Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2022, published 111st ILC session (2023)

Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182) - Cook Islands (Ratification: 2018)

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The Committee notes the Government’s first report.

Article 3 of the Convention. Worst forms of child labour. The Committee notes that the Government has not provided any information under this Article.

Clause (a). All forms of slavery or practices similar to slavery. Sale and trafficking of children. The Committee notes that according to section 109I of the Crimes Amendment Act of 2004, every person who intentionally engages in trafficking a child or is involved in the arranging of trafficking a child, regardless of whether the child’s entry into the Cook Islands or any other country is or was arranged by specified means, shall be liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 30 years or to a fine not exceeding $800,000 or to both. Section 109B further provides for the definition of a “child” as a person under the age of 18 years; “exploitation” as all forms of sexual exploitation (including sexual servitude and exploitation of another person’s prostitution), forced labour or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude and the removal of organs; and “trafficking in persons” as the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of a person for the purpose of exploitation. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on any investigations and prosecutions carried out and sanctions imposed for the offences related to the trafficking of children under section 109I of the Crimes Amendment Act of 2004.

Clause (b). Use, procuring or offering of a child for prostitution, for the production of pornography or for pornographic performances. 1. Prostitution. The Committee notes that according to section 162 of the Crimes Act of 1969, any person who, for gain or reward, procures or agrees or offers to procure any woman or girl to have sexual intercourse with any male shall be liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years. Abduction and kidnapping of any woman or girl with intent to have sexual intercourse or to have sexual intercourse with any other person is punishable with imprisonment for a term not exceeding fourteen years (section 230). It also notes that section 153 of the Crimes Act establishes penalties of imprisonment for a term not exceeding ten years for any indecent assault or act upon any boy under 15 years of age or induces or permits any boy under the age of 15 years to do any indecent act with or upon him. This offence is punishable with imprisonment for not more than five years if committed against another male (section 154 of the Crimes Act). The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the application in practice of sections 153, 154 and 162 of the Crimes Act of 1969, indicating the number of investigations, prosecutions, convictions and penalties applied for the offences related to the use, procuring or offering of both boys and girls under the age of 18 for the purpose of prostitution.

2. Pornography. There appears to be no specific prohibition in the national legislation on the use, procuring or offering of children under 18 years for pornography. However, the Committee notes that section 135 of the Crimes Act of 1969 prohibits the sale, exposition for sale or distribution of any indecent object or show or performance which is punishable with imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years. Moreover, according to section 138, any person who sells, delivers, exhibits, prints, causes to be printed or manufactured any indecent document, which includes any book, picture, photograph or print, shall be punished. The Committee observes that this general prohibition refers only to indecent picture, print or photograph and does not include pornographic videos or moving images or online pornography. In this regard, the Committee notes that the Crimes Bill of 2017 under section 136 of the Subpart 13 on “Child abuse and other indecent material” makes it an offence to use, procure or allow a child to be used for the production of child abuse material, punishable with imprisonment for a term not exceeding 14 years. Producing, which includes filming, photographing, printing or otherwise, disseminating or possessing a child abuse material is also punishable under section 137 of the Crimes Act. However, the definition of a “child” as referred in this part means persons under 16 years of age. The Committee requests the Government to indicate if the provisions under sections 135 and 138 of the Crimes Act of 1969 apply to offences related to pornographic material including video or moving images and online pornography. Moreover, recalling that pursuant to Article 3(b) of the Convention, the use or offering of a child for the production of pornography or pornographic performances constitutes one of the worst forms of child labour and as such must be prohibited for all persons under 18 years, the Committee requests the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that the prohibition under sections 136 and 137 of the Crimes Bill of 2017 applies to children under 18 years of age as required by Article 3(b) of the Convention.

Clause (c). Use, procuring or offering a child for illicit activities, in particular for the production and trafficking of drugs. The Committee notes that pursuant to section 6 of the Narcotics and Misuse of Drugs Act of 2004, the import, export, production, supply, sale, offer or possession of any controlled drug is an offence punishable with imprisonment for up to twenty years. The Committee observes that the Narcotics and Misuse of Drugs Act does not contain a specific prohibition on the use, procuring or offering of children under the age of 18 years for the production and trafficking of drugs. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on any investigations and prosecutions carried out and sanctions imposed under section 6 of the Narcotics and Misuse of Drugs Act for the offences related to the use, procuring or offering of children under 18 years for the production and trafficking of drugs.

Clause (d) and Article 4. Hazardous work and determination of hazardous work. The Committee notes that according to section 73(2) of the Employment Act of 2012, an employer must not require an employee aged under 18 years to work in any hazardous occupation. Any contravention of the above provisions shall be punishable, in the case of an individual, with a fine not exceeding $1000; or in any other case, with a fine not exceeding $5000 (sections 30 (4) and 73(3). It also notes that as per section 73(6), dangerous machinery and hazardous occupations shall be prescribed by regulations issued in this regard. The Committee requests the Government to indicate if any regulations prescribing dangerous machinery and hazardous occupation prohibited to children under 18 years of age have been issued pursuant to section 73(6) of the Employment Act, 2012.

Article 5. Monitoring mechanisms and application of the Convention in practice. The Committee notes the Government’s information that there are no child labour issues to date on record in the Cook Islands. The Government indicates that it is yet to establish or design an appropriate mechanism to monitor the implementation of the provisions giving effect to the Convention. The Committee encourages the Government to take the necessary measures to establish an effective monitoring mechanism to detect violations of the provisions giving effect to this Convention. It also requests the Government to provide information on the role played by the labour inspectors and the police in detecting and combating the worst forms of child labour, including the number and nature of violations detected relating to the worst forms of child labour.

Article 6. Programmes of action.Noting the Government’s information that it has yet to design and implement programmes of action, the Committee encourages the Government to take the necessary measures to adopt and implement programmes of action to prevent the worst forms of child labour, in consultation with workers’ and employers’ organizations and taking into account the views of other concerned groups. 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 notes that the Education Act of 2012, under section 23 provides for free and compulsory education to all children from 5 to 16 years. The parent or guardian who fails to comply with the compulsory enrolment and attendance of their child at school, commits an offence (section 23(5)). Section 24(3) further states that a child cannot be exempt from attending school if the child concerned is pregnant.

The Committee notes from the Government’s report of 2019 (combined second to fifth periodic reports) to the Committee on the Rights of the Child, that the Education Master Plan 2008–2023 ensures equitable access for all learners to quality learning programmes and that vocational programmes and community education programmes are available to secondary school children above the age of 16 years. Moreover, support is provided to those students who are pregnant, to ensure they are still actively engaged in learning, in a safe manner for mother and child (CRC/C/COK/2-5, paragraphs 172, 174, 175). The Committee further notes that according to the UNESCO statistics for 2021, the gross enrolment rate was 110.29 per cent at the primary level and 103.15 per cent at the secondary level and the primary to secondary transition rate was 97.1 per cent in 2020.