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

Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182) - Sudan (Ratification: 2003)

Article 4(1) of the Convention. Determination of hazardous work. The Committee previously noted that section 37 of the Child Act 2010 specifies that the Minister of Labour or his delegate may determine the types of work or industries which constitute hazardous work. In this regard, the Government indicated that a list of hazardous types of work prohibited for persons under 18 years of age had been prepared, and discussed at length with the social partners.

The Committee notes the information from ILO–IPEC related to the Tackling Child Labour through Education (TACKLE) Project of April 2012 that the Government has made significant progress in revising the list of types of hazardous work prohibited to children, including with the support of ILO–IPEC. ILO–IPEC indicates that the Child Labour Unit is taking the lead on the development of the list of types of hazardous work. In January 2012, the National Steering Committee endorsed a list of hazardous activities, and the list is awaiting ministerial decree. The Committee urges the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure the adoption in the near future of the list of types of hazardous work prohibited to persons under 18 years of age. It requests the Government to provide a copy of this list, once adopted.

Article 5. Monitoring mechanisms. In its previous comments, the Committee noted the Government’s statement that one of the difficulties encountered in the application of the Convention was the weakness of the labour inspectorate, including the inspection of child labour, mainly due to the lack of computers and vehicles used in inspection. However, the Committee noted the Government’s indication that efforts were ongoing to provide the labour inspectorate with the required logistical support.

The Committee notes the Government’s indication that, with regard to supporting and strengthening the labour inspectorate, a department of inspection and labour legislation has been established within the Ministry of Labour, tasked with investigating and monitoring child labour and the application of the relevant legislation. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the specific measures taken by the labour inspectorate to strengthen efforts to combat the worst forms of child labour in the country.

Article 6. Programmes of action to eliminate the worst forms of child labour. The Committee previously noted that Sudan was one of 11 countries participating in the ILO–IPEC TACKLE project. In this regard, the Committee notes the information from ILO–IPEC, concerning the TACKLE Project, that the Child Labour Unit was officially established within the Ministry of Labour in July 2011, composed of key government stakeholders, social partners and civil society representatives, and that this Unit also functions as the secretariat of the National Steering Committee on Child Labour. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the programmatic measures undertaken to combat the worst forms of child labour, including through the ILO–IPEC TACKLE Project, as well as on the results achieved.

Article 7(2). Effective and time-bound measures. Clause (a). Measures to prevent the engagement of children in the worst forms of child labour. Access to free basic education. The Committee previously noted that article 44(2) of the Constitution of 2005 specifies that education at the primary level is compulsory and is provided free of charge, and that section 28(2) of the Child Act of 2010 states that the Government shall provide for free basic primary education. However, the Committee noted the information from UNICEF of February 2011 that in practice, many children cannot access school due to school fees (A/HRC/WG.6/11/SDN/2, paragraph 48).

The Committee notes the information in the Government’s report that it intends to take measures to provide equal opportunities in education and training in both rural and urban areas. Moreover, the Committee notes the information from ILO–IPEC of April 2012 that the Ministry of Education is developing a five-year education plan for the country and that ILO–IPEC has been working with the Ministry of Education within the framework of the TACKLE Project to ensure that effective education strategies to combat child labour are integrated into the plan and into work on the non-formal education curriculum. Moreover, capacity-building workshops were organized by the Ministry of General Education and the National Council for Child Welfare to enhance partnerships to tackle child labour through education and to discuss the national policy on education planning and coordination in order to address the root causes of child labour such as access to education and early drop-out. However, the Committee also notes the information in the Country Analysis of 2012 of the United Nations Country Team that Sudan will not reach the Millennium Development Goal regarding universal primary education, that poverty and illiteracy deprive children from poor families from attending school, and that costs related to schooling, such as uniforms, school supplies and other fees remain an obstacle in access to education. While there has been an increase in the primary enrolment rate, 3.3 million children remain out of school and persistent gender inequalities and wide geographical disparities exist: 62 per cent of the out of school children are girls, and 84 per cent are from rural areas. Considering that education contributes to preventing the engagement of children in the worst forms of child labour, the Committee urges the Government to redouble its efforts to facilitate access to free basic education in the country, paying particular attention to girls and children from rural areas. In this regard, it requests the Government to provide information on the impact achieved through the provision of free basic education, particularly with regard to increasing school enrolment rates as well as decreasing school drop-out rates in primary education and the number of out-of-school children.

Clause (d). Identifying and reaching out to children at special risk. Street children. The Committee previously noted that the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) expressed concern, in its concluding observations of 10 October 2010, at the high numbers of children in street situations in major cities, including Khartoum, who are vulnerable to sexual abuse and various forms of exploitation.

The Committee notes the Government’s statement in its report submitted to the Human Rights Council of 11 March 2011 that there remain a number of challenges to the full operationalization of children’s rights, including the significant migration from rural to urban areas, which leads to a prevalence of begging and street children (A/HRC/WG.6/11/SDN/1, paragraph 79). The Committee also notes the information in the 2012 Country Analysis of the United Nations Country Team that the thousands of children living on the streets in Sudan still constitute the largest group of separated and unaccompanied children in the country. However, the Committee also notes the Government’s statement, in its report to the Human Rights Committee of 16 October 2012, that the Ministry of Welfare and Social Security has adopted a national policy for addressing the phenomenon of child homelessness, including the establishment of community-based protection mechanisms and that street children were registered in educational and vocational training programmes (CCPR/C/SDN/4, paragraph 239). Recalling that children living and working on the street are particularly vulnerable to the worst forms of child labour, the Committee requests the Government to pursue its efforts to protect these children from the worst forms of child labour, and to provide information on the measures taken in this regard as well as the results achieved.

Part V of the report form. Application of the Convention in practice. The Committee previously noted that the CRC, in its concluding observations of 21 June 2007, expressed regret regarding insufficient information on the extent and prevalence of sale, trafficking, child prostitution and child pornography in the country and that there was no centralized system of data collection on child protection issues (CRC/C/OPSC/SDN/CO/1, paragraph 7). It also noted the Government’s indication that the Ministry of Labour was undertaking a survey to classify children and their work, as well as to determine the number of working children.

The Committee takes due note of the Government’s statement that an assessment of the application of the Convention cannot ignore the obstacles created by the conflicts experienced by the country over the past two decades. The Committee requests the Government to provide any up-to-date statistical information on the worst forms of child labour, in particular the sale and trafficking of children for labour or commercial sexual exploitation, child prostitution and children in hazardous work, when available. To the extent possible, all information provided should be disaggregated by sex and age.