Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2007, published 97th ILC session (2008)

Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138) - Colombia (Ratification: 2001)

The Committee notes the information sent by the Government in its report. It also notes the adoption of resolution No. 004448 of 2 December 2005 concerning the types of work which may not be performed by boys, girls and young people under 18 years of age and also Act No. 1098 of 8 November 2006 enacting the Children and Young Persons’ Code.

Article 1 of the Convention and Part V of the report form. National policy and application of the Convention in practice. In its previous comments, the Committee took note of the “National survey on child labour – an analysis of the results of the survey on characterization of the population aged from 5 to 17 years in Colombia”, published by ILO/IPEC and the National Department of Statistics (DANE) in 2003. According to the statistics in this report, 225,000 children between 5 and 9 years of age and 670,000 between 10 and 14 years of age were working. Children were working principally in four sectors of economic activity, namely agriculture (36.4 per cent); commerce (32.7 per cent); industry (12.5 per cent); services (11.7 per cent); and others (6.6 per cent). The Committee also noted the National Plan for the elimination of child labour and the protection of youth labour and the programmes of action implemented in collaboration with ILO/IPEC to abolish child labour. It observed that the application of legislation on child labour appeared difficult and that child labour was a problem in practice. The Committee asked the Government to supply information on the results obtained following implementation of the National Plan and the programmes of action.

The Committee notes the information supplied by the Government, in particular that the measures taken have enabled the situation in the country to be improved but that, given the coexistence of various social and economic factors that maintain the phenomenon, other measures will have to be implemented. It also notes that on 5 May 2005 the Government signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the ILO, for an initial duration of three years, concerning cooperation for the elimination of child labour, and in particular the worst forms thereof. In addition, a new National Plan for the prevention and elimination of child labour is currently being prepared. The Committee also notes the project to eliminate and prevent child labour in small-scale mines in Colombia, one of the objectives of which is to withdraw some 5,000 children from these mines. The Committee greatly appreciates the measures taken by the Government to abolish child labour, measures which it considers to be the affirmation of a political will to develop strategies to combat this problem. It also considers that the adoption of resolution No. 004448 of 2 December 2005 and the Children and Young Persons’ Code will make for better protection of children against economic exploitation. The Committee strongly encourages the Government to continue its efforts to combat child labour. Noting the Government’s indication that statistical information on the employment of children and young persons and labour inspection reports were not available, it sincerely hopes that it will be in a position to supply information in its next report on the implementation of new programmes of action and the new national plan, on the results obtained regarding the progressive abolition of child labour and on the application of the Convention in practice, by means of, for example, statistical data on the employment of children and young persons for each age group and extracts from the reports of the inspection services.

Article 2, paragraph 1. Scope of application. The Committee notes that section 113 of the Children and Young Persons’ Code lays down the procedure for requesting permission to work for young persons, which calls for certain actions on the part of the young person or his legal representatives and also on the part of the employer. It notes that section 113(1) provides that the permission to work must be requested jointly by the employer and the young person and that section 113(5) requires the employer to obtain a certificate of health for the young worker. It is the Committee’s understanding that the provisions of the Children and Young Persons’ Code regulating the employment of children and young persons apply in the context of an employment relationship. The Committee reminds the Government that the Convention applies to all branches of economic activity and that it covers all types of employment or work, whether or not it is performed on the basis of an employment relationship and whether or not it is paid. The Committee therefore asks the Government to supply information on the way in which children and young persons who are not bound by an employment relationship, enjoy the protection afforded by the Convention.

Article 2, paragraph 2. Raising the initially specified minimum age for admission to work. The Committee notes that, according to section 35 of the Children and Young Persons’ Code, the minimum age for admission to employment or work is 15 years, thus raising the initially specified minimum age from 14 to 15 years. It draws the Government’s attention to the fact that Article 2, paragraph 2, of the Convention provides for the possibility for a State which decides to raise the initially specified minimum age for admission to employment or work to inform the Director-General of the International Labour Office by means of a new declaration. This allows the age fixed by the national legislation to be harmonized with that provided for at international level.

Article 2, paragraph 3. Education. The Committee previously noted that, according to the statistics in the “National survey on child labour” published in 2003, the percentage of children who were working and studying simultaneously was as follows: 4.8 per cent for children from 5 to 9 years of age; 11.6 per cent for children from 10 to 11 years of age; 14.6 per cent for children from 12 to 14 years of age; and 13.8 per cent for children from 13 to 17 years of age. Moreover, referring to the concluding observations on the second periodic report of Colombia formulated by the Committee on the Rights of the Child in October 2000 (CRC/C/15/Add.137, paragraph 52), the Committee noted that the high drop-out and repetition rates in primary and secondary school was high and that there were disparities in access to education between rural and urban areas. With regard to access to education, it noted that the situation of children belonging to Afro-Colombian and indigenous groups was a source of particular concern, as was that of children living in camps for the displaced. It requested the Government to supply information on school enrolment and attendance rates.

The Committee notes the measures taken by the Government, in collaboration with ILO/IPEC, with regard to education to eliminate child labour. In its concluding observations on the third periodic report of the Government in June 2006 (CRC/C/COL/CO/3), the Committee on the Rights of the Child, while noting certain improvements in education, expressed its continuing concern at the following: that the Government had still not adopted a national education strategy based on children’s rights; indirect costs relating to administrative fees, to the purchase of uniforms and materials and to transport still existed, which explained the high and increasing drop-out rate among children from vulnerable groups in society, particularly in rural areas; the ethnic education policy (bilingual education) for indigenous communities was limited in scope and was often applied without the parties concerned being adequately consulted; and there were still no statistics on coverage, drop-out and completion rates according to type of area (urban or rural), ethnicity and sex. Considering that education is one of the most effective means for combating child labour, the Committee hopes that the Government will continue its efforts in this area and asks it to supply information on the measures taken, in particular to increase school enrolment and attendance rates. In this respect, the Committee invites the Government to draw up a national education strategy aimed at combating discrimination in access to education and social exclusion, the victims of which are vulnerable groups such as rural, displaced, Afro-Colombian or indigenous children.

Article 3, paragraph 2. Identification of types of hazardous work. The Committee notes with interest that resolution No. 004448 of 2 December 2005 contains a detailed list of types of hazardous work which may not be performed by boys, girls and young people under 18 years of age.

Article 3, paragraph 3 and Article 6.  Hazardous work and apprenticeships. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that section 245(1) of the Minors’ Code stated that minors under 18 years of age could not be employed in work involving exposure to risks to physical health or safety and listed the types of work which were thus prohibited to persons under 18 years of age. However, it noted that, under section 245(2) of the Minors’ Code, an apprentice between 14 and 18 years of age could perform hazardous work in the context of his apprenticeship. In this respect, the Committee notes that the new Children and Young Persons’ Code does not contain any provision similar to section 245(2) of the Minors’ Code and understands that minors over 14 years of age who are engaged in an apprenticeship may no longer perform hazardous work.