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Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182) - Russian Federation (RATIFICATION: 2003)

Other comments on C182

Observation

Direct Request

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Article 5 of the Convention. Monitoring mechanisms. Labour inspection. Following its previous comments, the Committee notes the statistical data provided by the Government on the inspections carried out in monitoring the compliance of labour law relating to the employment of young persons under 18 years of age. According to this data, 2,717 inspections were carried out in 2012, and 2,479 violations were detected relating to persons under 18, while 498 such inspections were carried out in the first quarter of 2013, and 288 such violations were detected during the first quarter of 2013. Of the total number of violations detected, 1,493 violations in 2012 and 136 violations in the first quarter of 2013 relate to the safety and health of workers under 18 years. The Committee notes the Government’s information that in 2012, a total of 21 workplace accidents affecting workers under 18 were reported, of which 12 had serious, and six had fatal, consequences. Consequently, labour inspectors issued over 1,101 notices in 2012 and overall fines amounting to 1,247,000 Russian rubles (RUB) were imposed, while in the first quarter of 2013, 60 notices were issued and fines of RUB128,000 were imposed. The Committee requests the Government to continue providing information on the number and nature of violations detected by the labour inspectorate involving children under 18 years engaged in hazardous work.

Article 6. Programmes of action. Government Commission on Minor Affairs and Protection of their Rights. The Committee previously noted the establishment of a Government Commission on Minor Affairs and Protection of their Rights which aimed at improving the situation of abandoned children and to coordinate State activities in the areas of health, education and social and legal protection of children. The Committee once again notes with regret that the Government has not provided any information on this matter. The Committee, therefore, once again requests the Government to provide information on the activities of the Commission on Minor Affairs and Protection of their Rights with regard to the protection of children under 18 years, particularly abandoned children, from the worst forms of child labour and on the results achieved.

Article 7(1). Penalties. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that sections 240, 241 and 242.1 of the Penal Code cover offences related to using or engaging a minor in prostitution and in the production of pornographic material. Noting the absence of information in the Government’s report, the Committee once again requests the Government to provide information on the application in practice of sections 240, 241 and 242.1 of the Penal Code, including the number of investigations, prosecutions, convictions and the penalties applied for the use, procuring or offering of young persons under 18 years of age for prostitution or pornography.

Article 7(2). Effective and time-bound measures. Clauses (a) and (c). Preventing the engagement of children in the worst forms of child labour. Access to free basic education. The Committee previously noted that a 2009 study on child labour conducted in St Petersburg within the context of an ILO–IPEC project on street children in the St Petersburg region (2009 study on child labour) revealed that many of the children interviewed dropped out of school because they were working for eight to 12 hours a day. Only 64.4 per cent of children who participated in the study attended school on a regular basis, while 15.9 per cent of children had not attended school for periods ranging from one to three years. The study also indicated that children involved in prostitution or criminal activities attended school even less: only 34.2 per cent of children involved in prostitution attended school regularly, while 43.8 per cent had effectively dropped out since they had not attended school for one year. The Committee further noted that the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR), in its concluding observations of 1 June 2011, expressed concern about the sizeable numbers of children who do not attend school in the Russian Federation. The CESCR had urged the Government to strengthen its efforts to ensure that no child is deprived of the right to education in particular in rural areas and among the disadvantaged and marginalized groups (E/C.12/RUS/CO/5, paragraph 32).

The Committee notes the absence of information in the Government’s report on this point. Considering that education contributes to preventing the engagement of children in the worst forms of child labour, the Committee once again urges the Government to take the necessary measures to facilitate access to free basic education to children from rural areas and from disadvantaged groups. It requests the Government to provide information on measures taken in this regard and on the results achieved, particularly with respect to increasing school enrolment rates and decreasing school drop-out rates. It also urges the Government to take effective and time-bound measures to ensure that children engaged in the worst forms of child labour are withdrawn from these worst forms and reintegrated into the school system.

Clauses (d) and (e). Identifying and reaching out to children at special risk and taking account of the special situation of girls. Street children. The Committee previously noted that the 2009 ILO–IPEC study on child labour, indicated that the numbers of children involved in prostitution in the region was between 3,000 and 6,000 (95 per cent of them girls). The study also indicated that 25 per cent of children working on the streets are girls who are subjected to the worst forms of child labour, such as hazardous work or prostitution. It also noted that the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, in its concluding observations of 10 August 2010, expressed concern at the very limited information and statistics provided about certain groups of women and girls, including girls living on the streets (CEDAW/C/RUS/CO/7, paragraph 46). The Committee further noted that the CESCR, in its concluding observations of 1 June 2011, expressed concern about the large number of children who live and work on the streets, in particular in the informal economy where they are vulnerable to abuse, including sexual abuse, and to other forms of exploitation to such an extent that regular school attendance is severely restricted (E/C.12/RUS/CO/5, paragraph 24).

The Committee once again notes with regret an absence of information on this point in the Government’s report. Recalling that children living and working on the street are particularly vulnerable to the worst forms of child labour, the Committee once again urges the Government to take the necessary measures to protect these children, particularly girls from the worst forms of child labour. It requests the Government to provide information on specific measures taken in this regard, and on the results achieved in terms of the number of children under 18 years of age who have actually been removed from work on the streets and provided with appropriate services for their rehabilitation and social reintegration, including education and vocational training, where appropriate.