Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2013, published 103rd ILC session (2014)

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

Other comments on C182

Observation

Direct Request

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Article 3 of the Convention. Worst forms of child labour. Clause (b). 1. Use, procuring or offering of a child for prostitution. The Committee previously observed that only the procuring and offering of women and girls for prostitution appeared to be prohibited in the Penal Code. It also observed that, by virtue of section 139 of the Penal Code, anyone who practises or engages in prostitution as well as intermediaries involved in prostitution commit an offence, while clients did not appear to be penalized. The Committee therefore requested the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that the procuring or offering of boys under 18 years for prostitution is prohibited, to criminalize clients who use boys and girls under 18 years of age for prostitution, and to ensure that boys and girls under 18 years who are used, procured or offered for prostitution are treated as victims rather than offenders. The Committee noted that the Principal State Attorney from the Directorate of Legal Advisory Services of the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs indicated that the legal gaps between national criminal legislation and the Convention would be looked into during the ongoing legislative review of the Penal Code. Furthermore, the Director of Public Prosecutions from the Directorate of Public Prosecutions indicated that efforts were being made to amend the Children’s Act of 2001 to fully comply with the Convention on the prohibition of the use, procuring or offering of children for prostitution.

Noting the absence of information on this point in the Government’s report, the Committee once again expresses the firm hope that the revision of the Penal Code and of the Children’s Act will take into account the outstanding comments of the Committee. It once again requests the Government to take immediate measures to ensure that the amendments to those laws are adopted, as a matter of urgency, in conformity with Article 3(b) of the Convention. It requests the Government to provide information on the progress made in this regard in its next report.

2. Use, procuring or offering of a child for the production of pornography or for pornographic performances. The Committee previously observed that there did not appear to be any legislative provisions specifically addressing the use, procuring or offering of a child under 18 years for the production of pornography or pornographic performances. The Committee noted that a draft Bill on child pornography was being prepared by the Ministry of Ethics and Integrity, under the President’s Office. Noting the absence of information on this point in the Government’s report, the Committee once again requests the Government to take measures to ensure that the draft Bill on child pornography effectively prohibits the use, procuring or offering of both boys and girls under 18 years of age by anyone for the production of pornography or for pornographic performances, and provides for effective and sufficiently dissuasive penalties. It once again requests the Government to take immediate measures to ensure that this Bill is adopted as a matter of urgency, and requests it to provide information on the progress made in this regard.

Article 5. Monitoring mechanisms. Monitoring mechanisms to combat the trafficking of children. The Committee previously noted that section 20(1) of the Trafficking in Persons Act provides for the establishment of an office to be responsible for the coordination, monitoring and overseeing of this Act. Section 20(2) of the Act provides for the functions of this office, which include the training and awareness raising of government personnel, law enforcement officials and the public on the dangers of trafficking and on the protection available to the victims, as well as the consultation, coordination, cooperation and advocacy with governmental and non-governmental organizations to advance the objectives of the Act. The Committee once again requests the Government to provide information on the progress made in establishing the office responsible for the coordination, monitoring and overseeing of the Trafficking in Persons Act. It also requests the Government to provide information on the activities of this office once it is established, in particular with regard to combating the sale and trafficking of children under 18 years for labour or commercial sexual exploitation, and on the results achieved in terms of the number of child victims of trafficking identified and protected.

Article 6. Programmes of action. National Action Plan for the elimination of the worst forms of child labour. Following its previous comments, the Committee notes with interest that, with the collaboration of ILO–IPEC through the Project of Support for the preparatory phase of the Uganda National Action Plan for the elimination of child labour (ILO–IPEC–SNAP), the National Action Plan (NAP) for the elimination of the worst forms of child labour in Uganda was launched in June 2012 for implementation until 2016–17. The goal of the NAP is to reduce the magnitude of the worst forms of child labour by 2017, through six strategic objectives: increased enrolment and completion of primary education; increased access to social protection and assistance to households; increased public awareness and mobilization; strengthened legal, policy and institutional framework; withdrawal, rehabilitation and reintegration of children in the worst forms of child labour; and enhanced tripartism. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the impact of the NAP on the elimination of the worst forms of child labour.

Article 7(2). Effective and time-bound measures. Clause (a). Prevent the engagement of children in the worst forms of child labour. Ensuring access to free basic education. The Committee previously noted that the implementation of the Universal Primary Education (UPE) increased the enrolment of children in primary school. Moreover, in order to ensure that children do not stop their schooling after primary education, a universal programme for free secondary education was implemented. In this regard, the Committee noted that, according to the annual school census of 2008, published on the website of the Ministry of Education and Sports (www.education.go.ug), the net enrolment ratio in primary education was 95 per cent (97 per cent for boys and 93 per cent for girls). However, the Committee observed that, according to the same source, the net enrolment ratio in secondary education was of only 23.5 per cent (25.2 per cent for boys and 21.9 per cent for girls).

The Committee notes that, according to the National Labour Force and Child Activities Survey 2011–12 of July 2013 (SLF–CAS), the net enrolment ratio in primary education is 76.5 per cent (75.2 per cent for boys and 77.8 per cent for girls), and the net enrolment ratio in secondary education is 28.8 per cent (26.9 per cent for boys and 30.7 per cent for girls). The Committee therefore observes that the enrolment at the primary education level seems to have decreased, while the low rates of enrolment at the secondary education level still appear to indicate that an important number of children drop out after primary school.

In this regard, the Committee notes that one of the implementation strategies of the NAP is to increase enrolment and completion of primary level education through several activities, including providing the necessary learning materials for school, recruiting more teachers, and improving the infrastructure to increase access to education for targeted children. Moreover, the Committee notes that Uganda is implementing, in collaboration with ILO–IPEC, the project entitled “Combating child labour through education”, which aims to contribute to the elimination of child labour by enhancing access to education. It notes that, in the framework of this project, the Education and Culture Ministry launched, in July 2013, the 12-year compulsory education programme Universal Secondary Education (USE), to give equal access to education for young persons between 16 and 18 years. Considering that education contributes to preventing the engagement of children in the worst forms of child labour, the Committee urges the Government to pursue its efforts to improve the functioning of the education system in the country. In this regard, it requests the Government to provide information on the time-bound measures taken, particularly in the framework of the NAP, the UPE and the USE, to increase school attendance and reduce school drop-out rates for all children in order to protect them from the worst forms of child labour. The Committee once again requests the Government to provide information on the results achieved.

Clause (b). Provide the necessary and appropriate assistance for the removal of children from the worst forms of child labour, and for their rehabilitation and social integration. Following its previous comments, the Committee notes that, in the framework of the ILO–IPEC–SNAP project, a total of 8,733 children were effectively prevented and withdrawn from the worst forms of child labour. It notes that, in the framework of the NAP, the fifth implementation strategy concerns the withdrawal, rehabilitation, and reintegration of children involved in the worst forms of child labour, including children in commercial sexual exploitation, in the informal economy, and in commercial agriculture. The aim is to create good practice models for child labour free zones that can be scaled up throughout the country. In this regard, the Committee observes that the activities planned include developing guidelines for identification of the worst forms of child labour in key sectors and mechanisms for the withdrawal of children from these worst forms; reuniting and resettling rehabilitated children with their families and communities; identifying service providers and referring affected children; and providing resettlement packages to children withdrawn from child labour. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the number of children under 18 years of age who were effectively removed from the worst forms of child labour, particularly from commercial sexual exploitation and hazardous work in agriculture, and rehabilitated and socially integrated through the implementation of the NAP.

Clause (d). Identify and reach out to children at special risk. Child domestic workers. Following its previous comments, the Committee notes that the list of hazardous occupations and activities in the First Schedule of the Employment of Children Regulations of 2011 prohibits the engagement of children under 18 years in several activities and hazardous tasks in the sector of domestic work. However, the Committee notes that, according to the SLF–CAS, approximately 51,063 children, that is 10.07 per cent of the number of children aged five to 17 years engaged in hazardous work in Uganda, are domestic housekeepers, cleaners and helpers. In this regard, the Committee observes that domestic workers form a group targeted by the action of the NAP. Recalling that children in domestic work are particularly vulnerable to the worst forms of child labour, including hazardous work, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on the impact of the NAP on the protection of child domestic workers, particularly the number of child domestic workers engaged in hazardous work who have benefited from initiatives taken in this regard.

Part V of the report form. Application of the Convention in practice. Following its previous comments, the Committee notes that, in collaboration with the ILO–IPEC–SIMPOC, the Uganda Bureau of Statistics conducted the National Labour Force and Child Activities Survey 2011–12 of July 2013. According to this survey, a total of 2.009 million children aged 5–17 years were in child labour (approximately 16 per cent of all children), including 307,300 aged 14–17 in hazardous work or working excessive hours (183,300 boys and 124,000 girls). A total of 507,000 children aged 5–17 years were found in hazardous work (25 per cent of the children in child labour): 170,000 (33.5 per cent) were working long hours; 80,600 (15.9 per cent) were performing night work; and 256,000 (50.6 per cent) were in conditional hazardous work, that is in industries and/or occupations gazetted as hazardous. In this regard, the survey reveals that the majority of children in conditional hazardous work were livestock and dairy workers (23.2 per cent). Another 19.9 per cent were domestic workers; 15.9 per cent were builders and construction workers; 12.3 per cent involved in the growing of rice; 7.1 per cent were working in restaurants; 4.9 per cent were potters and brick making workers; 4.6 per cent were in mining and quarrying; and 12.1 per cent in other sectors. The Committee also notes that one in every four working children (25.5 per cent) carried heavy loads at their workplaces.

While welcoming the several measures taken by the Government towards the elimination of the worst forms of child labour in Uganda, the Committee must express its serious concern at the number of children involved in the worst forms of child labour, in particular hazardous work, and working excessive hours in Uganda. The Committee requests the Government to strengthen its efforts to improve the situation and ensure the effective enforcement of the Convention in practice. The Committee also requests the Government to continue providing statistics and information on the nature, extent and trends of the worst forms of child labour, the number of children covered by the measures giving effect to the Convention, the number and nature of infringements reported, investigations, prosecutions, convictions and penal sanctions applied.