* Celebration of Convention N° 182 on the Worst Forms of Child Labour Coming into Force - Presse Release ABIDJAN (ILO News) - On 19 November 2000, ILO convention n° 182 calling for immediate action to secure the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labour, which had been unanimously adopted by the International Labour Conference in June 1999, will come into force. This new convention is explicitly aimed at liberating scores of millions of children from all forms of slavery or practices similar to slavery, such as sale and trafficking of children, debt bondage and serfdom and forced or compulsory labour, including forced or compulsory recruitment for use in armed conflict, from prostitution and pornography, from being used for illicit activities and from all work that is likely to harm their health, safety and morals. The convention 1eaves it to the national authorities to determine the types of work that are likely to harm their health, safety and morals of children. ILO estimates put the worldwide number of working children at 250 million children between the ages of 5 to 14. Nearly half of them, 120 million, are working full time. The elimination of child labour has always been one of ILO's major objectives. ILO adopted its first convention on child labour, the Minimum (Industry) Convention, in 1919, the very same year the ILO itself was founded. Subsequently, nine sectoral conventions on the minimum age of admission to employment were adopted, followed in 1973 by the adoption of the Minimum Age convention n° 138. Unlike the earlier sectoral conventions, convention n° 138 is of general scope. It still remains the fundamental tool of the ILO's fight against child labour. The new convention focusses on the immediate action to eliminate the worst forms of child labour by indicating clearly what would be considered as unacceptable, what would not be excused by any consideration, be it economical or other, and what would have to be eliminated immediately, and as a matter of urgency. It does not replace the Minimum Age Convention n° 138 of 1973, which calls for effective elimination of all forms of child labour, it defines priorities and places them into a strategic perspective. Addressing the elimination of the worst forms of child labour, convention n° 182 covers all persons under the age of 18 in line with the definition of the child under the UN Convention of the Rights of the Child. ILO conventions come into force 12 months after the date on which the ILO registered their second ratification. Convention n° 182 was first ratified by Seychelles on 28 September1999, the second ratification was by Malawi on 19 November 1999. Convention n° 182 therefore will come into force on 19 November 2000. When an ILO member State ratifies convention n° 182, the provisions of the convention become effective 12 months after ratification which means that the country should give effect to the terms of the convention, in both law and practice. The necessary actions range from a reform of laws and their enforcement to practical and direct help to children and their families. Under the regular supervision of the application of conventions, such a member State also has to report periodically to the ILO's supervisory bodies the steps it has taken to give effect to the convention. In the case of convention n° 182, this reporting period is of 2 years which constitutes a basis for regular follow-up. Employers' and Workers' Organizations may comment on it. Under the special procedures, a State which has ratified the convention also has to be accountable for any allegation of non-observation, called "representation" or "complaint" under the ILO constitution. These can be initiated by employers, workers or another country that has ratified the convention. As one of its innovative features, this new convention calls for international cooperation or assistance in efforts to make its provisions really applied, including support for economic and social development, poverty eradication and education: It also provides for broad consultation among governments, workers and employers - the "social partners" in the ILO tripartite structure. Conventions n° 138 and n° 182 are regarded as part of ILO's "core conventions" along with those concerning freedom of association and the righ6t to collective bargaining; the elimination of forced or compulsory labour; non-discrimination in respect of employment and occupation. They set forth the fundamental principles and rights at work which were agreed upon by the World Summit for Social Development in Copenhagen in March 1995. Such principles and rights are the subject of a solemn Declaration adopted by the International Labour Conference in June 1998 with a follow-up. In this sense, all ILO Member States, because of the very fact of membership in the ILO, have an obligation to respect, to promote and to realize, among other things, the effective abolition of child labour, with a priority focus on its worst forms. Under the Declaration's provisions for follow-up, there is a system of gathering information through the Annual Reports from those countries that have not yet ratified the relevant fundamental conventions, or from the Global Reports produced by the ILO on one of the fundamental principles. For example, child labour will be the subject of the report to be presented at the International Labour Conference in 2002. - On the other hand, the ILO has the obligation to provide technical assistance to its member States. At present, convention n° 182 has been ratified by 16 African countries: Botswana, Central African Republic, Chad, Ghana, Libya, Malawi, Mali, Mauritius, Namibia, Niger, Rwanda, Senegal, Seychelles, South Africa, Togo and Tunisia (Zimbabwe: ratified by Parliament, Instrument of ratification expected). Of course, the ratification of conventions and the prohibition of child labour by national laws is one thing, while the effective implementation is another. The ILO is providing technical assistance to constituents in their fight against child labour through concrete action programmes by its "International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC)". The political will and commitment of individual governments to address child labour in cooperation with employers' and workers' organizations, other NGOs and relevant parties in society - such as universities and the media - is the starting point for all IPEC action. Sustainability is built in from the start through an emphasis on in-country "ownership". Support is given to partner organizations to develop and implement measures which aim at preventing child labour, withdrawing children from hazardous work and providing alternatives, and improving the working conditions as a transitional measure towards the elimination of child labour. A phased and multi-sectoral strategy is applied consisting of the following steps: Motivating a broad alliance of partners, including the active participation of children and adolescents, to acknowledge and act against child labour. Carrying out a situational analysis to find out about child labour problems in a country. Assisting with developing and implementing national policies on child labour problems. Strengthening existing organizations and setting up institutional mechanisms. Creating awareness on the problem nationwide, in communities and workplaces. Promoting the development and application of protective legislation. Supporting direct action with (potential) child workers for demonstration purposes. Replicating and expanding successful projects into the programmes of partners. Mainstreaming child labour issues into socio-economic policies, programmes and budgets. At present, 16 African countries have signed a formal "Memorandum of Understanding" (MOU) with ILO/IPEC: Benin, Burkina Faso, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Mali, Morocco, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Togo, Uganda, United Republic of Tanzania and Zambia. 11 other countries are associated with the Programme in a less formal way: Burundi, Cameroon, Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Gabon, Malawi, Namibia, Cote d'Ivoire, Rwanda and Zimbabwe.