CMNT_TITLE

Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182) - Samoa (RATIFICATION: 2008)

Other comments on C182

Observation

Direct Request

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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, in particular for the production and trafficking of drugs. The Committee previously noted that the Narcotics Act of 1967 as well as the Crimes Act of 2013 do not specifically establish offences related to the use, procuring or offering of a child for the production and trafficking of drugs. It also noted the Government’s statement that the national legislation needed to be amended in order to include the prohibition of drug trafficking by children under the age of 18.

The Committee notes the Government’s indication in its report that the question on the amendment of the national legislation concerning this issue is currently under consideration by the relevant agencies, including the Ministry of Police and the Ministry of Health. The Committee expresses the firm hope that the Government will take the necessary measures to ensure the prohibition of the use, procuring or offering of children under 18 years of age for illicit activities, including the production and trafficking of drugs. It requests the Government to provide information on any progress made in this regard.

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 previously noted that, since 2017, the Ministry of Education, Sports and Culture (MESC), along with school attendance officers (school principals, inspectors and committees), had been focusing on monitoring the compliance of the compulsory education indicator within the revised School Minimum Service Standards of 2016. The Government indicated that these concerted efforts had been very successful and that 106 of the 167 community/village schools had established by-laws on compulsory education for children from the age of 5 to 14 years. In this regard, the Committee noted that according to the UNESCO estimates, in 2016, the net enrolment rate (NER) in primary education was 94.86 per cent (96.11 female and 93.7 male) and the NER in secondary education was 77.27 per cent. There was a total of 1,275 children and adolescents who were out of school in 2016.

The Government indicates that the MESC continues to implement the School Fee Grant Scheme, which aims at the provision of free education in primary and secondary schools. In addition, the School Operations Units of the MESC has noted the increased number of school enrolment and attendance rates. The Committee encourages the Government to continue its efforts to facilitate access of all children to free basic education. It further requests the Government to continue to provide information on the measures taken and the results achieved in this regard, including the data on school enrolment and attendance rates and school drop-out rates, to the extent possible disaggregated by age and gender.