Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2017, published 107th ILC session (2018)

Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182) - Burundi (Ratification: 2002)

Article 3 of the Convention. Worst forms of child labour. Clause (b). Use, procuring or offering of children for prostitution. In its previous comments, the Committee noted the indication by the Trade Union Confederation of Burundi (COSYBU) that the extreme poverty of the population induced parents to allow their children to engage in prostitution. It noted that, even though the national legislation prohibits this worst form of child labour, the use, procuring or offering of children for prostitution remains a problem in practice. The Committee also referred to the Conference Committee on the Application of Standards, which observed in its 2010 conclusions that although the law prohibits the commercial sexual exploitation of children (sections 512 and 519 of the Penal Code), this issue remains an area of serious concern in practice. The Committee asked the Government to provide information on the number and nature of violations reported and criminal penalties applied.

The Committee notes the Government’s indication, in its report, that a number of measures have been put in place to prevent the engagement of children in prostitution, including: (i) the establishment of a police unit for the protection of minors and morals; and (ii) free primary school education and the setting up of school canteens. The Committee takes note of the Government’s indication that the Ministry of Public Administration, Labour and Employment, in collaboration with UNICEF, sponsored a rapid assessment study on the sexual and commercial exploitation of children, published in 2012 (2012 study). Noting that the Government does not provide more recent data, the Committee notes with concern that, according to this study, children in fishing areas, particularly Rumonge and Makamba in the south of the country, are handed over to prostitution by adults (p. 20). It also notes that, according to this study, nightclubs, guest houses and other similar establishments proliferate everywhere. They provide “predators” with a meeting place and rooms for their use. In border areas, particularly those adjoining Tanzania, sex tourism targeting children is flourishing. Cases of sex tourism practised by truck drivers in transit and nationals of other countries have also been reported in the study (pp. 64 and 69). The Committee urges the Government to take immediate and effective steps as a matter of urgency to ensure that persons who use, procure or offer a child under 18 years of age for prostitution are prosecuted and that sufficiently effective and dissuasive penalties are applied in practice. It requests the Government to provide information on the number and nature of violations reported and criminal penalties imposed.

Article 7(2). Effective and time-bound measures. Clause (b). Removing children from the worst forms of child labour and providing for their rehabilitation and social integration. Commercial sexual exploitation. In its previous comments, the Committee asked the Government to provide information on the number of child victims of commercial sexual exploitation who had effectively been removed from this situation, rehabilitated and socially integrated, particularly further to the implementation of the National Action Plan for the elimination of the worst forms of child labour, which was drawn up in collaboration with ILO–IPEC for the 2010–15 period.

The Committee notes the Government’s indication that the 2012 study reveals that potential or actual child victims of commercial sexual exploitation are predominantly girls who are orphans or separated from their families who have come to the major cities to be employed as domestic workers. The Government also indicates that, of 307 children questioned, 92 of them (30 per cent) said they were victims of commercial sexual exploitation, whereas 215 of them (70 per cent) said they had witnessed it. The Committee notes with deep concern that the survey conducted as part of the 2012 study reveals that children from all target categories (children in prison, street children, child domestic workers, schoolchildren, displaced or refugee children) are victims of commercial sexual exploitation (p. 50). According to the study, the perpetrators are mainly persons offering financial or material reward, particularly shopkeepers, mine operators, foreigners in transit and soldiers. The Committee notes that, in its conclusions, the 2012 study recommends that the Government adopt a number of measures, including: (i) conducting awareness-raising and training campaigns for the judiciary and the general public, and also for teachers, social workers, medical staff, the police and the armed forces; (ii) combating impunity and strengthening the role of child protection committees; and (iii) drawing up fast-track education programmes with a view to promote the return to school of adolescent mothers and children who are victims of commercial sexual exploitation. The Committee urges the Government to intensify its efforts to identify and protect child victims of commercial sexual exploitation, and to take the necessary steps to ensure that identified victims are directed to appropriate services for their rehabilitation and social integration. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the results achieved.

The Committee is raising other matters in a request addressed directly to the Government.