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REPORT OF THE AFRICAN REGIONAL TRIPARTITE MEETING ON CHILD LABOUR Kampala, Uganda, 5-7 February 1998 1. The African Regional Tripartite Meeting on Child Labour was organized by the Organization of African Unity with the financial and technical support of the International Labour Organization in response to the request of the 20th Session of the OAU Labour and Social Affairs Commission. UNICEF and UNDP also provided assistance in the organization of this meeting. The meeting was held from 5 to 7 February 1998, in Kampala, Uganda. 2. The meeting was attended by government, employers' and workers' representatives of 22 African countries as well as observers from inter-governmental and non-governmental organizations. OPENING CEREMONY 3. The opening ceremony was held from 10:00 to 11:45 hours according to the following programme:
4. Rt. Honourable Paul Etiang, 3rd Deputy Prime Minister/Minister of Labour and Social Welfare of the Republic of Uganda welcomed all participants and guests on behalf of the Government of Uganda and in his capacity as Chairman of the OAU Labour and Social Affairs Commission. He stated that the high level attendance of tripartite delegations from the twenty two invited Member States gave this Conference a special international significance which was a clear indication of the importance attached by all to the issue of child labour. He then briefly described the situation of child labour in Africa as well as in Uganda, the efforts undertaken by the international community, through international and regional legal instruments and identified areas of action to find appropriate solutions to this crucial problem. He finally expressed his gratitude to ILO and UNICEF for their financial and technical assistance and paid tribute to OAU for its positive contribution in spite of limited resources. 5. The Conference was then addressed by H.E. Ambassador Ahmed Haggag, Assistant Secretary General of the OAU. He highlighted the difference between child labour and child work and pointed out that child work in many societies including Africa was an essential part of the socialization process whereby skills were transmitted from generation to generation. On the other hand, he indicated that child labour existed where young people were exploited, or overworked, or deprived of their rights to health, education or just to a happy childhood. He further stated that such exploitative, hazardous and abusive forms of child labour adversely affected the physical, mental, psychological, spiritual, moral and social development of a child. He also appealed to Member States to sign and ratify the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child and to implement the Consensus of Dakar. 6. The Assistant Secretary General emphasized that the main purpose of this Tripartite Conference is to brainstorm on the causes of child labour as well as on the proposed standards by the ILO in order to come up with a set of practical recommendations that can be consolidated into an African Position in one document to be reviewed and adopted by the 21st Session of the OAU Labour and Social Affairs Commission to be held in Pretoria, South Africa in April 1998. This position document shall serve as a guide to African delegations at the June 1998 International Labour Conference. He, therefore, called upon African Governments, Employers and Workers representatives to this Tripartite Conference to work closely and develop such a strategy in the interest of the African children. 7. In her statement the UNICEF Regional Director for Eastern and Southern Africa, Mrs. Shahida Azfar, welcomed the opportunity to work closely with OAU and ILO to eliminate child labour in Africa. She further recalled that the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child had helped in the understanding of child labour as the most intolerable form of child abuse and exploitation. She expressed UNICEF's satisfaction about the fact that both the ILO's Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No.138) and the Convention on the Rights of the Child are providing the context of the upcoming new ILO Convention and that UNICEF shall support the proposed new Convention as an important legal framework in the campaign against child labour. She added that the challenge before everyone was to bridge the gap between aspirations and reality: agendas exist but there is lack of concrete plans of action hence, both ILO and UNICEF called, in Oslo, for a time bound programme of action. There is no shortage of laws but often lack of means and political will to implement and/or enforce them. Mrs. Azfar went on recalling that the concept of specific, measurable and time-bound goals for children had proven to be very effective ever since the 1990 World Summit for Children. However, the severe shortages of educational opportunities is widely recognised as a major contributor to child labour. Insisting on girl's education, which remains the number one priority because the gender gap in education had widened, she re-reiterated UNICEF's commitment to removing barriers to getting girls into schools as exemplified by its on-going Girls Education Programme in 21 African countries. She nevertheless acknowledged that Africa's commitment to Jomtien 1990 Education for All (EFA) Goal has been hindered by a number of factors including economic constraints and corollary pervasive poverty. 8. Mrs. Azfar finally called on participants to regenerate the momentum for keeping the World Summit promises to children and to commit themselves to reach the unreached - those at risk as well as those labouring. To that end, she suggested a certain number of measures aimed at eliminating child labour in Africa, among others, the need to identify the root causes of the out-of-schools children phenomenon, to involve children in the overall process of problem identification, needs assessment and designing solutions, and to find ways to get the best quality education at the lowest cost to the maximum number of needy children. 9. The Director-General of the International Labour Organisation, Mr. Michel Hansenne, in his inaugural address welcomed warmly the delegates and urged them to take urgent action to stem the increasing trend of child labour in Africa and to take immediate steps to eliminate its most intolerable forms . ILO statistics indicated that there were 80 million child workers in Africa, and that Africa had the highest incidence of child labour in the world. He pointed out that the future was gloomy if the current economic and social trends persisted; the number of child labourers in Africa could swell to over 100 million by the year 2015. 10. The Director General cautioned against the view which held that there was a regional or national concept of childhood and child labour. The ILO recognized that in all regions of the world, children had normal family obligations which were part of the socialization process. The existing international instruments on child labour were not directed at these types of situations. Rather, they were aimed at abuses that went beyond what might normally be expected from a child, even if these happened within the family circle. When child labour took extreme forms it was no longer the expression of a culture, it was exploitation, Mr. Hansenne pointed out. He therefore called on participants to pay careful attention to the debates on this issue. A subjectivist or ethnocentric view of child labour could lead to the justification of extreme situations which deprived children of their basic rights and their education. All ILO members had a duty to protect children against any type of work which is likely to endanger their health, education, safety or morals and to ensure the observance of universal principles and standards enshrined in International Conventions concerned with children and child labour. 11. The Director-General spoke on the new ILO instruments which would call for immediate steps to suppress all extreme forms of child labour and called for support for these instruments which will be first discussed at the International Labour Conference in June 1998 for adoption in 1999. 12. He also welcomed the growing interest of African countries in taking practical action. Many African countries, for example Kenya, Tanzania, Egypt, Senegal and Benin had signed a memorandum of understanding with and were participating fully in the ILO International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC) while nine others had already embarked on preparatory work in the framework of the IPEC programme. Mr. Hansenne concluded by proposing specific measures for the effective elimination of child labour including: firm political will/commitment by the Governments; preventive action such as the provision of free, universal and compulsory education; active support and participation in the development of new international labour standards on extreme forms of child labour; and implementation of time-bound programmes of action to abolish child labour. 13. On behalf of H.E. the President of the Republic of Uganda, Rt. Honourable Kintu Musoke, the Prime Minister, addressed the Conference. The Prime Minister welcomed the participants to Uganda and paid particular thanks to the Director-General of the ILO for having time off to visit Uganda in spite of his onerous duties. He outlined the cordial relations between Uganda and the ILO as exemplified by the ILO supported first National Comprehensive Manpower Survey (1989); a major feeder roads programme in the West of the country; capacity building for training institutions; sponsorship for training programmes at the ILO Turin Centre; various missions and support for specific programmes for the employers and workers representatives such as "Improve Your Business" and "Workers Education"; and the preparation of the Draft National Employment Policy. 14. The Prime Minister noted that the bringing of the Conference on Child Labour to Uganda was a concrete manifestation of the recognition by the international community of the steady progress made in moving away from gross violation of human rights which had characterized past regimes to the present era characterized by the rule of law. He then referred to the process of normal socialization in the traditional African culture whereby children worked within their families and were prepared for adulthood and helped in passing on acquired skills from one generation to another. In this context, he observed that in this process of socialization, children grew to physical and intellectual maturity and in an environment that was free of exploitation. 15. While concluding his remarks, he invited the conference to focus its attention to the following three points:
16. At the end of the ceremony, the participants elected the Bureau:
17. The Conference then adopted the following work programme and according to the following Time Table: Morning Sessions: 9.00-12.30; Afternoon Sessions: 14.30-18.00. Day 1, Thursday, 5 February 1998
Day 2, Friday, 6 February 1998 Child Labour in Africa 18. A representative of the International Labour Organization Secretariat, presented the background paper, entitled Child labour in Africa: Targeting the intolerable, providing an overview of the child labour situation in Africa with a focus on extreme forms of child labour. A video entitled I am a child, which illustrated the lives of working children in Africa, was also presented. The ILO estimated that worldwide at least 120 million children between the ages of 5 and 14 work full time and this number reached at least 250 million when part-time activities were included. Africa has the highest rate of child labour, where 41 per cent of children between the age of 5 and 14 work, and where the total is approximately 80 million. This could increase to 100 million child labourers in the year 2015 if present trends continued. In addition, most children were found in agriculture, domestic service, and small family enterprises who were subject to long hours and hazardous conditions and environments and were often beyond the reach of national legislation and enforcement. Young children and girls were particularly vulnerable. The national legislation in Africa on minimum age for employment or work, hazardous work, and compulsory education met some of the requirements of international labour standards, particularly ILO Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138), although many countries excluded sectors in which a large number of children worked and the ages for compulsory education and minimum age were not in conformity. Measures to improve the enforcement of legislation were also required. There was a need to focus scarce resources on extreme forms of child labour. 19. She discussed two ILO initiatives aimed at the elimination of child labour: preparation of new international labour standards on the most extreme forms of child labour, and practical action through the International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC). The following actions were required to eliminate the worst abuses of child labour: preventive action such as providing free, universal, compulsory education and the promotion of economic growth; designation of a responsible body and cooperation and coordination among various ministries responsible for education, health and safety and income and employment generating programmes; active participation in the adoption of the proposed new ILO Convention and Recommendation on extreme forms of child labour, followed by ratification and effective implementation; and implementation of time-bound programmes of action, with special protection for very young children and girls. Political will especially is needed to commit the resources necessary to ensure a future for African children free from the scourge of child labour. 20. Following the presentation, participants expressed concern about the gravity of the child labour situation in Africa and stressed the need for action to eradicate child labour. Participants commented that children worked with their families as part of their education and socialization which is a cultural and traditional practice in Africa. The concern however was with the problem of child labour exploitation in paid or unpaid employment. Emphasis was placed on tackling the root causes of child labour, primarily poverty. A general consensus emerged that social and economic measures must be taken to effectively fight child labour. Governments were called upon to prioritize the allocation of funding for education. Participants stated that combatting child labour was primarily the responsibility of governments. However, the need for cooperation and coordination among governments, employers' and workers' organizations, and civil society was also stressed. In addition, participants raised the need for international cooperation for technical and financial support to assist developing countries in the fight against poverty and child labour. Several participants emphasised the need to strengthen child labour legislation and ratify international labour standards. International Labour Standards on Child Labour 21. A representative of the Secretariat from the International Labour Organization, presented an overview of international labour standards on child labour. The ILO Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138) is the most comprehensive and fundamental instrument on child labour. Convention No. 138 requires ratifying States to adopt a national policy for the elimination of child labour and to establish a minimum age for admission to employment not less than the age of completing compulsory school, and in no event less than 15 years of age. It also contains several flexibility clauses, especially for developing countries concerning the minimum age and scope of coverage. A higher minimum age of 18 years for hazardous work is required. Recommendation No. 146, which accompanies Convention No. 138, provides further guidance calling for measures to alleviate poverty and provide free universal education. 22. She outlined the proposed new international labour instruments on the most extreme forms of child labour. A total of 115 member States, including 25 African States, completed a questionnaire on the nature and content of the proposed new instruments. Based on the replies to the questionnaires, Proposed Conclusions were drafted which will be discussed by the ILO constituents at the International Labour Conference (ILC) in June 1998 and considered for adoption at the ILC in 1999. The proposed Convention and Recommendations would apply to all children under the age of 18 years and focus on the suppression of extreme forms of child labour, including slavery and practices similar to slavery, such as the sale and trafficking of children; child prostitution and pornography; and hazardous work. The proposed Convention also includes provisions on effective enforcement, including criminal penalties; measures for prevention, removal and rehabilitation; and international cooperation and assistance. There is also a proposed Recommendation covering national programmes of action, monitoring mechanisms to ensure effective application of the Convention; compilation of data; and effective enforcement measures. 23. During the debate that followed, several participants expressed the need to discuss the proposed new international labour standards, to establish a common position for Africa. A participant pointed out that agriculture in family undertakings may be excluded from the Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138). Another participant commented on the need to determine what makes agricultural work hazardous or intolerable for children, as it affects a large number of African children. Other participants called on African Governments to ratify Convention No. 138, emphasized that effective strategies to combat child labour are needed and suggested that cultural attitudes could be an obstacle to ratification. Ratification and Implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child 24. In her presentation, the Representative of UNICEF emphasized that one of the key elements of a regional strategy to eliminate the most extreme forms of child labour was the ongoing process of the implementation of the Convention of the Rights of the Child. She stated that the 41 substantive articles protect children and young people up to the age of 18 and that universality and indivisibility of the rights were key characteristics of the Treaty. 25. She recalled article 32 on the Protection of the Child including Protection against economic exploitation. She cautioned that all standards of care and protection should be implemented with the view of the four general principles of the Convention, namely non-discrimination, best interest of the child, right to life, survival and development , right to be informed and to participate. She recalled that besides those rights, the Convention recognized the responsibilities of the State, the family, parents, children and international community in implementing these obligations. 26. Finally, she stated that reporting on the Convention of the Rights of the Child was an on-going mechanism for reviewing the progress forward to eliminate child labour. She stressed that greater attention should be given to the statutory requirement and that platform for dialogue with civil society should be set up and that governments should establish valid mechanisms for reporting on the Convention on the Rights of the Child. 27. Another representative from UNICEF recalled that several instruments already existed on child labour, among other, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Arusha Declaration, and the Oslo Declaration. Those documents placed child labour in a broader context and therefore, child labour should be considered in a specifically African context. 28. She specified that in the efforts to eliminate child labour, governments should be guided by recent global experience, Universal Child Immunization, the Mid-Decade Goals; put emphasis on high quality data collection and analysis; capacity building; community participation at all levels and survey on hazardous child labour. Those factors could also contribute to end child labour, including universal ratification of ILO Convention No 138 and universal primary education. Child Labour in Africa and the Status of Ratifications of the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child 29. In presenting the two reports the OAU Representative reminded the participants that the International Conference on Assistance to African Children (ICAAC) held in November 1992, adopted the Consensus of Dakar which set out goals and targets for the protection of children against all forms of abuse, neglect and exploitation including exploitative work circumstance. He stated that the Consensus had set priorities for implementation in the national Plans of Action (NPAs) by Member States in different areas of health, nutrition, education and elimination of child labour. 30. He further stated that the OAU had organised a Seminar on the Protection of the Child and Seminar on the Protection of the Child and Elimination of Child Labour in Arusha, Tanzania in March 1997 which made in-depth discussions of all aspects of child labour and came out with pertinent thematic recommendations for implementation by Governments, International Organisations, NGOs and other Organisations. 31. With regard to the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, he pointed out that only 22 countries had so far signed it while only 7 have ratified. He reminded the Conference that the Charter needed only 15 ratifications to enable it to come into force and strongly appealed to those Member States out of the 22 tripartite delegations which had not yet done so to sign and ratify the Charter and deposit the legal instruments with the Secretary General of the OAU. 32. In conclusion, he informed the Meeting that the outcome of the Tripartite Meeting would be forwarded to the 21st Session of the OAU Labour and Social Affairs Commission to be held in Pretoria, South Africa in April 1998 which is expected to come out with an African Common Position to be used as Africa's contribution to the 86th Session of the International Labour Conference. 33. In the ensuing debate, participants requested the OAU Secretariat to set up an efficient mechanism which would allow it to put more pressure on Member States to honour their commitments by signing and ratifying the Charter. Uganda's Report and Position on Child Labour A. Focus on extreme forms of child labour 34. In her presentation the Ugandan Representative made the following observations:
B. What is to be done?
PANEL DISCUSSIONS
35. The focus of the presentation by the panellists was first on the experience of Mauritius which took action against child labour 22 years ago, even before its independence. Those actions included free primary education, and adoption of legislation in 1975 that made it illegal to employ a child under 15 years. As a result, Mauritius no longer had a major problem of child labour. The panel also referred to the work of the ILO's International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (ILO\IPEC) whose key objective was the progressive elimination of child labour and strengthening of national capacities towards that end. IPEC was now operational in five African countries including Tanzania. The Tanzanian Employer's experience in combatting child labour through an IPEC programme with the Association of Tanzania Employers (ATE), launched in 1995, was also presented. In addition, the panellists were of the view that since all countries that concerned with child labour had relations with international financial institutions, efforts should be made to integrate the lending policies of those organisations with the child labour considerations. 36. In the ensuing debate, participants focused on the importance of mobilizing a broad social alliance to eliminate child labour. They noted that the child labour problem was complex and that African governments should concentrate on its socio-economic aspect while poverty was not the sole cause of child labour, it should be addressed as the primary factor. It was important in that respect to look at ways and means of decreasing poverty. 37. Many participants stressed that governments should focus on child labour in rural areas and concentrate on the provision of primary education. In addition, a distinction should be made between child work and child labour. Real protection should be offered for African children toiling on plantations and in mines. African governments were called upon to ratify the ILO Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138), the UN Convention on the Right of the Child and the OAU Charter and to ensure that these standards were implemented. 38. Participants called for the need for Africa to adopt a Common Position on the problem of child labour and the protection of children and on the proposed new ILO Convention on extreme forms of child labour. African states should, in addition, work through the Organization of African Unity (OAU), to mobilize resources to assist children in difficulty. Many participants also stressed the importance of coordinating action by the ILO and UNICEF on child labour with international financial institutions, such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in order to address the question of Debt and Structural Adjustment Programmes.
Panel II : Focus on extreme forms of Child Labour: What is to be done
39. Panel II focussed on the extreme forms of child Labour and what is to be done towards their eradication. Extreme forms of child labour were defined as activities that amount to outright human rights abuses in that they constitute grave hazards to the health, safety, social and moral development of children. Sectors associated with such forms of child labour could include domestic service, commercial sex work, the informal sector, industry and agriculture. Participation in armed conflict and criminal activities were also identified as being socially unacceptable. 40. Various actions were suggested including withdrawal and rehabilitation of child labourers, protection of children who cannot be removed from work immediately and on prevention of child labour, as the most important long term strategy. This should include, among others, poverty alleviation, provision of universal primary education and vocational training, sensitization and awareness raising at all levels of society and the development of a comprehensive legal framework and sufficient enforcement mechanisms. 41. IPEC experience in Tanzania was presented as an example on how sectoral programme interventions against extreme forms of child labour can be designed and implemented. 42. During the debate that followed, participants recommended that an ad-hoc committee be set up by the ILO, UNICEF and the OAU to come up with a draft common position on child labour using the Arusha Consensus as well as the conclusions and recommendations of this Kampala Tripartite Meeting as a background. Also, that the African Governments must review their educational systems and have the political will\determination to combat child labour. Governments must also develop policies and programmes, the goal of which should be the elimination of child labour and be based on a legal framework. And finally, the plan of action should include appropriate educational facilities; adequate provision of social security with a broad coalition approach.
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 1. The issue of child labour is to be situated in the social and economic context of the African region. Children helping the family in domestic situations and activities which are part of the socialization process are not the problem. Child labour is work, paid or unpaid, which deprives the child of an education, or threatens safety, health or morals. Objectives 2. Children should be at school, not at work, and therefore African countries should commit themselves to the total abolition of child labour as prescribed in the ILO Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138), the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child. 3. In the medium and short-term, it might be unavoidable for children to work if they have no other alternatives such as lack of educational facilities. But the work should be regulated and should no longer endanger the health and safety of the child and combine protected work activities with some kind of education and social services. 4. Priority should be given to the immediate suppression of extreme forms of child labour within time-bound programmes of action. Policy interventions (What should be done) 5. Poverty should be attacked as the fundamental cause of child labour. However it is not the only cause and cannot be an excuse for inaction. 6. Policies aimed at eliminating child labour should be conceived and designed within a large socio-economic policy and legislative context. Poverty must be attacked and free, compulsory and universal primary education should be provided. 7. There should be increased international support to attack poverty. 8. Preventive measures are particularly important in Africa. Thus keeping children in school is now a very important preventive measure during the process of development. 9. Developing and setting up legislation aimed at eliminating child labour and in conformity with international standards is necessary because it regulates national programmes and sets their goals and objectives and also constitutes a manifestation of political commitment. 10. Thus it is important that African countries participate in the development of the proposed new international labour standards on extreme forms of child labour so that they can influence their content. 11. There should be good governance which is democratic and accountable to the public interest and supportive of social development. 12. Community mobilisation by Governmental and non-governmental sectors is an important key to attacking child labour. This includes education and awareness raising as well as advocacy. 13. African Governments should take measures that will bring social partners to participate in programmes aiming at combating child labour; to that effect, necessary funds to be managed on the basis of tripartism should be provided. 14. The ILO Minimum Age Convention No. 138 should be ratified and the OAU should set up a strategy for Member States to take appropriate actions for ratification of the Convention. 15. The African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child should be ratified by all African countries. African Governments, which have not yet done so, are called upon to sign and/or ratify the Charter without delay. 16. African Governments are invited to take advantage of the Structural Adjustment Participatory Review Initiative (SAPRI) which is a tripartite review of Structural Adjustment Programmes involving the World Bank, Government and Civil Society. Requests to international and non-governmental organizations 17. The ILO is requested to pursue ways to assist the OAU in strengthening its capacity to address labour issues. It is also requested to strengthen Trade Unions' capacity in dealing with child labour issues. 18. The ILO and UNICEF are requested to look into the question of international resources and the social impact of structural adjustment policies and how best to reduce or abolish the adverse impact of structural adjustment policies. 19. In order to effectively address the immediate and underlying causes of child labour in Africa, Member States are urged to cooperate with each other to develop common policy frameworks and time bound goals. Consideration should be given to developing a common framework for action as a complement to the common position on child labour that will be discussed at the Labour Commission in April 1998. 20. That framework for action would be developed from the Arusha Consensus, and from the standards contained in the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and the ILO Minimum Age Convention No.138. Consideration should be given to linking time-bound goals for achieving Education For All by the year 2015 to a regional time frame (1) for eliminating extreme forms of child labour, (2) for establishing national laws and policies and (3) for strengthening capacities at national and regional levels for research and analysis of the problems leading to increased numbers of children and young people involved in child labour. 21. The report and the conclusion of this meeting will be submitted to the 21st Ordinary Session of the OAU Labour and Social Affairs Commission which will take place in Pretoria, South Africa from 13 to 18 April 1998.
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