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Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182) - Peru (RATIFICATION: 2002)

Other comments on C182

Observation

Direct Request

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The Committee notes the observations of the Autonomous Workers’ Confederation of Peru (CATP), received on 1 September 2016, and the Government’s report.

Article 7(2) of the Convention. Effective and time-bound measures. Clause (d). Identifying children at special risk. 1. Street children and begging. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that the “Educadores de Calle” (PEC) programme, which targets children between the ages of 6 and 17 years who are at risk, has enabled the setting up of 41 reference centres in 20 cities throughout the country in order to provide care for these children, benefiting a total of 3,747 children and young persons, including 87 street children. Nevertheless, it noted that some 141,000 children and young persons are still working on the streets. The Committee also noted that the PEC programme estimated that a total of 903 children and young persons were living on the streets. Furthermore, the “Yachay” programme, the successor to the PEC programme, targets four types of beneficiaries: children working on the streets; children living on the streets; children involved in begging; and children who are victims of sexual exploitation. The main thrust of this programme is to enable street children to have access to programmes that help to improve family income, provide sports scholarships for children and offer training for young persons.

The Committee notes the observations of the CATP that the Government is not sufficiently present and is not investing the necessary public funds to achieve a real reduction in the number of children living on the streets and involved in begging. Moreover, it notes the indications in the Government’s report that a number of services have been established as part of the “Yachay” programme. In the Immediate Care Service in Lima, educators are responsible for responding to complaints made concerning children and young persons in vulnerable situations. A Public Defence Service has been set up to provide legal assistance free of charge to protect the rights of street children. The Educational Training Service (SEFOED) holds training in numerous fields for users of the “Yachay” programme, to enhance their prospects and chances of finding employment. Lastly, the Alternative Social Benefits Service caters for families in vulnerable situations and seeks to help them increase their income through the development of micro-enterprises. The Committee notes with interest the Government’s indication that the programme benefited a total of 19,573 people, including 10,709 young persons, between January 2014 and June 2016. The Government also indicates that, as a result of the programme, 7,014 young persons have reduced their hours of work and 2,356 young persons have been removed from the streets. Moreover, in the context of the National Strategy for the Prevention and Eradication of Child Labour (ENPETI) (2012–21), a subcommittee has been set up to review the situation of work that is hazardous and harmful to the health and morals of young persons. Further to the first meeting of this subcommittee a list of conclusions was drawn up, one of the priorities of which is to update the list of hazardous types of work in the light of technological progress. The Committee encourages the Government to continue its efforts to protect street children from the worst forms of child labour. It requests the Government to continue providing information on measures taken towards this end in the context of the “Yachay” programme and the ENPETI, and also on any results achieved through the Lima pilot project.

2. Indigenous children. The Committee previously noted that children from indigenous communities are particularly prone to dropping out of school and being involved in hazardous work in agriculture. It noted two pilot projects (2012–14) which were implemented as part of the ENPETI in the rural areas of the country. The “Huánuco” project, introduced in six provinces in the Huánuco region in May 2013, provides for cash transfers in the context of the “Juntos” programme, benefiting 3,200 families and 4,000 children involved in child labour, and also for the distribution of vouchers to children and young people who attend school and successfully complete the school year. The “Semilla” project, which sets out to prevent hazardous work for children in agriculture and to remove them from such work, has been implemented in three regions of the country (Junín, Pasco and Huancavelica) and aims to cover 6,000 children, 1,000 adolescents and 3,000 families.

The Committee notes the suggestion by the CATP to introduce intercultural criteria in the implementation of the ENPETI in order to improve the situation of indigenous children. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that the three abovementioned initiatives have achieved the expected results. The Government indicates that, under the “Semilla” project, child labour and the number of hours worked by children have been reduced. In addition, efforts have been made to make heads of households more aware that child labour has a direct impact on success at school and that education is important. Lastly, the Committee notes that the “Semilla” project has been incorporated into the ENPETI to make it more durable and give it greater political influence. Moreover, the Government indicates that the evaluation of the “Huánuco” project shows that, even though no significant reduction in child labour was recorded as a result of the project, encouraging improvements had been noted in the performance of beneficiary children at school. The Committee encourages the Government to continue its efforts to protect indigenous children from the worst forms of child labour, by continuing to take measures, especially in the area of education, to make them less vulnerable. It requests the Government to provide information on the new measures and programmes implemented in this regard, and on the results achieved.

Article 8. International cooperation and assistance. Poverty reduction and international cooperation. The Committee previously noted that, according to the Government, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed in November 2012 between the Ministry of Labour Relations of Ecuador and the Ministry of Labour and Employment Promotion of Peru. This provided for an exchange of political and technical experience with a view to eradicating child labour and joint actions in the border areas of the two countries. It also noted that one of objectives of the ENPETI is to increase the average income of poor families with children and young persons at risk of being involved in child labour. This objective should be attained by the implementation of social programmes, such as the “Juntos” programme, or programmes concerned with employment and training. The Committee observed that, despite progress in recent years, a large proportion of the rural population still lives in poverty, and it was particularly concerned at the high incidence of poverty and extreme poverty in areas where indigenous communities were concentrated.

The Committee notes that the Ministries of Labour of Peru and Ecuador organized a binational seminar in November 2014 entitled “Child labour in border areas”. Through the seminar it was possible to publicize the results of child labour and migration surveys in these areas, to validate these results and to propose guidelines for drawing up a new binational plan for the eradication of child labour. Recalling that poverty reduction programmes contribute to breaking the cycle of poverty, which is essential for the elimination of the worst forms of child labour, the Committee strongly encourages the Government to intensify its efforts to reduce the incidence of poverty, especially in the poorest regions. Noting the lack of information in this respect, it requests the Government once again to provide information on the measures taken and the results achieved in the context of the ENPETI.