committee previously noted the activities undertaken by the Directorate of Original Peoples, which has been operating under the authority of the SNNA since 2010. It noted in particular that the Directorate provided support for the Industrial Union of Paraguay and the Paraguayan Rural Association to carry out awareness-raising initiatives on child labour for indigenous communities. The Committee nevertheless observed that a large number of children from indigenous peoples are not registered or lack identity documents and do not benefit from basic services in the fields of health care, nutrition, education and cultural activities. The Committee also noted, according to a 2013 study on the extent and characteristics of work by children and young persons in Paraguay, that 27.3 per cent of children under 14 years of age who only speak Guarani are engaged in an economic activity (compared with 16.3 per cent of children speaking all languages combined) and that most of them are engaged in hazardous types of work (92.5 per cent).

The Committee notes that the TEKOPORÃ programme now covers all 17 departments of the country and has benefited a total of 132,760 families, of which 50 per cent are indigenous. The Government also provides detailed information on the various programmes of action implemented by the Directorate of Original Peoples. These programmes of action have resulted in the provision of protection to 120 indigenous children in the streets and in 80 children being reintegrated into their respective communities. The Committee also notes the conclusion of an agreement between the SNNA and the Indigenous Community of Cerro Poty de Tarumandymi for the reinforcement of the services provided by community centres. However, the Committee notes that, according to the concluding observations of 4 October 2016 of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, significant differences persist in access to education among the children of indigenous and Afro-Paraguayan communities (CERD/C/PRY/CO/4-6, paragraph 37). Recalling that children of indigenous peoples are often victims of exploitation, which takes many different forms, and are at risk of being engaged in the worst forms of child labour, the Committee requests the Government to continue its efforts to protect these children from the worst forms of child labour and to provide information on new programmes of action implemented by the Directorate of Original Peoples, and the results achieved.

Article 8. Enhanced international cooperation. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that the Government was participating in a project entitled Ciudades gemelas, aimed at developing a regional strategy to combat trafficking in children and young persons for the purposes of sexual exploitation in MERCOSUR countries. It also noted that the Government was committed to implementing a Regional Plan for the Elimination of Child Labour in MERCOSUR countries involving, among other types of action, the organization of awareness-raising campaigns on agricultural work, domestic work and the trafficking and sexual exploitation of children and young persons in border areas.

The Government indicates that in 2013 a Social Covenant to combat trafficking and sexual exploitation was adopted in Ciudad del Este. The Covenant forms part of the Ciudades gemelas project. However, the Committee notes that, although the Government has provided details on some of the international cooperation measures established, it does not provide information on the results achieved through these measures. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken to reinforce cooperation and assistance with MERCOSUR countries in the field of the trafficking and sexual exploitation of children and young persons, and the results achieved.